Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues (SMaHT) Network Policy Working Group Governance

Version 1.0 – Dated September 2023

SMaHT Website: https://smaht.org/

SMaHT Data Portal: https://data.smaht.org/

I. Members of the SMaHT Policy Working Group

First NameAffiliationGroupEmail Address
Jimmy Bennett, Co-ChairSCRI-UWGCCjtbenn@u.washington.edu
Lucinda Fulton, Co-ChairWashington UniversityOClfulton@wustl.edu
Heather Lawson, Co-ChairWUSMOClawson@wustl.edu
Alexej AbyzovMayo ClinicTTD

abyzov.alexej@mayo.edu

alexej.abyzov@yale.edu

Tom BellNDRITPCtbell@ndriresource.org
Elizabeth ChunHarvard Medical SchoolDACelizabeth_chun@hms.harvard.edu
Richard ConroyOSC/NIHNIHrichard.conroy@nih.gov
Melissa FaithTPC/Johns HopkinsELSI Co-PImfaith1@jhmi.edu
Chen FeiBroad InstituteTTDchenf@broadinstitute.org
Amy LossieNIDA/NIHNIHlossieac@nih.gov
Stephen MontgomeryStanford (Broad GCC)GCCsmontgom@stanford.edu
Jill MorrisNINDSNIHjill.morris@nih.gov
Peter ParkHarvard Medical SchoolDACpeter_park@hms.harvard.edu
Dena ProcacciniNIHNIHdena.procaccini@nih.gov
Raquel HernandezTPC/Johns HopkinsELSI Co-PIraquel.hernandez@jhmi.edu
Alexi RunnelsNew York Genome CenterGCCarunnels@nygenome.org
Geetha SenthilNCATS/NIHNIHsenthilgs@mail.nih.gov
Alex UrbanStanford UniversityTTDaeurban@stanford.edu
Jeffrey OuUW-SCRIGCCJeffrey.Ou@seattlechildrens.org
Kristin ArdlieBroad InstituteGCCkardlie@broadinstitute.org
Mehrnoosh AhmadiNIHNIHmehrnoosh.ahmadi@nih.gov
Ron JohnsonNCINIHrjohnso2@mail.nih.gov

Any member leaving the policy working group will notify the co-chairs in writing, and new members will be sought from the network members.

II. Mission

The mission of the SMaHT Policy Working Group is to develop and maintain policies related to the SMaHT network’s business. The SMaHT Policy Working Group will operate transparently, where the participation of the policy working group and network members is valued and appreciated.

III. Policy Working Group Member Expectations

  • Attend and participate in the monthly meeting

  • Draft and review policies

  • Provide feedback during the development process

  • Exhibit confidentiality concerning Code of Conduct Violations

IV. Leadership

The policy working group is led by three co-chairs: Jimmy Bennett, Heather Lawson, and Lucinda Fulton, with members from the NIH and the SMaHT network awardees.

V. Policy Development Process

When possible, the SMaHT Policy Working Group will look to policies from other consortia for models of existing policies. When a novel policy must be developed, the members will work together, engaging external resources as needed.

Members of the SMaHT Working Group will create the first draft of new policies and garner feedback from the working group members. Members will settle on the final draft of the policy using the decision-making process defined below - see the decision-making section of this document.

Once the draft policy has been developed, it will be distributed to the SMaHT network for feedback, allowing for a comment period generally lasting one to two weeks. The policy working group members will discuss the feedback and comments provided by the consortium to create a final version of the policy. Sometimes, the policy committee may need to engage the consortium more than once through an iterative process.

The final draft of all policies will be distributed to the consortium members through email and available on the SMaHT Wiki, with announcements made at the monthly steering committee meeting.

VI. Decision-Making

The process for decision-making will be for the SMaHT Policy Working Group to work toward a consensus. In instances when the members of the working group cannot reach an agreement, each will have one vote. In cases of a tie, the co-chairs will work with the NIH to make the final decision. Detailed notes about this specific topic will be kept to have transparency about decision-making.

VII. Monitoring and Documentation

The progress of the SMaHT Policy Working Group will be available on the SMaHT Policy Dashboard.

VIII. Continuous Improvement

All policies will be reviewed annually by the SMaHT Policy Working Group or when indicated by the SMaHT Executive Committee or NIH. Updated policies will be distributed to the SMaHT network members.