cancer
Six Paths Forward in Biomedical Research
Last month I moderated our annual retreat with the NIH Scientific Directors, those individuals tasked with leading their Institute or Center (IC)-based intramural research program. We were joined by many of the IC Clinical Directors. And this year we decided to do something a little different: listen to a series of talks about exciting, new IRP research.
Cool Videos: Looking Inside Living Cells
Roberto Weigert is a cell biologist who specializes in intravital microscopy (IVM), an extremely high-resolution imaging tool that traces its origins to the 19th century. What’s unique about IVM is its phenomenal resolution can be used in living animals, allowing researchers to watch biological processes unfold in organs under real physiological conditions and in real time.
A New Cures Act, a New Research Beginning
Many cultures through history marked the new year in the spring, at the vernal equinox in March when the daytime and nighttime at the equator are equal lengths, 12 hours each. That certainly makes sense: Spring is a time of renewal, as the earth is giving birth to new crops. And I'm surely in the mood for some renewal. One of the most exciting things I have to report is the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law on December 14, 2016.
Four NIH IRP Researchers Elected to National Academy of Medicine
This year, members of the National Academy of Medicine elected four NIH Intramural researchers to their ranks, one of the highest honors in science. Learn a bit about each of their research and follow the links to their IRP profiles for more information.
Exercise Releases Brain-Healthy Protein
We all know that exercise is important for a strong and healthy body. Less appreciated is that exercise seems also to be important for a strong and healthy mind, boosting memory and learning, while possibly delaying age-related cognitive decline. How is this so? Researchers have assembled a growing body of evidence that suggests skeletal muscle cells secrete proteins and other factors into the blood during exercise that have a regenerative effect on the brain.
Faith, Hope, and Determination Help Teenager Fight a Rare Cancer
Terran Dupree, 16, is one of the most positive teenagers you will ever meet. With the brightest smile and the most humbling personality, you would never know that she is fighting a rare form of cancer.
Remembering Robert B. Nussenblatt, 1948–2016
Last month we lost a remarkable investigator, Robert Nussenblatt, M.D., M.P.H., chief of the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Eye Institute (NEI). Bob was a world-renowned expert in uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in younger people. He was instrumental in establishing the pathology of and treatment for uveitis. Bob was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer just a few months ago. He remained characteristically optimistic even as his prognosis rapidly grew worse. He died on April 17, 2016, at age 67 with his family by his side. The NIH staff just devastated to hear the news of his death, because so few knew Bob was ill.
Sliding Through Science History
What do Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, and Apollo astronauts have in common? They all used slide rules! We're highlighting some of the slide rules in our collection used by scientists at the NIH in their quest to improve human health.
Epigenetics in Cancer Individualizes Environmental and Hereditary Risks
You may already know that diet, obesity, exposure to the sun, radiation, and hormones are just a few of the many risk factors associated with cancer diagnoses. But, do you know about other risk factors, especially those playing out through epigenetics, the molecular relationship between the environment and our DNA? Read more...
10 Questions with NIH Senior Investigator Howard Young
Highly talented scientists underlie the innovative biomedical research conducted at the NIH IRP. I asked one of them, Dr. Howard Young, Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Frederick, Maryland, campus, about how the environment of opportunity, access to resources, and proximity to cutting-edge science influences his work.
