Announcements

2013 NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS IN CHEMISTRY COMING TO NIH

Michael Levitt: “The Birth and Future of Computational Structural Biology”

Monday, November 18, 2013
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Masur Auditorium (Building 10)

The event will also be videocast: http://videocast.nih.gov.

Arieh Warshel: “Computer Simulations of Biological Functions”

Wednesday, November 20, 2013
1:00-2:00 p.m.
Masur Auditorium (Building 10)

The event will also be videocast: http://videocast.nih.gov.

CHEN LECTURE ON INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Friday, November 22, 2013
10:00-11:00 a.m. (reception follows)
Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10)

Clifton Barry (section chief and senior investigator, NIAID) and Carol Nacy (co-founder and CEO of Sequella, Inc) will present the eighth annual Philip S. Chen, Jr., Distinguished Lecture on Innovation and Technology Transfer: “TB: It Takes More Than a Village to Raise a Remedy.” To watch the lecture online, visit http://videocast.nih.gov. Individuals with disabilities who need Sign Language Interpreters and/or reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact Joe Kleinman at 301-496-0472 and/or the Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339). Requests should be made at least 5 days in advance of the event.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON LECTURE SERIES (WALS)

Most Wednesdays, 3:00–4:00 p.m.
Masur Auditorium (Building 10)

• November 20: Annual Astute Clinician Lecture, Marston Linehan (NCI): “The Genetic Basis of Kidney Cancer: Targeting the Metabolic Basis of Disease”
• December 4: Susan Rosenberg (Baylor College of Medicine): “How Bacteria and Cancer Cells Regulate Mutagenesis and Their Ability to Evolve”
• December 11: The Annual G. Burroughs Mider Lecture, Steve Holland (NIAID): “The Protean Manifestations of GATA2 Deficiency across the Lifespan”
• December 18: Clyde Yancy (Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine): “Patient-centered Outcomes Research: New Directions, Major Challenges, Transformative Potential”

For a complete WALS schedule, go to http://wals.od.nih.gov.

FROM BIG DATA TO LITTLE KNOWLEDGE

NIH Biomedical Computing (BCIG) Lecture

Friday, December 13, 2013
3:30–5:00 p.m.
Building 50, Room 1328/1334

Vladimir Cherkassky (University of Minnesota) will present a critical discussion of the popular view that “more data generates more knowledge” and on the the methodological aspects of data-analytic knowledge discovery in the context of applications in health care and life sciences. All are welcome to a pre-event social at 3:00 p.m. by the coffee shop outside the meeting room. For more information, contact Jim DeLeo (jdeleo@nih.gov or 301-496-3848).

DEMYSTIFYING MEDICINE 2014

Tuesdays, starting January 7, 2014
4:00–6:00 p.m.
Building 50 Conference Room

The “DeMystifying Medicine” course, in its 12th year, bridges the gap between advances in biology and their application to human disease. Each class features presentations by a clinician, a researcher, and often a patient. For more information, a complete schedule, and instructions on how to sign up, visit http://demystifyingmedicine.od.nih.gov or contact Win Arias at ariasi@mail.nih.gov.

• January 7: “Worldwide Emergence of Drug-resistant Infections and What’s Being Done about It”; Anthony Fauci, M.D. (NIAID), Jeffrey Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D. (NIAID)
• January 14: “Itching (Pruritus): Mechanisms, Diseases, and Treatment”; Mark Hoon, Ph.D. (NIDCR); Irwin Arias, M.D. (NICHD/CC)
• January 21: “Cancer Screening: Science vs. Intuition (Ex. Prostate Cancer)”; Barnett Kramer, M.D., M.P.H. (NCI), Peter Pinto, M.D. (NCI)
• January 28: “Adaptor Diseases: Bridging Cell Biology and Medicine”; Juan Bonifacino, Ph.D. (NICHD), Craig Blackstone, M.D., Ph.D. (NINDS)
• February 4: “Obesity: Etiology, Pathogenesis, and Why Weight Loss Is Difficult”; Jack Yanovski, M.D., Ph.D. (NICHD), Kevin Hall, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
• February 11: “HIV: Changing Paradigms and the Washington-Baltimore Scene”; John Coffin, Ph.D. (NCI), Henry Masur, M.D. (CC)
• February 18: “Pertussis (Whooping Cough): A Lesson in Vaccines”; John Robbins, M.D. (NICHD), Alexandra Freeman, M.D. (NIAID)
• February 25: “Chromosomal Translocation: Cellular Mechanism and Clinical Consequence”; Tom Misteli, Ph.D. (NCI), John Barrett, M.D. (NHLBI)
• March 4: “The Intestinal Microbiome: Role in Nutrition, Metabolism, and Inflammation”; Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D. (NIAID), Warren Strober, M.D. (NIAID)
• March 11: “Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink”; Karen Frank, M.D., Ph.D. (CC), Gordon Hager, Ph.D. (NCI)
• March 18: “Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Who, What, When, and How”; Leonard Seefe, M.D. (formerly NIH/FDA), Chris Austin, M.D. (NCATS)
• March 25: “Human Papillomavirus: Preventing Cancer”; Douglas Lowy, M.D. (NCI), Carter VanWaes, M.D., Ph.D. (NIDCD)
• April 1: “Malaria: Origin and Advances in the World’s Major Killer”; Beatrice Hahn, M.D. (University of Pennsylvania), Carolina V. Barillas-Mury, M.D., Ph.D. (NIAID)
• April 8: “Drug Resistance in Cancer: Mechanisms and Management”; Michael Gottesman, M.D. (NCI), Antonio Tito Fojo, M.D., Ph.D. (NCI)
• April 15: “HAV and HCV RNA Viruses: Clinical and Basic Advances and Challenges”; Marc Ghany, M.D. (NIDDK), Nihal Altan-Bonner, Ph.D. (NHLBI)
• April 22: “Transplanting Hearts and Other Organs”; Jonah Odim, M.D., Ph.D. (NIAID), Allison Sklarew (Washington Regional Transplant Community)
• April 29: “Sleep: Perchance to Dream”; Carolyn Beebe Smith, Ph.D. (NIMH), Susan Harbison, Ph.D. (NHLBI)
• May 6: Finale (to be announced)

INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUG (IND) APPLICATIONS

What You Need to Know for Successful Interactions with the FDA

Thursday, December 12, 2013
8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10)
Registration deadline: December 5, 2013

Clinical investigators, clinical research study coordinators, and clinical and translational research scientists and trainees are invited to participate in this educational program offered by the NIH Clinical Center-FDA CDER Joint Task Force. The program emphasizes regulatory requirements for clinical trials of new and repurposed drugs, with a special focus on rare diseases. The course will provide training in FDA regulations for NIH investigators involved in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials of investigational drugs; describe the IND-enabling elements of nonclinical research that are required to implement a first-in-human clinical trial; address special considerations applicable to drug development for rare diseases, including the limited number of patients and the need for well-designed, efficient, and informative phase 1-2 clinical trials to support further development of novel therapies for rare diseases; and provide information on new Web-based tools that will facilitate IND submission. To register, go to the registration site. For more information, contact Juan Lertora (lertoraj@cc.nih.gov or 301-496-9425).

A NEW FABRIC FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH: APPLICATION TO THE PAIN PROBLEM

Monday, December 16, 2013
9:00–10:00 a.m.
Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10)

This year’s Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary Health Therapies will be presented by Robert Califf (Duke University Medical Center), who will examine the advent of “big data” and how they unite patients, families, providers, administrators, and researchers; and the impact of big data on the management of chronic pain. For more information, go to http://nccam.nih.gov/news/events/lectures or contact
Prachi Patel (patelp2@mail.nih.gov or 301-594-1030). The event will also be videocast: http://videocast.nih.gov.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Interested in medicine and history? Love museums? Become a volunteer docent at the National Museum of Health and Medicine! The medical museum (http://www.medicalmuseum.mil), in Silver Spring, M.D., is seeking volunteer docents to conduct outreach activities, support public programs, or lead tours of the permanent exhibits “Innovations in Military Medicine,” “Anatomy and Pathology,” “Civil War Medicine,” “Biomedical Engineering,” and “Human Identification and Microscopes.” Prerequisites include being at least 21 years of age and having an open, flexible schedule (weekday and weekend opportunities are available). Training will be provided. To become a volunteer or to request more information e-mail medicalmuseum@amed.army.mil or call 301-319-3312.

AWARDS

Three NIH Investigators Elected to the Institute of Medicine

Three NIH intramural scientists were recently elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Membership in this prestigious advisory body is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine. Ron Germain, chief of the Laboratory of Systems Biology and the Lymphocyte Biology Section at NIAID; Warren Leonard, chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and director of the Immunology Center at NHBLI; and Daniel Pine, chief of the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience at NIMH are among the 70 new members elected to IOM this year. This honor reflects the scientists’ exemplary contributions to the medical sciences, health care, and public health.

Germain’s research has increased understanding of immune-cell responses and interactions, and he has helped pioneer live-animal imaging methods and analysis as well as modeling of immune-cell dynamics. Leonard’s work centers on the biology of immune signaling molecules called cytokines, and his major accomplishments include identifying the molecular causes of several forms of human inherited immunodeficiency. Pine, a child psychiatrist, focuses his research on the epidemiology, biology, and treatment of pediatric mental illnesses, and he has contributed to our understanding of the biological and pharmacological aspects of mood, anxiety, and behavioral disorders in children.