Departments

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Response to a Public Health Dilemma

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR

The problem of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections has been with us for many years. These organisms tend to be resistant to most antibiotics in common use, since hospital patients are exposed routinely to potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics. The recent cluster of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC) at the NIH Clinical Center, fatal to seven of 19 infected or colonized patients with compromised immune systems, represents the tip of an iceberg illustrating the increasing intransigence of microbes to treatment with antibiotics. It also demonstrates how the NIH intramural research program is able to apply cutting-edge technology to identify an important public health problem and develop a strategy to deal with it.

NIH in History

Taming Dreaded Diseases in the 1800s

Joseph Kinyoun, the Hygienic Laboratory, and the Origins of the NIH

BY EVA ÅHRÉN, OFFICE OF NIH HISTORY

In Building One on the NIH campus, next to the main floor elevators, hangs a portrait of a middle-aged man with rolled-up sleeves, one hand on his hip, the other on a shiny brass microscope. A plaque identifies the subject as “Joseph J. Kinyoun, Director of the Hygienic Laboratory, 1887-1899.” The National Institutes of Health traces its origins back to the Hygienic Laboratory (HL), the first federal laboratory of medical bacteriology.

Colleagues: Recently Tenured

MEET YOUR RECENTLY TENURED COLLEAGUES:

KELLY TEN HAGEN, PH.D. (NIDCR), MANFRED BOEHM, M.D. (NHLBI), JASON BRENCHLEY, PH.D. (NIAID), SERGI FERRÉ, M.D., PH.D. (NIDA), MICHAEL SACK, M.D., PH.D. (NHLBI), KAI YU, PH.D. (NCI-DCEG)

Laboratory Confessions

Ode to DeMystifying Medicine

BY MYRA SKLAREW

Stem cell, versatile progenitor,
creature of many faces—Come, wake up!
Show us the types of cells you can engender.

Update: Material Transfer Agreements Made Even Easier

BY TAD SUPPORT TEAM

Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) just became even easier to manage and maintain thanks to the new and improved Transfer Agreement Dashboard (TAD). New features include an online catalog of frequently requested NIH materials and the ability to create MTAs for transfers of materials into the NIH.

The Training Page

Speed Networking for Scientists

BY SARAH NAYLOR, NIMH

Your heart pounds. Your palms sweat and become clammy. Your mind goes blank. All because someone asked, “So, what about you?” It’s time to describe your work, in two minutes or less, without visual aids, to a fellow scientist in a different discipline.

News From and About the NIH Scientific Interest Groups

New SIG: Bioinformatics

The Bioinformatics Interest Group focuses on fundamental and specific bioinformatics concepts and methodologies and provides novices with an opportunity to learn from and discuss career advice with experts in the field.

Announcements

The DEMYSTIFYING MEDICINE course starts its 11th year on January 8, 2013, and will be held on Tuesdays, through May 7, 4:00-5:30 p.m., in the Building 50 Conference Room. Learn more about this course, NIH lectures and events, awards, and other announcements.