SUMMARY MINUTES OF 
DIRECTOR'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING 
DECEMBER 15-16, 1977 
I ntroduction to the Meeting 
Dr. Donald Fredrickson, Director of the National Institutes of 
Health, opened the meeting with a brief prologue. He noted that the 
Guidelines for Recombinant ONA Research were published in June 1976, 
the draft Environmental Impact Statement in September 1976, and the 
fined Environmental Impact Statement in November 1977. Dr. Fredrickson 
pointed out that the Guidelines were constructed in response to con- 
cerns about the possible hazards of recombinant DNA research. He 
added that this area of science is rapidly evolving with new infor- 
mation continuously coming to light, me Guidelines would need to be 
a living document in order to respond. 
Dr. Fredrickson stated that NIH has taken seriously the duty to 
preserve due process and to provide for public participation in the 
first revision of the Guidelines. me proposed revised Guidelines 
have been published in the Federal Register and the NIH Recombinan t 
Technical Bulletin (Fall 1977). me revisions are based on new scien- 
tific and administrative experience. They anticipate the possibility 
of legislative developments. In the absence of legislation, all 
federally funded recombinant DNA research is being conducted under the 
NIH standards. Similar guidelines exist in other countries and many 
national committees look to the NIH for guidance. 
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