Announcements

NIH WISER SURVEY: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JANUARY 15, 2014

Help NIH work toward creating an inclusive and supportive environment for research (WISER). Participate in the WISER survey online at http://WISER.nih.gov. It will take 15 only minutes of your time. To identify some of the barriers faced by staff and make improvements as an organization, NIH needs to know how its employees and trainees are experiencing personal success, diversity, inclusion, and mentoring. For more information, contact the survey office at WISER@mail.nih.gov or 301-827-4000

NLM SPECIAL EXHIBIT: FROM DNA TO BEER

Online: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/fromdnatobeer
On display through April 18: History of Medicine Reading Room, NLM (Building 38, first floor)

The National Library of Medicine in cooperation with the National Museum of American History launched “From DNA to Beer: Harnessing Nature in Medicine and Industry” on November 18, 2013, and the exhibit will continue through April 18, 2014. The exhibition explores some of the processes, problems, and potential inherent in technologies that use microorganisms for health and commercial purposes. Over the past two centuries, scientists, in partnership with industry, have developed techniques using and modifying life forms like yeast, molds, and bacteria, to create a host of new therapies and produce better foods and beverages. The exhibition illustrates the history of this dynamic relationship among microbes, medicine, technology, and industry, which has spanned centuries. It includes a selection of artifacts from the collections of both organizations that illuminate relationships between science, industry, and the public in historical context.

“PLASTICITY BEYOND THE SYNAPSE—REGULATION OF MYELINATION BY ACTION POTENTIALS”

Neuron-Glia Interactions (SIG) Lecture
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
2:00–3:00 p.m.
Building 40, Room 1201/1203

Douglas Fields (NICHD senior investigator and section chief; editor-in-chief of Neuron Glia Biology) will be making a presentation at the Neuron-Glia Interactions SIG meeting. All meetings and the SIG are open to all members of the NIH community and extramural researchers in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. For more information contact Amy Shafqat at amy.shafqat@nih.gov. To join the LISTSERV, send your request to neuron-glia@list.nih.gov. (See page 7 for more on this SIG.)

THE OFFICE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS (ODS) RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Letters of Intent due May 2

The ODS Research Scholars Program is a one-year competitive scholarship opportunity to study the role of dietary supplements in health promotion and disease prevention. This program is targeted to early-career scientists, including tenure-track investigators, early independent scientists, research fellows, staff fellows, and postdoctoral fellows who have at least one year of postdoctoral research experience. Projects are generally limited to one year of funding and cannot exceed $100,000. For more information, contact Cindy Davis at davisci@mail.nih.gov.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE (PRAT) PROGRAM

Application deadline: March 7, 2014

The PRAT program, sponsored by NIGMS, is now accepting applications for the fall 2014 class. PRAT is a competitive fellowship program providing up to three years of support for fellows conducting research within the NIH or FDA Intramural Research Programs. Fellows participate in an ongoing scientific seminar series tailored to the PRAT program, as well as receive additional training in a variety of career skills and mentoring. Research proposed by PRAT fellows encompasses a wide variety of emerging areas of science, but a particular emphasis is placed on projects incorporating aspects of quantitative and systems pharmacology or computational biology. Additional information about eligibility, definition of research areas of emphasis, and the application process can be found at http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Training/pages/PRAT.aspx or contact the PRAT program director at prat@nigms.nih.gov or 301-594-3827.

TRANSFORMATIONAL MEDICINE IN THE MITOCHONDRIAL AGE

Wednesday, April 2, 2014
8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (WALS 3:00–4:00 p.m.)
Poster Abstracts due February 28, 2014
Event URL: https://2014migsymposium.eventbrite.com

All are welcome to attend this day-long symposium, which includes the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture in the late afternoon. The morning session on “Mitochondria and the Brain” and the afternoon session on “Mitochondria, Cancer, and Innovative Technology” will feature scientists from NIA, NICHD, NINDS, NHLBI, NCI, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The WALS speaker, Doug Wallace (Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania), will give a presentation entitled “A Mitochondrial Etiology of Metabolic and Degenerative Diseases, Cancer and Aging.” Registration is not required unless you wish to submit a poster abstract. Two poster abstracts will be chosen by intramural NIH scientists for platform presentations. The WALS portion will be videocast and archived at http://videocast.nih.gov. To submit poster abstracts or for information about the speakers, go to https://2014migsymposium.eventbrite.com. To request reasonable accommodation, contact Steve Zullo at steven.zullo@nih.gov or 240-271-7097 or call the Federal Relay, 800-877-8339.

NIH MANAGEMENT INTERN PROGRAM

Unlock a New Career Path
Recruiting: April 7–11, 2014

The NIH Training Center is pleased to announce the new recruitment season for Management Interns (MIs). The MI program is a highly competitive, two-year career-development program for current NIH employees. MIs come from a variety of job backgrounds including scientific and administrative fields. On completion of the program, MIs transition into an administrative or management career in one of many areas throughout NIH. Eligible employees are invited to apply. For program FAQs, upcoming information sessions, and details about eligibility, visit http://trainingcenter.nih.gov/intern/mi/.

AWARDS

PECASE WINNERS

The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) are the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. NIH intramural scientists have been on the list of PECASE recipients every year since 1997. Congratulations to the 2012 winners: Jessica Gill (NINR), who is seeking effective ways to identify trauma patients who are at high risk for psychological and neurological deficits and inform the interventions that will support their recovery; Susan Harbison (NHLBI), who is investigating the genetic networks underlying sleep and their interactions with the environment; and Todd Macfarlan (NICHD), who is exploring fundamental mechanisms of gene regulation and epigenetic inheritance during embryo development.

DEMYSTIFYING MEDICINE 2014

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

The “DeMystifying Medicine” course, in its 13th 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: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER; RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 6
• 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: “Sleep: Perchance to Dream”; Carolyn Beebe Smith, Ph.D. (NIMH), Susan Harbison, Ph.D. (NHLBI)
• 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-Bonnet, 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: “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)
• May 6: “Cancer Screening: Science vs. Intuition (Example Prostate Cancer)”; Barnett Kramer, M.D., M.P.H. (NCI), Peter Pinto, M.D. (NCI) [resched from January 21]