RCMI International Symposium on Health Disparities
November 12-15, 2000
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Sidney A. McNairy, Jr., Ph.D., D.Sc.

Dr. McNairy was a Professor of Chemistry, Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from 1965-75; Director, Health Research Center at the University from 1971-75 and the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program (MBRS) at the University from 1972-75. During his tenure at Southern University, he participated in numerous collaborative research projects in the private sector and government (Charles Pfizer; Eli Lilly; Standard Oil of California; General Electric; and the Center for Disease Control). His principal research interest included cardiovascular disease, insulin metabolism and the role of thyroxine and its precursors in metabolic events.

In 1975, he was appointed Executive Secretary of the General Research Support Review and Advisory Committee of the Division of Research Resources, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, and was responsible for the evaluation of biomedical research proposals that competed for support through the Biomedical Research Support Grant Program and the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program. He was appointed Director of the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program in 1985.

In February, 1995, Dr. McNairy was appointed Director, Research Infrastructure (RI) area, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), NIH. In November 1999, he was promoted to the Senior Executive Service (SES), the highest civilian rank in the federal government. With this promotion he is now one of four Associate Directors in the NCRR. At the NIH only 1% of 18,000 employees are in the SES.

The RI programs are: the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program, the RCMI Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative (RCRII), the Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) Program, the Research Facilities Improvement Program (RFIP), the Animal Facilities Improvement Program (AFIP), the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program and the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Program. He continues to serve as Director, RCMI Program. The FY 2000 the operating budget for the RI area was approximately $186 million.

Dr. McNairy has been the driving force for the RCMI and RIMI Programs. The RCMI Program has spear-headed the development of the biomedical research infrastructure at minority health care professional and graduate schools around the country that award doctoral degrees in the health sciences or sciences related to health. Participating institutions include the U. of Hawaii; Charles R. Drew University in California; the U. of Texas at San Antonio and El Paso; Texas Southern University; Jackson State University in Mississippi; Southern University in Louisiana; Meharry Medical College in Tennessee; the Morehouse School of Medicine and Clark Atlanta University in Georgia; Florida A& M. University; Hunter College and City College of the City University of New York System in New York; Howard University in Washington DC; and four universities in Puerto Rico: the U. Puerto Rico Medical Sciences campus and the Rio Piedras campus; the Ponce School of Medicine; and the Universidad Central del Caribe.

The scope of this program was expanded in 1995 in order to broaden the participation of these schools in clinical research. Presently they are involved in clinical research that focuses on AIDS, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, infant mortality, Parkinson's disease, and lupus. The RIMI Program is a demonstration project that has enabled Morgan State U. in Maryland; Benedict College in South Carolina; Winston Salem State U. in North Carolina; Spelman College in Georgia; Tennessee State U.; Texas A& M at Kingsville; and San Francisco State U. in California to establish collaborative relationships with research intensive universities in order to facilitate faculty participation in biomedical research and provide students with state-of-the-art biomedical research experiences. Through these two programs, the RCMI and RIMI Programs, more than $0.4 billion have been provided to minority institutions across the nation to facilitate their participation in biomedical research.

The other programs for which Dr. McNairy is responsible support the development of specialized facilities for animal based-research, support the development of new biomedical research facilities, develop didactic materials that motivate and prepare students to pursue advanced training in the biomedical sciences, and support the expansion of biomedical research in 23 states and Puerto Rico that have had a limited participation in the research agenda of the NIH.

Dr. McNairy has authored a number of scientific and educational papers. Most recently, he served as a guest editor for Supplement 1, Vol 41, 1995 and Vol 43(7), 1997, "Cellular and Molecular Biology". The principal focus was on AIDS and AIDS-related research contributions that have emerged from the RCMI grantee community. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Alpha Chi Sigma, Beta Kappa Chi and Alpha Phi Alpha. He was selected for the Golden Parade of Alumni, LeMoyne/Owen College. He has been designated an "Old Master" by Purdue University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree by Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas in 1988. He was awarded the NIH Director's Award in 1990 and the President's award by the Morehouse School of Medicine at its May 1991 commencement. In May, 2000 he will be elected to the board of trustees of his alma mater LeMoyne-Owen College.

His wife Bobbie teaches high school mathematics in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He has three children -Alicia, Sidney III, and David and three grandchildren - Brittany Marie, Sidney IV, and Trent David.