The SIG Beat

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE NIH SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

NEW SIG: RESEARCH REPOSITORIES AND PATIENT REGISTRIES (INCLUDES BIOSPECIMENTS INTEREST GROUP)

In conjunction with the NIH Office of the Director and the Clinical Center, the Research Repositories and Patient Registries Scientific Interest Group (SIG) was established. With the launch of the Precision Medicine and Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiatives, patient registries have been in the spotlight around the globe and recognized as an essential resource for accelerating research and making improvements in health care. The new SIG will facilitate discussion and the sharing of thoughts, knowledge, and data on a wide range of topics. Invited speakers will be from the NIH, from within the United States, and from other countries. The SIG can facilitate collaboration not only within NIH but also with different organizations around the world. The existing Biospecimens Interest Group (BIG) is being merged into the new SIG and will be managed by Yaffa Rubinstein from NCATS. Biospecimens members as well as others interested in signing up for the new SIG should register for the REPOSITORIES_AND_REGISTRIES-L LISTSERV at https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=REPOSITORIES_AND_REGISTRIES-L&A=1. For more information, contact Yaffa Rubinstein at Yaffa.Rubinstein@NIH.gov.

NEW SIG: MOBILE HEALTH

The mHealth SIG, established in September 2015, is a forum for the rapid exchange of ideas and information about the use of mobile technologies for assessment of or intervention in health-care matters. Open to NIH intramural investigators at all levels, the mHealth SIG’s goals are to enable members to network and solve problems, enhance intramural access to new technology, promote mHealth research intramurally and extramurally, and prepare a framework for “path to approval” for new projects. The group meets monthly and maintains a LISTSERV. One advantage of getting involved now is that the priorities and practices are fairly open to input from new attendees. The next two meetings will be Wednesday March 23, 2016, and Wednesday April 27, 2016, both at 10:00 a.m. They will be held in Conference Room 2-3330 (Building 10). For more information, contact Kenzie Preston (kpreston@intra.nida.nih.gov). Directions to the conference room: From the north entrance of Building 10, go down the left corridor past the Au Bon Pain coffee shop; turn left at the “1 East Corridor” sign; walk to the end of the hallway; and take the “Southeast Elevators” to the second floor. The conference room is located in the glass enclosure next to the elevator lobby.

NEW SIG: NONINVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION

The purpose of the Noninvasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) SIG is to provide a forum for the dissemination and discussion of scientific information among those using or interested in NIBS techniques and to help intramural investigators deal with safety, regulatory, and technical issues. Interested extramural personnel are also welcome. NIBS includes transcranial brain stimulation and neuromodulation techniques. The moderator is Eric Wassermann, a staff clinician in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a member of the NIH Neuroscience Faculty, and an internationally recognized expert in NIBS. Although the SIG will serve as a resource for any interested extramural investigators, its primary purpose will be support the rapidly growing community of intramural entities interested in NIBS. The SIG will provide guidance, expertise, and opportunities for collaboration and in so doing will lower the barriers for intramural labs and clinical groups that want to enter the NIBS field. Founding members who convened for a recent planning meeting included the PIs and staff of several labs in NINDS, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Membership is expected to expand. To keep informed of meetings and activities, join the NIBS-L LISTSERV at https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=nibs-l. For more information, contact Eric Wassermann at wassermanne@ninds.nih.gov.

NAME CHANGE: OPTOGENETICS SIG IS NOW INNOVATIVE NEUROTECHNOLOGIES

The Optogenetics SIG, which began in 2013, has a new name to reflect the broader scope of neurotechnological developments. The SIG, renamed Innovative Neurotechnologies, continues to meet monthly. To join the LISTSERV, go to https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=optogenetics. The SIG meets quarterly. For more information, contact Alexxai Kravitz (alexxai.kravitz@nih.gov).

NIH Scientific Interest Groups (SIGs) are assemblies of scientists with common research interests. For a complete list of SIGs, go to:
http://www.nih.gov/research-training/scientific-interest-groups