It’s been 10 years in the making, but the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) is about to open the doors of its new Academic Center in the Clinical Center (Building 10). As you walk along the corridor between the Masur Auditorium and the Clinical Center’s atrium, you may have noticed the large glass window and the spacious room behind it. That room will soon house the FAES bookstore and a coffee bar. Behind the bookstore is a skylighted terrace big enough to host poster sessions and receptions. Downstairs are eight subdividable classrooms complete with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and Internet connections (both Wi-Fi and LAN).

Collaboration Leads to Better Imaging

In NIDDK-NIBIB’s Biomedical and Metabolic Imaging Branch

BY KRYSTEN CARRERA, NIDDK

In 2011, two NIH institutes joined forces to share their expertise and sophisticated imaging tools to advance the understanding of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other challenging health conditions. They have been running a joint operation called the Biomedical and Metabolic Imaging Branch (BMIB) in the heart of the NIH Clinical Center (Building 10).

Neal Young: Conquering Aplastic Anemia

BY KATHERINE BRICCENO, NINDS

Forty years ago, a diagnosis of severe aplastic anemia meant almost certain death. The bone marrow would suddenly stop producing new blood cells—red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Today, however, thanks to the work of NIH scientist Neal Young and others, the survival rate for this rare disease is above 80 percent.

Genetic Mechanisms of Hematopoiesis: An Interview with Paul Liu

BY LIN WANJEK-YASUTAKE, SPECIAL TO THE NIH CATALYST

Five-year-old reporter Lin Wanjek-Yasutake grilled NHGRI researcher Paul Liu, M.D., Ph.D., over lunch last month to learn how chance led him to study leukemia and how, 20 years onward, he is in preclinical experiments.

Foundations at NIH: To Help NIH When It Cannot Help Itself

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR INTRAMURAL RESEARCH AND RICHARD WYATT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH

Many folks have been asking us recently about the roles of two foundations associated with the NIH: essentially, what they fund and how. These organizations—the Foundation for NIH (FNIH) and the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES)—indeed have helped fund many important priorities at NIH. They are important partners in improving the scientific and training environment because NIHers are not allowed to ask anyone outside the NIH for money.

GENOME EXHIBIT COMING TO THE SMITHSONIAN: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

In a year marking the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project, as well as the 60th anniversary of Francis Crick and James Watson’s elucidation of DNA’s double-helix structure, the Smithsonian Institution and NHGRI collaborated on the creation of an exhibit that Nature magazine has identified as a “Hot ticket for 2013 in Science and Art.” Volunteers are needed to help lead informal education programs.

NIH Develops Improved Mouse Model of Alcoholic Liver Disease

BY ERIN BRYANT, NIAAA

Scientists may be better able to study how heavy drinking damages the liver using a new mouse model of alcohol drinking and disease developed by researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The model incorporates chronic and binge drinking patterns that more closely approximate alcoholic liver disease in humans than any existing method. A report of the new model appears in the March issue of the journal Nature Protocols (1).

History Mystery

The Office of NIH History came across a box with these instruments in it recently and is trying to determine whether they have anything to do with a project that former NIH scientist Roderic E. Steele was developing in the 1980s.

NIH’s Women Postdocs Are Tackling Challenging Diseases

BY MEGHAN MOTT, NIAAA

Nipah virus and stroke were featured at a recent seminar that recognized the achievements of two of NIH’s female postdocs: Emmie de Wit and Zhifei Wang, who presented their research at the Women Scientist Advisors (WSA) Scholars Seminar on March 29, 2013.

Jeffery Kopp (NIDDK) and Eva Mezey (NIDCR), who were recently tenured, talk about their research and other activities.

NIDA: RESETTING THE ADDICTED BRAIN

Could drug addiction treatment of the future be as simple as an on-off switch in the brain? A study in rats has found that stimulating a key part of the brain reduces compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior and suggests the possibility of changing addictive behavior generally. NIDA researchers used an animal model of cocaine addiction in which some rats exhibited addictive behavior by pushing levers to get cocaine even when followed by a mild electric shock to the foot. Other rats did not exhibit addictive responses.

The Training Page

The Fellows Committee shares career advice with postdocs and trainees. The Office of Intramural Training and Education provides information about helping incoming summer students and their mentors makes the most out of NIH.

Free Stuff

For Science on a Shoestring Budget

Do you need to order equipment or supplies or get rid of items you no longer need? Before you do anything, check out the NIH FreeStuff Web site (http://stuff.nih.gov) to see what you can get for free or give away.

News From and About the NIH Scientific Interest Groups

PROTEOSTASIS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

The newly formed Proteostasis Scientific Interest Group will host a one-day symposium sponsored on Monday, June 3, from 9:00-5:00 p.m., in Masur Audiorium (Building 10).