May–June 2021 | NIH Intramural Research Program

An Insider’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Challenges of Life in Outer Space

BY MEGAN KALOMIRIS, NIAID

Seeking signs of ancient life, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on February 18th, 2021. When might humans be able to visit the red planet? The answer is complicated, as Mark Shelhamer and Christopher Wanjek explained in their virtual Demystifying Medicine lecture on February 23rd.

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Celebrating Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at NIH

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR, AND ROLAND OWENS, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, OIR

In May, we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This is a good time to reflect on how researchers from these groups have enriched the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP).

Searching for Answers

NIH’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program Grows Into a Worldwide Model

BY MICHAEL TABASKO, OD

Zarko Stanacev had suffered debilitating symptoms for more than a decade. What started out as episodes of hearing loss and severe headaches escalated to periodic seizures and meningitis. The attacks rendered him nearly comatose, confined him to a wheelchair at times, and cloaked him in profound fatigue. Without answers, the prospect of his living a normal life seemed out of reach. When his own doctors failed to figure out what was wrong, the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program saved him.

Return of a Century-old Therapy for Fighting Life-threatening Antibiotic-resistant Infections

Paul Turner’s and Matthew Laub’s WALS Lectures on Phage Therapy

BY SUBHASH VERMA, NCI

Antibiotic resistance (AR) looms as one of the biggest public health crises of our time. But the use of bacteriophages (phages) to treat AR infections caused by bacteria offers a glimmer of hope. Phages are naturally-occurring viruses that invade bacterial cells and replicate. And phages are everywhere; one can assuredly find them in a lake, sewage water, or farm.

Detecting and Fighting Transplant Rejection

Profile: Sean Agbor-Enoh, M.D., Ph.D.

BY ETHAN SMITH, NINR

During his medical training, Sean Agbor-Enoh became aware that the standard method of detecting organ rejection—a tissue biopsy—was problematic. By the time a biopsy revealed that the organ was being rejected, it was often too late to save the lung. He has dedicated his career to finding better ways to prevent organ-transplant rejection.

From the Annals of NIH History

Walter Thomas Lingenfelter (1948–2021)

BY MICHELE LYONS, OD

In 1954, six-year-old “Tommy” Lingenfelter visited the NIH Clinical Center to have his heart evaluated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI’s) cardiac-surgery team. His parents were told that he might not live past 18 years old. But after two successful heart-valve replacement surgeries—one in 1958 and another in 2006—and a long-lasting association with NIH, he lived more than 50 years beyond what was expected. Sadly, Walter Thomas Lingenfelter died on March 2, 2021, just a few weeks shy of his 73rd birthday.

COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (March-April 2021)

COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH

Highlights of the COVID-19-related activities that were going on at NIH in March and April 2021.

Colleagues: Recently Tenured

Meet your recently tenured colleagues: Grégoire Altan-Bonnet (NCI-CCR), Bevil Conway (NEI), Cari Kitahara (NCI-DCEG), Eros Lazzerini Denchi (NCI-CCR), Susan M. Lea (NCI-CCR), Sung-Yun Pai (NCI-CCR), Udo Rudloff (NCI-CCR), Leorey N. Saligan (NINR), and Lei Shi (NIDA)

Research Briefs

Read about scientific advances and discoveries by NIH scientists: engineered immune cells may prevent cancer spread; new way to test for deadly brain disease; adolescents may develop addictions faster than young adults; bacteriophage treatment rescues mice from multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae; mosquito protein may inhibit some dangerous viruses; and more.

Research Briefs: Chernobyl

NCI: HIGHER CANCER RISK CONTINUES AFTER CHERNOBYL

BY MICHAEL TABASKO

In April 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in northern Ukraine exposed millions of people in the surrounding region to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen. The scope of radioactive contamination was well-documented, but the technology to study the genomic and molecular effects on those exposed did not exist at the time. Scientists from NCI led two international studies that shed new light on how radiation exposure affects human DNA.

Broadening Your Audience Beyond Your Specialty Area

BY JENNIFER KAGAN

Science communication has never been more important than during the past year. If we want people to trust the science, we have to help them to understand it.

News You Can Use

Down the Drain

Tips for Keeping Hazardous Waste Out of the Sanitary Sewers

BY CRAIG UPSON, OD

The valuable research and support activities performed at NIH produce an array of waste products. Whether they are hazardous or nonhazardous, all must be managed appropriately. It’s the responsibility of everyone at NIH to know what can and cannot go down the drain.

The SIG Beat

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

Three New SIGs: Asian American Pacific Islander Health Scientific Interest Group; Precision Oncology Interest Group; and Cancer Metabolism Interest Group.

Photographic Moment

Cherry Blossoms at NIH

Cheery cherry blossoms help to chase away the COVID blues. These blossoms are outside the NIH entrance near the Metro.

Announcements

News about events, deadlines, lectures including: Accepting Applications for Master’s of Professional Studies in Data Science; virtual lectures; WALS talks; NLM History of Medicine Lectures, and more.

This page was last updated on Monday, February 14, 2022