March–April 2023 | NIH Intramural Research Program

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Gecko

NEI Researchers Use Geckos and Other Lizards to Accelerate Clinical Vision Research

The go-to lab animals to study many human eye diseases tend to be mammals—a mouse or a rat for example—because of their similar evolution and genetics compared to humans. But for diseases that affect a part of the eye called the fovea, which provides high-acuity central vision in humans, scientists are beginning to look further afield...to geckos.

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Great Mentors and Mentees Are Made, Not Born

I was once asked by a student how old one has to be to no longer need mentors. I answered, “If there is such an age, I have not yet reached it.” My answer was both heartfelt truth and glib retort. I don’t know how the student took it, but this brief encounter got me thinking about the concept and practical reality of having and being a mentor.

Commentary

Farewell from the Editor-in-Chief

This issue of The NIH Catalyst marks my retirement as Editor-in-Chief. I have been honored to serve in this role for the past 14 years and to have contributed to the NIH mission by keeping everyone informed of advances and services and helping to inspire and to be a catalyst for scientific collaborations.

The NIH Catalyst Celebrates 30 Years

The NIH Catalyst was launched 30 years ago and is still going strong. During this year, The NIH Catalyst will be highlighting some of the stories that appeared in the earlier years and compare them with what’s happening now.

Interview with John I. Gallin, M.D.

Former NIH Clinical Center Director Reflects on His Career at NIH

John Gallin, who is retiring in March 2023 after 52 years at NIH, has been an Editor for The NIH Catalyst since it began in 1993. Here he talks with the Catalyst about his involvement with the publication and about his own career.

The Faucet of Youth

Scientists Explore Links Between Hydration and Aging

Legend has it that Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León scoured the Caribbean and Florida for the fabled fountain of youth. He never found it. In a twist of fate, he died prematurely from wounds sustained during a skirmish with native warriors. Could an antiaging elixir exist today? Perhaps look no further than a glass of water.

NINR’s New Scientific Director: Sabrina Wong, R.N., Ph.D.

Primary Care Leader to Improve Accessibility and Inclusivity

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) welcomed Sabrina Wong as its new Scientific Director (SD) in September 2022. A scholar and international leader in primary-care research, she brings her passion for reducing inequities in health and health care and a long-standing interest in the organization and delivery of primary health care services.

News Briefs

Nancy Muir, M.L.S., Selected as Next NIH Library Director

The NIH Office of Research Services in January named Nancy Muir as the NIH Library Director. Muir, who joined the NIH in January 2021 as the NIH Library Branch Chief for Educational Services, brings a strong history of innovation and leadership to her new role as Director.

Meet 18 New Stadtman Investigators

Taking on Today’s Scientific Challenges

Inventing new ways to thwart viruses and treat diseases; developing early-detection methods for cancer; investigating the connection between neural circuitry and obesity; finding ways to reduce health disparities. These are just some of the challenges that the Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigators have taken on. Meet 18 of them here.

Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Technology Research and Development

A WALS Talk by Rory Cooper, Ph.D.

Rory Cooper knows wheelchairs. He’s been using them since he was 20, after a bicycle accident in 1980 while serving in the U.S. Army in Germany left him with a spinal injury limiting the mobility of his legs. He knows that making better wheelchairs for those who depend on them can unlock human potential otherwise constrained for lack of accessibility and inclusion.

Our Shared Ancestry in African Genomes Can Be Harnessed to Improve Health For All

Ambroise Wonkam’s WALS Lecture

“Less than 2% of human genomes analyzed so far have been those of African people, despite the fact that Africa, where humans originated, contains more genetic diversity than any other continent,” medical geneticist Ambroise Wonkam wrote in a Nature commentary (Nature 590:209-211, 2021). He explained further at a Wednesday Afternoon Lecture last September that “to make genetic medicine truly equitable, we need to have representation of a wide genome [by starting] with our common ancestral genomes—genomes of the population of African ancestry.”

What We’re Reading

Articles that Capture the NIH’s Role in History or Society

Articles include “The NIH-led research response to COVID-19”; “World’s largest body of human geneticists apologizes for eugenics role”; and “Nobody Has My Condition But Me.”

Research Briefs

Read about scientific advances and discoveries by NIH intramural scientists: detailed atlas for studying Parkinson’s disease neurogenetic risk factors; heart-failure risk significantly higher in rural areas; new mechanism of gene regulation during early development; 3D bioprinting used to create eye tissue; probiotic treatment reduces colonization of harmful bacteria; genotype-first approach uncovers new links to genetic conditions; and first-in-human study evaluates Marburg virus vaccine.

From the Fellows Committee

How to Prepare for the In-Person Conference Post-Pandemic

Now that we are returning to in-person events en masse, we scientists find ourselves with a large and looming question: What will our beloved, in-person conferences look like? We are faced with uncertainties about what to expect moving forward. Here we have compiled some helpful tips on how best to prepare for in-person conferences, to help you make the most of renewed opportunities to reunite with your colleagues, collaborators, and scientific communities.

News You Can Use: Technology Transfer

How to Disclose and Protect your Research Discovery or Innovation at NIH

So, you have a research discovery or innovation at NIH—now what? Federal researchers are legally required to disclose their discoveries and inventions. You may be wondering: Where do I go first? How and when do I report new discoveries? What will happen to my inventions? Follow the four steps in this article to stay engaged with your Tech Transfer community at NIH and move your research forward—and turn discovery into health.

COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (January-February 2023)

COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH

Highlights of the COVID-19-related activities that were going on at NIH in January and February 2023.

The SIG Beat: Psychedelic Medicine

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

Psychedelic Medicine Returns to the NIH

More than 60 NIH researchers representing multiple institutes, disciplines, and generations tuned in on January 24, 2023, for the inaugural meeting of the Psychedelic Science and Medicine Interest Group.

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

NEW SIGs: Rare Disease Informatics Scientific Interest Group; iPSC-Based Disease Modeling Scientific Interest Group.

Photographic Moment

Winter Wonderland

Sun rise on the Bitterroot Mountains and the north boundary of the Rocky Mountain Labs campus in Hamilton, Montana.

Announcements: Kudos

Ten NIHers Elected as 2022 AAAS Fellows

Congratulations to the 10 NIHers who were elected as new members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Announcements

News about lectures, symposia, and more.

This page was last updated on Friday, March 17, 2023