The problem of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections has been with us for many years. These organisms tend to be resistant to most antibiotics in common use, since hospital patients are exposed routinely to potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics. The recent cluster of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC) at the NIH Clinical Center, fatal to seven of 19 infected or colonized patients with compromised immune systems, represents the tip of an iceberg illustrating the increasing intransigence of microbes to treatment with antibiotics. It also demonstrates how the NIH intramural research program is able to apply cutting-edge technology to identify an important public health problem and develop a strategy to deal with it.
Joseph Kinyoun, the Hygienic Laboratory, and the Origins of the NIH
BY EVA ÅHRÉN, OFFICE OF NIH HISTORY
In Building One on the NIH campus, next to the main floor elevators, hangs a portrait of a middle-aged man with rolled-up sleeves, one hand on his hip, the other on a shiny brass microscope. A plaque identifies the subject as “Joseph J. Kinyoun, Director of the Hygienic Laboratory, 1887-1899.” The National Institutes of Health traces its origins back to the Hygienic Laboratory (HL), the first federal laboratory of medical bacteriology.
Update: Material Transfer Agreements Made Even Easier
BY TAD SUPPORT TEAM
Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) just became even easier to manage and maintain thanks to the new and improved Transfer Agreement Dashboard (TAD). New features include an online catalog of frequently requested NIH materials and the ability to create MTAs for transfers of materials into the NIH.
Your heart pounds. Your palms sweat and become clammy. Your mind goes blank. All because someone asked, “So, what about you?” It’s time to describe your work, in two minutes or less, without visual aids, to a fellow scientist in a different discipline.
News From and About the NIH Scientific Interest Groups
New SIG: Bioinformatics
The Bioinformatics Interest Group focuses on fundamental and specific bioinformatics concepts and methodologies and provides novices with an opportunity to learn from and discuss career advice with experts in the field.
The DEMYSTIFYING MEDICINE course starts its 11th year on January 8, 2013, and will be held on Tuesdays, through May 7, 4:00-5:30 p.m., in the Building 50 Conference Room. Learn more about this course, NIH lectures and events, awards, and other announcements.
