Catalytic Events

January

VIRTUAL LAUNCH EVENT FOR THE CHATBOT FOR INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM (CHIRP)

• January 7
• Attend virtually from 10:30 a.m. to noon
• Register at the ChIRP Event Registration Site. If you experience any issues with registration, please contact Allison Hurst.

ChIRP, the new GenAI Chatbot, is now available to NIH staff! Tune in to gain a better understanding of large language models (LLMs), practical skills to interact with and explore ChIRP, and how to access this new resource.

This ChIRP pilot is a collaboration between OIR, the ODSS, OD, NHLBI, NIA, and CIT. ChIRP aims to create a secure LLM environment for NIH staff to safely explore how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology can benefit biomedical research. The NIH is committed to using LLMs ethically and responsibly by balancing innovation with safety.

APPLY FOR THE ALL OF US BIOSTATS CORE TRAIN-THE-TRAINER PROGRAM

• January 16-17
• Review the application and apply by January 10

The Interdisciplinary Guided Network for Investigation, Translation, and Equity (IGNITE) is offering a virtual training opportunity for biostatisticians to learn about the All of Us Researcher Workbench. Researchers must know how to code in R, Python, or SAS to use the Researcher Workbench. Preference will be given to applicants who know at least one of these languages.

NIH LAB MANAGERS WORKING GROUP INFORMATIONAL TALKS

January 9: What Wellness@NIH Offers and a Mindfulness Exercise

• noon–1 p.m.
• Join the virtual meeting on Teams

January 23: Vendor Capabilities: LICOR bio and GENEWIZ (from Azenta Life Sciences)

• noon–1 p.m.
• Join the virtual meeting on Teams

Contact the NIH Lab Managers Working Group at LMWG@nih.gov with questions.

UPCOMING 2025 EVENTS

NIH DIRECTOR’S SEMINAR SERIES 2024–2025

• Fridays, noon–1 p.m.
• Building 1, Wilson Hall, 3rd Floor
• Attend virtually via NIH VideoCast
• Click here for the full schedule

January 10: Unleashing the potential of genomics to unravel Lewy body dementia and related diseases, Sonja Scholz (NINDS)

February 7: Assessing thyroid cancer causes and treatment effects in an era of overdiagnosism, Cari Kitahara, (NCI-DCEG)

2024-2025 WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON LECTURES

• Most Wednesdays through June; 2–3 p.m.
• Building 10, Lipsett Amphitheater, or attend virtually via NIH VideoCast

The NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. All lectures are in Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10) and broadcast via NIH Videocast except where noted. Lectures will be archived.

January 15: Evolution of the Glutamate Models of Psychosis; Bita Moghaddam (Oregon Health and Science University)

January 22: How Proteins Cross Membranes; Tom Rapoport (Harvard Medical School)

January 29: Marshall W. Nirenberg Lecture: Sickle Cell Disease: Progress and Opportunities for Equity; Alexis A. Thompson (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)

February 12: NIH Director’s Lecture: Harnessing Chemical Interactions to Explore Tumor Cell Biological Responses to Fluctuations in Metal and Micronutrient Availability; Donita C. Brady (Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania)

February 19: Integrating EHR and Genomic Data in Women's Health Research; Digna Velez Edwards (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)

February 26: Two Decades of NIH-Funded Research on Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for the Future; Ana V. Diez Roux (Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health)

March 5: G. Burroughs Mider Lecture: The Microscope as a Tool for Disease Discovery; Elaine Jaffe (NCI/CCR)

See the full season on the WALS website and view the archives dating back more than 20 years.

2025 DEMYSTIFYING MEDICINE LECTURE SERIES

• Tuesdays, January 7–May 27, 2025, 3–4:30/5 p.m.
• Attend virtually via NIH VideoCast

The 2025 Demystifying Medicine Series, now in its 23rd year, kicks off on January 7 when former NIAID director Anthony Fauci presents a talk titled “Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Perpetual Challenge.”

Sponsored by FAES and NIH, the lectures will include presentations on pathology, diagnosis, and therapy in the context of major disease problems and current research. Primarily directed toward Ph.D. students, clinicians and program managers, this series is designed to help bridge the gap between advances in biology and their application to major human diseases. Each session includes clinical and basic science components presented by NIH staff and invitees. All students, trainees, fellows, and staff are welcome to participate.

January 7: Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Perpetual Challenge, Anthony Fauci, M.D. (Georgetown University)

January 14: What and How Do We Remember?, Yi Gu, Ph.D. (NINDS), Kareem Zaghloul, M.D., Ph.D. (NINDS)

January 21: CAR T-Cell Therapy, Georg Schett, M.D. (University Hospital Erlangen), James Kochenderfer, M.D. (NCI CCR)

January 28: (Lipsett Amphitheater and NIH VideoCast) The NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program Evidence for a New Disease of Selenium Metabolism, William Gahl, M.D., Ph.D. (NHGRI), Second Speaker (TBA)

February 4: Sex and Human Disease, David Page, M.D. (MIT, Whitehead),
Janine Clayton, M.D. (OD ORWH)

February 11: Autism: Physiologic and Genetic Biomarkers, Ashura Buckley, M.D. (NIMH), Katherine W. Roche (NINDS)

February 25: Music and the Mind, Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D. (NHGRI),
Charles Lim, M.D. (UCSD), Joshua Roman (cello soloist and composer)

March 4: Can We Live to 120?, Luigi Ferrucci, M.D. (NIA), Payel Sen, Ph.D. (NIA)