IRP Discoveries

Taking a “Moonshot” at Cancer

In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called America to action and asserted that our researchers can find the cure for cancer, a sentiment that received a standing ovation. We believe that Obama is right.

Statisticians Seek Improved Biomarker Utility

When you hear “biomarker,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? BRCA1? Fluorescently labeled G-proteins? Those are two well-known examples, but biomarkers (short for “biological markers”) are actually a much broader group of biological signs than just genetic or cellular traits.

Danping Liu and Aiyi Liu

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Addiction Research

By bringing together researchers from different disciplines, the IRP tackles some of the biggest questions in science from multiple angles. Here are just a few examples of the many diverse approaches that Intramural scientists take to better understand addiction.

Enlisting mHealth in the Fight Against River Blindness

Reblogged from the NIH Director's Blog. Originally posted by Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director, on June 4, 2015.

When it comes to devising new ways to provide state-of-the art medical care to people living in remote areas of the world, smartphones truly are helping scientists get smarter. For example, an NIH-supported team working in Central Africa recently turned an iPhone into a low-cost video microscope capable of quickly testing to see if people infected with a parasitic worm called Loa loa can safely receive a drug intended to protect them from a different, potentially blinding parasitic disease.

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Tracing the Neural Circuitry of Appetite

Reblogged from the NIH Director's Blog. Originally posted by Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director, on May 5, 2015.

If you’ve ever skipped meals for a whole day or gone on a strict, low-calorie diet, you know just how powerful the feeling of hunger can be. Your stomach may growl and rumble, but, ultimately, it’s your brain that signals when to start eating—and when to stop. So, learning more about the brain’s complex role in controlling appetite is crucial to efforts to develop better ways of helping the millions of Americans afflicted with obesity.