Diversity Course

Crucial Lessons for Scientists

BY IRENE AVILA, NIA

Participants stood silently in a circle, stepping forward in response to prompts that ranged from lighthearted statements about musical tastes—”I like rock and roll music”—to more serious ones—”I have more than five friends of a different racial or ethnic background,” “I or someone I care about is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered,” or “My parents paid for my college tuition.”

Read more

Wei Yang: Deciphering the Three Rs of DNA

BY JENNIFER SARGENT, NIAMS

Fifteen years ago, the scientific world was skeptical when structural biologist Wei Yang reported she had identified unexpected enzymatic activity in one of the proteins that played an essential role in maintaining genome stability. Other scientists attributed her findings to contamination during protein purification procedures.

Read more

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Celebrating the Global Community of Scientists at the NIH

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR

The United States has benefited from a huge influx of highly educated and talented biomedical researchers from other countries. Their desire for an outstanding research experience is matched by our open and inclusive attitude towards our international colleagues in providing opportunities (including salary and research support) to pursue important research. The NIH intramural research program is perceived as being one of the top research facilities in the world.

Read more

Photographic Moment

Sunrise

Read more

U.S. Senator Harry Reid Visits NIH

Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) visited NIH on June 17, 2013, and met with Clinical Center Director John Gallin (left) and NIH Director Francis Collins (right) and others to tour the Clinical Center (model shown) and to learn about recent advances in NIH science.

Read more

Four Generations of Mentors and More

BY ROLAND A. OWENS, OIR

Great mentoring produces great scientists, great science, and more great mentoring. Nowhere is this adage more evident than at the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), where four successful mentors were recognized at its annual Poster Day and Mentoring Awards Ceremony, held on May 8, 2013, in Baltimore. And three of the awardees represent a line of four generations of mentors.

Read more

Alumni News

An Interview with Hynda Kleinman

The Matrigel-Maker’s Story

BY LAURA STEPHENSON CARTER

Hynda Kleinman, who worked at NIH from 1975 to 2006, revolutionized cell-culture research when she co-invented Matrigel at NIH in the 1980s. Until then, scientists mainly grew cells in a flat layer in plastic culture dishes, but Matrigel made it possible to grow cells in a three-dimensional matrix that closely resembles the natural environments in which most mammalian cells grow. In a recent interview with the NIH Catalyst, Kleinman shared some of the secrets of her success, including how she came to be listed in the credits of a classic movie.

Read more

Alumni News

Tee L. Guidotti, a former clinical associate in the National Institute of Metabolism and Digestive Diseases (1977 to 1979) who is considered a thought leader in the field of occupational and environmental medicine, was recently awarded the William S. Knudsen Award for Lifetime Career Achievement in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Read more

Colleagues: Recently Tenured

Meet your recently tenured colleagues: Michael Grigg (NIAID) and Sushil Rane (NIDDK)

Read more

Research Briefs

NIH announced recently that it plans to substantially reduce the use of chimpanzees in NIH-funded biomedical research and to designate for retirement most of the chimpanzees it currently owns or supports. In addition, NIH researchers report on such discoveries as how HIV kills immune cells; the link between allergic and autoimmune diseases; how anti-smoking medication may help treat alcohol dependence; and more.

Read more