July–August 2016 | NIH Intramural Research Program

Demystifying Medicine

NIH Course Bridges the Gap Between Basic Research and Clinical Medicine

BY LAURA STEPHENSON CARTER

NIH’s “Demystifying Medicine” course covers health topics of major importance to the nation, the world, and even the solar system.

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Making a Great Institution Even Greater: In Pursuit of Perfect

Red Team Report Update

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR

The NIH Clinical Center is one of the most distinctive and influential research hospitals in the world. Many of its patients have rare and difficult-to-treat conditions and the Clinical Center is often the last hope for them. Despite often insurmountable odds, the extraordinary staff seeks to cure patients, extend lives, and reduce suffering.The challenge before us now is how to make something great even greater.

Digitizing and Preserving Medical History

Embracing the Future as a Steward of Medical Heritage

BY JEFFREY S. REZNICK, CHIEF, HISTORY OF MEDICINE DIVISION, NLM

Libraries around the world are digitizing their historical treasures and making them more accessible via the Internet than ever before. Leading the way is the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world’s largest biomedical library, located on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. But digitization is only part of the story. Preserving the collections for future generations is important, too.

Demystifying Health Effects of Global Warming

Nature’s Bounty at Risk!

BY MANJU BHASKAR, NINDS

Scientists are shedding light on how global warming may be adversely affecting biodiversity, triggering the spread of diseases, and threatening the supply of medically useful natural products. Jonathan Sleeman, director of the National Wildlife Health Center at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and David Newman, former chief of the National Cancer Institute’s Natural Products Branch, talked about the threats at the April 12, 2016, Demystifying Medicine lecture.

Demystifying Space Medicine

The Health Risks of Spending Time in Outer Space

BY EMILY MULLIN, NIAID

One of the Demystifying Medicine sessions featured a space scientist who talked about the importance of biomedical research that addresses the medical needs of future space travelers.

An Introduction to Methods, Tools, and Data from the Digital Humanities

BY E. THOMAS EWING, ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR GRADUATE STUDIES, RESEARCH, AND DIVERSITY, VIRGINIA TECH

Seventy-five participants and observers gathered at the Natcher Conference Center (Building 45) in April 2016 to explore innovative methods and data sources useful for analyzing large quantities of images and texts in the field of medical history.

Research Briefs

Intramural research highlights: rare cancers may masquerade as ADHD; increased physical activity associated with lower risk of some cancers; investigational malaria vaccine protects healthy adults; lessons from the 1976 Ebola outbreak; some “Biggest Losers” regain weight; rapid-response immune cells; reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission.

News Briefs

Patricia Flatley Brennan to Lead the National Library of Medicine (pictured); Steve Holland Named NIAID Scientific Director; Appointment of Maureen M. Goodenow as Associate Director for AIDS Research; Jose Galvez is New Chief of BTRIS.

Colleagues: Recently Tenured

Meet your recently tenured colleagues: Robert Hanson (pictured; NIDDK); James Hodge (NCI-CCR); Charles Matthews (NCI-DCEG); Stefan Muljo (NIAID); Mihaela Serpe (NICHD)

New Methods

New Tool Enables Studies of Brain Structure and Function

NIEHS Researchers Developed Genetically Modified Mouse Lines to Help Identify Brain-Cell Types

BY ROBIN ARNETTE, NIEHS

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences recently designed genetically modified mice that will help neurobiologists address one of the most fundamental questions in brain research: What are the different cell types in the brain and what are their functions?

AIDS at 35

The NIH Played a Major Role in Discovering the AIDS Virus

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, OD

Sometime in the early 1970s, or perhaps even earlier, a virus capable of severely compromising the human immune system made its way from central Africa to the United States via Haiti. With a long incubation period before symptoms appeared, and with limited incidence of infections, the virus was on no one’s radar screen.

News You Can Use

Crowdsourcing for Data Analysis

Web Platform Makes Public Gene-Expression Data More Accessible

BY HILLARY HOFFMAN, NIAID

Immunologists took part in the Omics Compendia Commons Jamboree to gain hands-on experience exploring publicly available gene-expression data sets and delving into the crowdsourcing web platform that was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

From the Annals of NIH History: Computers

The IBM 370: Computers a Gogo

BY MICHELE LYONS, OFFICE OF NIH HISTORY

This computer technician appeared in the IBM 370 Systems Manual in 1975. NIH used IBM 370s, which were mainframe computers, from 1971 until the mid-1990s, along with DEC System 10 mainframes, to store and process scientific and personnel data.

SPECIAL FROM NIAID FELLOWS WORKSHOP

Collaborating for Success

BY OMOZUSI ANDREWS, NIAID

“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together,” observes an old African proverb that symbolizes the value of collaboration,

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE NIH SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

Read about the new SIGS on Fibrosis; Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; Data Science in Biomedicine (incorporates Research Repositories and Patient Registries SIG); Statistics; and Text Mining.

Announcements: Kudos

Ronald Germain and Eugene Koonin have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences; Warren Leonard and Michael Lichten have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Allen Wilcox was named a finalist for Service to America Medal.

Announcements

Lasker Clinical Research Scholar Program accepting applications, NIH Research Festival on September 14-16, WALS starts September 21, Fibrosis SIG first meeting in September, HHS Survey, NIH Federal Credit Union's new financial program for visiting fellows, and more.

This page was last updated on Wednesday, April 13, 2022