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Gates Event - Welcoming Remarks • Welcome group to the third annual workshop • Acknowledge HHS colleagues: Rob Califf, Lu Borio, Richard Hatchett • NIH and BMGF have enjoyed a working partnership since the creation of Grand Challenges in Global Health over a decade ago • I'm delighted that Bill is able to join us over the morning o Bill, I think you would find broad consensus that the Foundation has been the single most transformative influence on global health over the past decade o You have bridged the gap where there is no promise of a significant market to motivate private investment in drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics • Since Bill's last visit - in December 2013, to present our annual Barmes lecture - NIH and the Gates Foundation have taken our partnership to a new level • Nine NIH institutes are now engaged with Foundation colleagues, extending to such critical areas as o An HPV post licensure vaccine trial, to determine if a single dose can confer long term protection - simplifying administration and reducing cost o Joint research, on causes of preterm birth, and on biomarkers of gestational age • In short, NIH's partnership with the Gates Foundation is one of our most critical • And it couldn't be more timely. We have experienced an inflection point in global health since this group first convened. o Emergencies of Ebola, Zika, underscore the importance of real time, innovative responses at all levels of research - from genomic surveillance to advanced product development • The purpose of meeting is to discuss progress of joint projects - as well as opportunities for cooperation, arising from emerging scientific and public health developments • The morning will be given over to discussion panels on several highly topical priorities, to prompt new ideas and collaborative thinking. After lunch, the nine working groups will convene to discuss joint work. We will conclude the day with an open session to report our discussions. • I hope over the course of the day we can address some pivotal questions: o Are there opportunities so compelling we should design a collaborative crash program to catalyze progress? o How do we better coordinate, collaborate, and communicate our efforts? o How can we mobilize new partners, to use existing platforms and investments more effectively? o How can we better involve LMIC governments in supporting institutional and scientific capacity building? • I look forward to what promises to be a vibrant and productive set of discussions!