Have you ever wondered why someone becomes a biochemist or a biophysicist, or how to find a career in both fields at the same time? Peter Bandettini, Ph.D., is Director of the Functional Magnetic Resonance Facility and Chief of the Unit on Functional Imaging Methods at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). In the interview below, he shares some thoughts on what motivates him and what it's like working at the NIH IRP.
When I was growing up, my grandfather would visit and try to teach me thermodynamics. At the time, I thought that this was normal conversation between a grandfather and a little girl. It was several years before I realized that he was an eminent scientist in his home country. My grandfather would always ask me, “How is your science?”
This dapper bee from 1977 advertised an NHLBI-sponsored multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial designed to test the benefits of beta-blockers for people who had had a heart attack. The study was called the Beta-Blocker Heart Attack Trial (BHAT). Ah, you say—that’s why the bee in the hat!
Following on the successful launch and continued expansion of the IRP Web site, we turned our attention to developing a new, allied Web site to give people a broader view of the programs overseen by the Office of Intramural Research (OIR). The new site (oir.nih.gov), which is officially making its debut today, is intended to provide “one-stop shopping” regarding the oversight and coordination of the research, training, and technology transfer activities that take place within each Institute’s and Center’s intramural program, across all of our research campuses nationwide.
One of the best parts of a new idea is being able to share it! Research is certainly no exception. On Thursday, April 30th, the postbacs of NIH will be sharing their ideas and findings at Postbac Poster Day.
We honor Dr. Hans L. Falk (1919 -1985) this Earth Day (April 22, but celebrated today, April 23, at NIH) for his significant contributions to the field of environmental health science as both a scientist and an administrator.
Ever since the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, scientists have sought ways to edit the genome. Altering gene expression partially and transiently via small interfering RNA has come a long way, and the progress has been spectacular. However, achieving complete and sustained modification of gene expression in a cell remains a tedious procedure that is often costly and time-consuming. For molecular biologists working with cell lines, quick and efficient knock out of one or more genes would provide a powerful tool for their studies. The CRISPR technology arrived two years ago to potentially fulfill that need.
Countries that grow poppies used to hold a monopoly on the ingredients to the main opiate painkilling drugs. Then in 1979, Dr. Kenner Rice of NIDDK’s Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry (he is now at NIDA) discovered the critical chemical reaction enabling large-scale production of totally synthetic morphine, codeine, and thebaine, the three basic raw materials in opium.
Welcome to LabTV! If you haven’t already, take a look at this video. I hope you will enjoy meeting the first young scientist featured in this brand new series that I’ve chosen to highlight on my blog. The inspiration for LabTV comes from Jay Walker, who is the founder of PriceLine, and curator and chairman of TEDMED, an annual conference focused on new ideas in health and medicine.
Monitoring cell movement. Examining the microenvironment of a tumor. Mapping a gene. Scientists at the NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR)—the intramural research program at the National Cancer Institute—use a wide variety of microscopy techniques to observe and probe the otherwise invisible processes that drive cancer at the molecular level
This page was last updated on Friday, January 14, 2022
