IRP Staff Blogger

Hello! Thank you for visiting the I Am Intramural Blog. Our goal is to bring you thoughts and experiences from scientists and clinicians of the NIH Intramural Research Program. If you have questions about the blog, please email IRPinfo@mail.nih.gov.

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Time-Lapse: Students Build Microscope in 4 Minutes

As part of a microscopy course at the National Center For Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India, Dr. Hari Shroff and Dr. Abhishek Kumar of the NIBIB IRP led a team of students in building a dual-view selective plane illumination microscope (diSPIM). It took them about eight hours to complete, but you can view the whole process in just four minutes in the timelapse video below:

Fighting Obesity Every Which Way We Can

The solution to obesity seems simple on the surface—fewer calories in, more calories out—but for those who have tried to lose weight, it's usually not an easy task, partly because weight is the product of many interrelated factors: environment, family history and genetics, behavior, metabolism, and others. Investigators at the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) are studying all of those aspects and more to further understand the disease and better inform public health initiatives.

“I am Intramural” Series: Access to Resources

Sharing resources and expertise ranks as a top priority for biomedical researchers around the world. And the reason is pretty straightforward: scientific research is expensive. Really expensive.

lab bottles

The Long Run

On Monday, January 26, about 150 people tackled the Arrowhead 135 ultramarathon, a race through 135 miles of frigid landscape near International Falls, Minnesota. They biked, ran, and skied for almost 70 hours in -30°F air to reach their goal.

winter runner

The Power of Vaccines Research

Long recognized as essential to global health, vaccines protect individuals and populations from contagion and the reappearance of eradicated diseases. Vaccination against deadly diseases prevents two to three million deaths worldwide every year, and there are significant economic benefits as well. In the United States, every dollar spent on the routine childhood immunization program saves society more than $16 in future costs.

HPV vaccine molecule

“I am Intramural” Series: Freedom & Flexibility

In our latest post in the “I am Intramural” series, we want to touch on the second theme to emerge from our survey into what being part of the NIH IRP means to our scientists and staff – “freedom and flexibility.”

IRP Review Process

Era of the Brain at 2014 NIH Research Festival

The NIH Research Festival always has a strong theme running through it, from “Bench-to-Bedside” in 2002 and “Chromosomes in Modern Biology and Medicine” in 2007 to “The NIH at 125: Today's Discoveries, Tomorrow's Cures” in 2012. The year 2014 was no different, but it marked the first time that the Festival was focused on a single organ within the human body: the brain.

2014 NIH Research Festival

Ebola: Scientific Research in Search of a Public Health Solution

As the international community continues to seek collaborative approaches to contain and eradicate the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, we are reminded that these efforts are also an investment in our own public health. Only by defeating a virus at its source can we prevent infectious diseases from spreading to other countries.

Ebola

Breaking the Chains Forged in Life

In Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who help him to see the error of his ways and embrace a life of service. Scrooge is then able to correct the actions that could have led to his demise. Researchers studying epigenetics take on a similar task.

Marley's Ghost

A Sweet Time of Year at the Clinical Center

No need to stand in the cold for a glimpse of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade when you can see it at the NIH Clinical Center! Want to go to space and have a look at the Apollo capsule? It’s here, too. Starting in 2004, the NIH Clinical Center has presented a wonderful annual display of gingerbread houses built by teams of NIH staff.

Anatomy of the Gingerbread Man

This page was last updated on Thursday, January 20, 2022