((a)) ** Establishment** As part of the interagency oceans and human health research program, the Secretary of Commerce is authorized to establish an Oceans and Human Health Initiative to coordinate and implement research and activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration related to the role of the oceans, the coasts, and the Great Lakes in human health. In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall consult with other Federal agencies conducting integrated oceans and human health research and research in related areas, including the National Science Foundation. The Oceans and Human Health Initiative is authorized to provide support for—
((1)) centralized program and research coordination;
((2)) an advisory panel;
((3)) one or more National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration national centers of excellence;
((4)) research grants; and
((5)) distinguished scholars and traineeships.
((b)) ** Advisory panel** The Secretary is authorized to establish an oceans and human health advisory panel to assist in the development and implementation of the Oceans and Human Health Initiative. Membership of the advisory group shall provide for balanced representation of individuals with multi-disciplinary expertise in the marine and biomedical sciences. Chapter 10 of title 5 shall not apply to the oceans and human health advisory panel.
((c)) ** National centers**
((1)) The Secretary is authorized to identify and provide financial support through a competitive process to develop, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for one or more centers of excellence that strengthen the capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out its programs and activities related to the oceans’ role in human health.
((2)) The centers shall focus on areas related to agency missions, including use of marine organisms as indicators for marine environmental health, ocean pollutants, marine toxins and pathogens, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, seafood testing, identification of potential marine products, and biology and pathobiology of marine mammals, and on disciplines including marine genomics, marine environmental microbiology, ecological chemistry and conservation medicine.
((3)) In selecting centers for funding, the Secretary will give priority to proposals with strong interdisciplinary scientific merit that encourage educational opportunities and provide for effective partnerships among the Administration, other Federal entities, State, academic, non-profit research organizations, medical, and industry participants.
((d)) ** Extramural research grants**
((1)) The Secretary is authorized to provide grants of financial assistance to the scientific community for critical research and projects that explore the relationship between the oceans and human health and that complement or strengthen programs and activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration related to the ocean’s role in human health. Officers and employees of Federal agencies may collaborate with, and participate in, such research and projects to the extent requested by the grant recipient. The Secretary shall consult with the oceans and human health advisory panel established under subsection (b) and may work cooperatively with other agencies participating in the interagency program to establish joint criteria for such research and projects.
((2)) Grants under this subsection shall be awarded through a competitive peer-reviewed, merit-based process that may be conducted jointly with other agencies participating in the interagency program.
((e)) ** Traineeships** The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to establish a program to provide traineeships, training, and experience to pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students and to scientists at the beginning of their careers who are interested in the oceans in human health research conducted under the NOAA initiative.