Announcements

2012 NIH RESEARCH FESTIVAL

October 9–12, 2012

Don’t miss this annual showcase of NIH intramural research. The opening session—“The NIH at 125: Today’s Discoveries, Tomorrow’s Cures”—celebrates NIH’s humble beginnings as a one-room laboratory created within the Marine Hospital Service in 1887. Other features: concurrent symposia, posters, the scientific equipment tent show, and opportunities to enjoy lively entertainment and conversation with colleagues. For more information, contact Jacqueline Roberts (robertsjm@od.nih.gov or 301-594-6747).

NEW NIH WEB SITES LAUNCHED

NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine: http://crm.nih.gov
Human Research Protections Program: http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/

SPECIAL NIH DIRECTOR’S LECTURE

Wednesday, July 25, 2012
3:00–4:00 p.m.
Masur Auditorium (Building 10)

National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh will give a lecture on basic research at the convergence of physical and life sciences with a particular focus on human diseases. For more information, contact Jacqueline Roberts (robertsjm@od.nih.gov or 301-594-6747).

MOLECULAR INSIGHTS ON AGING

Thursday July 12, 2012
1:00–2:00 p.m.
Masur Auditorium (Building 10)

NIH Director Francis Collins will deliver a seminar on recent developments in the field of progeria, a rare genetic disease that causes accelerated aging. Collins helped identify the responsible gene. The seminar, sponsored by the Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG), will be videocast at http://videocast.nih.gov. For reasonable accommodation, contact Felipe Sierra (Sierraf@nia.nih.gov or 301-496-6402). For more information on GSIG visit http://sigs.nih.gov/geroscience.

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL FAIR

Friday, July 20, 2011
9:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Natcher Conference Center (Building 45)
Lister Hill Auditorium (Building 38A)

The fair includes more than 100 colleges and universities; workshops on making successful transitions and interviewing; and panels on getting into graduate and professional school and on careers in public health, pharmacy, and psychology. For more information and to register, visit https://www.training.nih.gov/gp_fair.

STEM CELL SEMINAR SERIES

September 4, 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m., Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10): Lorenz Studer, Director, Sloan Kettering Institute for Stem Cell Biology (videocast at http://videocast.nih.gov/)
September 18, 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m., Building 50, Room 1227: TBD
For more information, contact nihcrm@mail.nih.gov.

PIONEER AWARD SYMPOSIUM

September 13–14, 2012
Doubletree Bethesda Hotel, Bethesda
Free and open to all; no registration required

Includes presentations by the 2007 Pioneer Award recipients; talks by selected recipients of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award; and poster sessions by Pioneer and New Innovator awardees. For more information, visit http://commonfund.nih.gov/pioneer/Symposium2012 or e-mail pioneer@nih.gov.

FRONTIERS IN BASIC IMMUNOLOGY

Thursday, October 4: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Friday, October 5: 8:30 a.m.–noon
Masur Auditorium and Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10)
Abstract deadline: August 17, 2012

Learn about the latest findings in lymphocyte biology and signaling, adaptive and innate immune responses, and immunity and disease. Sponsored by NCI’s Center of Excellence in Immunology. Registration is free, but seating is limited. To register and submit abstracts go to http://web.ncifcrf.gov/events/Immunology2012.

BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH RETREAT

Monday, October 22, 2012
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Natcher Conference Center (Building 45)

The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research will host this event featuring scientific discussions on behavioral and social sciences research. For more information, contact Dana Sampson (dana.sampson@nih.gov).

NCATS: DISCOVERING NEW THERAPEUTIC USES FOR EXISTING MOLECULES

NCATS has partnered with eight pharmaceutical companies and launched a collaborative program that will match researchers with dozens of pharmaceutical industry compounds that haven’t been commercialized. Intramural research program investigators are eligible to compete for access to the drug candidates. Research support would need to come through the appropriate scientific director’s intramural funds. Interested investigators must submit a pre-application by August 14 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-12-203.html). For more information, visit ncats.nih.gov/therapeutics.html.

AWARDS

Gisela Storz (NICHD) has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. A major focus of her group has been the study of the bacterial and fungal responses to oxidative stress. As a result of the serendipitous discovery of the peroxide-induced OxyS RNA, one of the first small, regulatory RNAs to be identified, her lab shifted to the genome-wide identification and characterization of small RNAs in bacteria.

NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research contributed to the first effective therapy for sickle cell anemia. Other notable members of the 2012 class include actor and director Clint Eastwood, musician Sir Paul McCartney, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In recognition of her contribution to science and scientific interactions between Japan and the United States, Keiko Ozato (NICHD) received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, from the Japanese government. She has been the chair of the NIH-Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship from its inception in 1996 and has helped young Japanese scientists conduct high-caliber research with intramural PIs. She also helped organize a relief effort for biomedical researchers affected by the 2011 earthquake in Japan. NIAMS Director Stephen Katz received a similar medal, an Order of the Rising Sun, in 2011.