January–February 2022 | NIH Intramural Research Program

News You Can Use: Construction Updates

Building for the Future

NIH Construction Updates Facilities, Affects Parking and Traffic

BY MICHAEL TABASKO, OD

Are you returning to the office or lab in 2022? Major construction projects at NIH on the Bethesda campus and on the Hamilton, Montana, campus may change how you navigate the day.

News Briefs

On December 20, 2021, Lawrence A. Tabak, the principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), began serving as the acting director of NIH. President Joe Biden visited NIH on December 2, 2021, to discuss the nation’s winter strategy against the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

My Time as Deputy Director for Intramural Research: The Early Years

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR

I’ve had a lot of time to think about the nearly 30 years that I’ve served as the DDIR. My philosophy of science management has led to important changes while preserving the IRP’s basic conceptual underpinnings—that long-term, stable support of a diverse group of talented scientists is a formula for the extraordinary innovation and achievements of the IRP.

Beyond the Books

A Dynamic NIH Library Inspires Innovation, Bolsters Discovery

BY: MICHAEL TABASKO, OD

The NIH Library is supporting NIH scientists on their research journeys in unexpected ways—and offers much more than people realize.

Tackling Difficult Problems in Women’s Health

Highlights of the “Advancing NIH Research on the Health of Women” Conference

BY TAMAR JACOBSOHN, NICHD

Women’s health research took center stage at the “Advancing NIH Research on the Health of Women” videoconference, hosted by NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health. The conference featured talks on rising maternal morbidity and mortality rates; increasing rates of chronic debilitating conditions in women; and stagnant cervical cancer survival rates.

Dissecting the Causes of Health Disparities: Michele Evans

Michele Evans Delivers the Anita Roberts Lecture

BY JANETTE NORRINGTON, OD

“As a daughter of the South Bronx who lived and worked there before coming to NIH, I had an indelible recollection of the broken promises, the false promises that never ameliorated poor health,” said Senior Investigator Michele K. Evans during her Anita Roberts Lecture held on November 1, 2021. “I knew I had to become a physician to improve health in communities like this.”

From the Annals of NIH HIstory

Where Did All the Acne Go?

Gary Peck’s Discovery Led to a Drug to Treat Severe Acne

BY GORDON MARGOLIN, OFFICE OF NIH HISTORY

Did you know that an NIH scientist’s work on a vitamin A derivative (retinoid) led to the development of a drug that can treat, and even cure, severe acne? NIH’s Gary Peck discovered, in the 1970s, that a powerful drug called isotretinoin (or 13-cis retinoic acid) was effective against treatment-resistant severe acne.

Photographic Moment

Bone Growth Near a Fracture

Dramatic image of bone growing near a fracture.

FROM THE FELLOWS COMMITTEE

Making Social Connections During COVID-19

BY ALISON JANE MARTINGANO, NHGRI

Like many others, I started my postdoctoral training at NIH during the COVID-19 pandemic. I arrived in August 2020, after almost all NIH employees, contractors, and trainees were assigned to mandatory telework (beginning in March 2020). In June 2020, those whose could not work remotely were allowed to return to the labs. But the return was limited. Trainees like myself, who can telework effectively, are still working entirely remotely. All of these changes, while necessary for ensuring employee and trainee safety, serve to make socializing with colleagues difficult.

Colleagues: Recently Tenured

Meet your recently tenured colleagues: Andrea B. Apolo (NCI-CCR), Susan Harbison (NHLBI), Brandon K. Harvey (NIDA), Rosandra Kaplan (NCI-CCR), and Carlo Pierpaoli (NIBIB, pictured).

COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (November–December 2021)

COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH (November–December 2021)

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

The SIG Beat

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

NEW SIG: Trans-NIH Gene Therapy Scientific Interest Group

The Trans-NIH Gene Therapy Scientific Interest Group (GRx SIG)was developed to strengthen cross-disciplinary gene-therapy research at NIH.

Research Briefs

Read about NIH scientific advances and discoveries by intramural scientists: A.I. and hardware innovations enhance microscopy; ALS drug may help treat rare neurodegenerative disorder; cancer drugs being tested to fight Alzheimer disease; HIV-infected individuals control the virus in different ways; early childhood eating problems linked to developmental delay; and augmenting immune response may effectively treat pneumonia.