NEI Director is Envisioning the Future of Eye Research
Vision is one of the most important ways we experience the world around us, so naturally, when disease and injury threaten sight, the impact of that loss can cause significant harm to our quality of life. That’s why, when Michael F. Chiang, M.D., became director of NIH’s National Eye Institute (NEI), he felt it was so important to incorporate this sentiment into his Institute’s new mission statement: “To eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research.”
This past fall, Dr. Chiang was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) for his own contributions to that mission, through his research on eye disease and the use of data and technology to improve treatment and access to vision care. His work has particularly focused on the diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a complication that can lead to blindness among premature and low-birthweight babies.
Research Could Lead to New Strategies for Treating Injuries
Modern medical advances mean that many people are not “only flesh and blood.” Mechanical devices and substances created in medical labs are commonly replacing or being added to parts of people’s bodies. A new IRP study has shed light on how some of those materials might influence the body’s healing process, providing insights that could eventually spur the creation of new ones that influence the behavior of the body’s immune system and allow doctors to better direct how the body repairs itself.
Lecture Explains Trinkets’ Links to Important Milestones
The history of NIH and its precursor institution, the Hygienic Laboratory, stretches back nearly 140 years — way longer than any human being has ever lived. Even when those who have witnessed history are still around, the fading of memories threatens to erase our knowledge of the past. Fortunately, with proper storage and care, objects like those in the collections of the Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum can last hundreds of years, providing enduring reminders of important historical milestones.
On December 11, Stetten Museum curator Michele Lyons used a dozen such objects to describe the evolution of NIH from its origins to the modern day. Her presentation touched on topics ranging from NIH’s founding in New York to its key role in creating national standards for heart valve replacement surgery to the American AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.
Long Careers at NIH Yield Groundbreaking Achievements
When you work at the National Institutes of Health, major advances in health and science can seem like a regular occurrence. Yet not all advances are created equal; some change entire paradigms for understanding and treating disease, even disarming a disease’s lethal effects.
This fall, three IRP senior investigators received Departmental Awards from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for their exceptional contributions to science: Louis M. Staudt, M.D., Ph.D., Elaine S. Jaffe, M.D., and Robert Yarchoan, M.D. Dr. Staudt received the HHS Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service for his revolutionary work on the diagnosis and treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL); Dr. Jaffe received the Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service for her pioneering discoveries about lymphomas and blood cancers; and Dr. Yarchoan received the HHS Career Achievement Award for his role in developing the first effective drugs for AIDS and developing treatments for HIV-associated cancers.
New Approach Preserves Cognitive Abilities in Pre-Symptomatic Mice
Cooks preparing traditional holiday feasts will surely find that a fire extinguisher can effectively quench an oven inferno, but it would probably be better if the oven never caught fire in the first place. Similarly, Alzheimer’s researchers have focused much more on putting out the biological fires scorching patients’ brains than on making brain cells ‘fireproof.’ A new IRP study in mice, however, suggests better results might be achieved with an approach specifically designed to make patients’ neurons more resilient.
IRP’s Warren Strober Breaks Down the Causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
For many, the holiday season brings expectations of delicious meals and treats with family and friends, but the nearly 1.6 million Americans who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may need to skip these delights or endure serious digestive distress. It’s fitting, then, that the first week of December is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week, an occasion that calls attention to the two conditions lumped together under the umbrella of IBD.
Of course, no awareness week is needed to remind IRP senior investigator Warren Strober, M.D., of the importance of learning more about those two conditions. An expert in how the immune system operates within the digestive system, Dr. Strober has spent decades looking for ways to provide relief for IBD sufferers.
The IRP community is profoundly saddened by the passing of S. Perwez Hussain, Ph.D., Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He died on November 24, 2023, after living with stage 4 colon cancer for many years.
For over 25 years, Perwez led translational research that could be brought into clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer and he established the pancreatic cancer research program in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis. He was known as an exceptional scientist, caring mentor, kind colleague and friend to many.
Dr. Richard Remigio Studies the Health Repercussions of Changing Environmental Conditions
Summer 2023 started off on an ominous note. On June 7th, New Yorkers woke up to a deep orange skyline over Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, resembling a scene from a dystopian novel. Air quality indices there reached ‘code maroon,’ warning that being outdoors was dangerous even for healthy people. Americans and Europeans would subsequently endure some of the highest summer temperatures on record, and in August, wildfires devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui.
These and many other recent events have made it clear how much climate change already affects people’s lives. One of the people trying to combat those consequences is Richard Remigio, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
IRP’s Darryl Zeldin Investigates New Ways to Combat Bacterial Pneumonia
Our immune system is supposed to block infections like pneumonia, and in most instances, it does. Even so, nearly 1 million Americans each year become sick enough from pneumonia to require a visit to the hospital, and for about 50,000, the lung infection is deadly.
Multiple types of infectious organisms can cause pneumonia, and doctors use antibiotics to treat cases caused by bacteria. Unfortunately, bacteria are resilient organisms that have waged an evolutionary battle against our antibiotics ever since penicillin was first discovered, leading to alarming rates of antibiotic-resistant infections. It’s no wonder, then, that the public health community calls attention to this life-threatening conundrum each November during Antibiotic Awareness Week.
Treatment Strategy Could Mop Up Virus Hiding in Patients’ Bodies
As temperatures drop in the fall, a variety of species from groundhogs to bears prepare to wait out the winter in their dens. Much like these animals, HIV also goes into hibernation when conditions are tough, a trait that has long stymied efforts to develop a cure. However, IRP researchers recently tested a promising strategy that might one day be used to flush out and kill dormant remnants of HIV.
This page was last updated on Friday, January 14, 2022
