The National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) has introduced a five-year plan which will outline some of its goals and agenda items for 2025-2029, “A Blueprint for a Coordinated Dietary Supplement Research Agenda at NIH.”
 
Stefan M. Pasiakos, PhD, director of ODS, who assumed his role last year, said that in the coming years ODS will aim to advance dietary supplement science, expand ODS’s capacity to respond to emerging public health concerns, and foster stewardship, collaboration, and accountability.
 
“This strategic plan reflects the collaborative work of the dedicated and passionate staff that compromise the ODS, with input and expertise provided by our colleagues and partners across NIH, other federal agencies, leading dietary supplement trade organizations, the broader scientific field of dietary supplements and nutrition, and the public.”
 
To advance dietary supplement science and research, ODS will place emphasis of focusing on the little-known biological effects of dietary supplements, on diverse population-based research, and on dietary supplement composition, quality, stability, safety, and efficacy.
 
ODS plans to expand its capacity and ability to address emerging public health concerns by harmonizing methodological approaches and promoting best practices in studies, and  improve the use of publicly available dietary supplement databases.
 
To foster stewardship, collaboration, and accountability, ODS will increase knowledge of and generate interest in supplement research, and ODS’s activities and capabilities; develop new information resources; conduct evaluations and other processes to ensure return on investment; and support a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. The ODS reported that it will lean into partnerships with other Institutions, Centers, and Offices (ICOs), such as its work with the National Eye Institute on the AREDS  and AREDS 2 trials, or with the Department of Defense Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP). ODS will also support ongoing development of population-based data collection for dietary supplement usage patterns in diverse population subgroups, with the Department of Nutrition Examination Surveys (DHANES) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
 
“Priority setting at ODS is a dynamic process that considers public health needs, knowledge gaps, and the needs and interests of its partners across NIH ICOs, federal agencies, trade organizations, and relevant professional societies,” ODS reported. “ODS research is rooted in its core competencies in biological, population, and analytical sciences and the knowledge gained from historical and current ODS activities.”