July–August 2022 | NIH Intramural Research Program

Why Some Stay Sick

Unraveling Long COVID Alongside Other Post-viral Illnesses

Well before the term long COVID was coined, scientists at NIH’s intramural research program and elsewhere began preparing for the likelihood that some people would not fully recover after infection from the novel coronavirus. Also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, or PASC, long COVID is still being defined but is often described as a constellation of symptoms that persist or appear one to three months or more after an acute infection.

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

CRISPI and the Evolution of Clinical Informatics at NIH

Data is as essential to research as water is to life. Its flow nourishes our thirst for knowledge; its purity invigorates. Similarly, research vitality is jeopardized in the face of floods, reservoir breaches, poor data quality, and overtly restricted use. How, then, can we best enable the flow of data in a changing and challenging climate characterized by new regulations on data use, ever-present security threats, and an unprecedented deluge of information made available through advanced technologies and raw computational power? Such is the key question addressed by the Clinical Research Informatics Strategic Planning Initiative, or CRISPI.

ARPA-H Established Within NIH

Acting Deputy Director Named

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced, on May 25, 2022, the formal establishment of the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as an independent entity within NIH and the appointment of Adam H. Russell as acting deputy director.

Elucidating Brain Structure and Architecture

Peter Basser: Inventor of Diffusion Tensor Magnetic-Resonance Imaging

Advanced imaging technologies have revolutionized the fields of neuroscience and neurosurgery by revealing the complex architecture of the human brain. Two of those technologies—diffusion tensor magnetic-resonance imaging (DTI) and DTI streamline tractography—were invented at NIH in the 1990s by National Academy of Engineering member Peter Basser.

Renovated Pharmacy Begins Phased Reopening

Medication Preparation and Dispensing Services Will Be Supported by State-of-the-art Automation

Who says you can’t go home again? After years of construction and operating out of temporary locations, the Clinical Center’s Pharmacy reopened in a renovated space in the southeast wing on the first floor of the Clinical Research Center within the Building 10 complex.

Photographic Moment

Searching for Signs of Life Beyond Our Solar System

As NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope searches for signs of life beyond our solar system, it will provide clues on how the early universe evolved.

Searching for Signs of Life Beyond Our Solar System

Nobel Laureate John Mather Speaks about NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which is 100 times as powerful as the Hubble Space Telescope, was launched in December 2021, and will start sending images back to Earth in July. A recent Demystifying Medicine lecture featured Nobel laureate John Mather, senior project scientist for the Webb, who spoke about how the telescope will search for signs of life beyond our solar system.

COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (May–June 2022)

COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH

Highlights of the COVID-19-related activities that were going on at NIH in May and June 2022.

NIH Issues Licenses to World Health Organization for 11 COVID-19-related Technologies

BY LARISA GEARHART-SERNA, NCI

NIH has issued licenses for 11 COVID-19 technologies to the World Health Organization (WHO) so that global manufacturers may develop COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics for low- and middle-income countries, where access to essential medicines is severely lacking.

News You Can Use: Safety

NIH Security and Emergency Response Office Ensures Everyone’s Safety

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we had 27,000 people on NIH’s 300-acre campus in Bethesda, Maryland, each day. We are expecting a return to these levels at some point. This, coupled with the construction and potential hazards of offices left empty for so long, makes it important to review safety. Read on to learn more about Emergency Management, Police, and Fire and Rescue Services and when to contact them in the event of an emergency.

News You Can Use: Green Labs

In NIDDK Labs, It IS Easy Being Green

NIDDK Focuses on Environmental Sustainability

At the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, even small changes made lab by lab are making a big impact in environmental sustainability in the scientific workplace.

Research Briefs

Read about NIH scientific advances and discoveries by intramural scientists: retinal cell map may advance precise therapy for blinding diseases; uterine cancer deaths on the rise especially among Black women; identifying veterans with highest risk of cancer; genes in the placenta that regulate birthweight; promising vaccine against mosquito-transmitted viruses; virtual CT scans reduce radiation exposure; dietary supplement slows age-related macular degeneration without increasing risk for lung cancer; smoking rates declining in adults with major depression or substance-use disorders.

What Community Can Do for You

Working as a trainee at NIH is exciting, but being in an unfamiliar environment and coping with worries about housing, potential roommates, taxes, transportation, climate, and more, can make the experience a little overwhelming. Connecting with others who are at a similar training stage or who share your social or research interests is important and can help you build supportive communities.

The NIH Academy on Health Disparities: Improving Health Equity

The NIH Academy on Health Disparities offers postbac trainees the opportunity to learn about health disparities and investigate what is being done to address them.

The SIG Beat: SGHD webinar

News from and About the Scientific Interest Groups

Sex and Gender in Health and Disease (SGHD) SIG Panel Discussion

“Incorporating Sex and Gender in NIH Research”

The Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) sponsored this SGHD SIG webinar, which featured three presentations followed by a panel discussion focusing on sex differences in taste and smell perception, sex-based differences in cancer, and more.

News From and About the Scientific Interest Groups

Two new SIGs and one with a new name: The QIS and Quantum Sensing in Biology SIG will provide information and resources on studies in quantum information sciences (QIS) and quantum sensing in biology (QSB); the Science of Science Communication SIG will focus on the scientific design and evaluation of science communication the shed light on how to effectively communicate research results to a broad range of audiences; the Patent Law & Technology Transfer Interest Group has been expanded and renamed the Patent Law, Industry, & Technology Transfer Interest Group to include the biotechnology industry.

Announcements: Kudos

Three New NIH Members of the National Academy of Sciences

Congratulations to the three NIHers who were recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences: Michael Lichten (NCI-CCR); Deborah Morrison (NCI-CCR); and Julie Segre (NHGRI).

Announcements

News about events, deadlines, and lectures at NIH including 10th anniversary of NCI’s pediatric program in CAR-T-cell therapy; OTT has new website; virtual poster day for summer interns; and more.

This page was last updated on Thursday, June 30, 2022

Why Some Stay Sick

Unraveling Long COVID Alongside Other Post-viral Illnesses

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

CRISPI and the Evolution of Clinical Informatics at NIH

ARPA-H Established Within NIH

Acting Deputy Director Named

Elucidating Brain Structure and Architecture

Peter Basser: Inventor of Diffusion Tensor Magnetic-Resonance Imaging

Renovated Pharmacy Begins Phased Reopening

Medication Preparation and Dispensing Services Will Be Supported by State-of-the-art Automation

Photographic Moment

Searching for Signs of Life Beyond Our Solar System

Searching for Signs of Life Beyond Our Solar System

Nobel Laureate John Mather Speaks about NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (May–June 2022)

COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH

Technology Transfer

NIH Issues Licenses to World Health Organization for 11 COVID-19-related Technologies

News You Can Use: Safety

NIH Security and Emergency Response Office Ensures Everyone’s Safety

News You Can Use: Green Labs

In NIDDK Labs, It IS Easy Being Green

NIDDK Focuses on Environmental Sustainability

Research Briefs

The Training Page: Communities

What Community Can Do for You

The Training Page: NIH Academy

The NIH Academy on Health Disparities: Improving Health Equity

The SIG Beat: SGHD webinar

News from and About the Scientific Interest Groups

Sex and Gender in Health and Disease (SGHD) SIG Panel Discussion

“Incorporating Sex and Gender in NIH Research”

The SIG Beat: New and Renamed SIGs

News From and About the Scientific Interest Groups

Announcements: Kudos

Three New NIH Members of the National Academy of Sciences

Announcements

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