Features

NIH and Howard University Partnership

Building a Foundation for Scientific Collaboration

BY MICHAEL TABASKO

One summer nearly 20 years ago, Karl Thompson came to NIH from Howard University (Washington, D.C.) as a student aspiring to a career in science. “I was the most junior trainee, at a time when there weren’t many Ph.D. students at NIH, but they treated me like family,” said Thompson.

Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injuries

Biomarker Called Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) May Hold the Most Promise

BY FRANCES FERNANDO, NICHD

It’s always been tricky to diagnose mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) because there are no reliable blood, neuroimaging, or other tests. In three papers that were recently published in Neurology, NIH researchers reported that a blood biomarker called neurofilament light chain (NfL) may hold the most promise for predicting, diagnosing, and following up on TBIs.

Using Flatworm Regeneration To Study Stem Cells

Erin Davies Brings Flatworm Animal Model to NIH

BY MEGAN KALOMIRIS, NIAID

The key to unlocking mysteries surrounding regenerative medicine could lie within worms—tiny, flat, cross-eyed worms. Recently hired Stadtman Investigator Erin Davies (National Cancer Institute, NCI) is the first in the NIH intramural research program to use flatworms (Schmidtea mediterranea), or planaria, as an animal model to explore stem cells at different developmental stages.

Meet the Newest NIH Members of the National Academy of Sciences

Mini Symposium Held to Honor John Schiller and Robert Tycko

BY THU-LAN LILY NGUYEN, NCI

On July 21, 2020, the NIH hosted a virtual mini symposium to honor the two NIH investigators who were elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) this year: NIH Distinguished Investigator John Schiller (National Cancer Institute, NCI) and Senior Investigator Robert Tycko (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIDDK).

COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (July–August 2020)

COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH

Highlights of the COVID-19-related activities that were going on at NIH in July and August.

Herb Tabor (1918–2020)

Longest-serving NIH Employee Dies at 101

We are sad to relay news of the passing of Herbert Tabor, M.D., the world’s foremost authority on the enzymatic pathways of polyamines, as well as an esteemed editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry for 40 years, and, until his death at age 101, a senior principal investigator in the NIDDK Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, where he had served as lab chief until 1999. He died peacefully in his sleep, on August 20, 2020, at his home on the NIH campus.