Sleep, Perchance to Research

NIHers Are Studying Sleep, Fatigue, and Circadian Rhythms

BY L.S. CARTER (OD), R. SCHEINERT (NIMH), J. TIANO (NIDDK), A. KUSZAK (NIDDK), AND R. BAKER (OD)

A sleep-deprived person may still function, but not as efficiently as someone who gets enough good-quality sleep, and they may be at increased risk for heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, obesity, high-blood pressure, stroke, and a host of other problems. Lack of sleep may even affect one’s ability to learn and remember information.

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Secrets of Building 7

NIH’s First State-of-the-Art Infectious Disease Laboratory

BY JAMIE KUGLER, NCI

It was once a proud building filled with innovative scientists who courageously tackled public-health problems. For 60 years, it provided a home for NIH scientists who worked on infectious diseases, identified new viruses, and developed vaccines against hepatitis, rotavirus, and adenoviruses.

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From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Long-term Planning for the Intramural Research Program: An Update

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR

You have probably been wondering what has been happening with the long-term planning process for the Intramural Research Program (IRP). 

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Three NIH Scientists Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Carolina Barillas-Mury (NIAID), Shiv Grewal (NCI), Marius Clore (NIDDK)

BY RACHEL SCHEINERT, NIMH

Whether they are investigating mosquito midgut cells to better understand the transmission of malaria, identifying failing chromatin mechanisms that may lead to cancer, or exploring the structure of macromolecular “dark matter,” the newest NIH members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) are making a big impact. 

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Karl Deisseroth: Optical Deconstruction of Biological Systems

Stanford Neuroscience Pioneer Thrills WALS Audience at Nirenberg Lecture

BY KEVIN RAMKISSOON, NHLBI

Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University (Stanford, California) has been changing the face of neuroscience and behavioral research one pioneering technique at a time.

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Colleagues: Recently Tenured

Meet your recently tenured colleagues: Christian Abnet (NCI-DCEG), Brian Brooks (NEI), Christopher Buck (NCI-CCR), Yie Liu (NIA), and Rosa Puertollano (NHLBI), pictured.

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Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness

Exhibit at the National Library of Medicine

BY LIAM EMMART

Sweat lodges, herbal medicine, and a model Hōkūle`a, a Native Hawaiian voyaging canoe. These are just a few of the elements in the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM’s) Native Voices exhibit, which explores the connection between wellness, illness, and cultural life through a combination of interviews with Native people, artwork, objects, and interactive media.

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News Briefs

FDA scientists moved from NIH’s Building 29 complex to the new White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Maryland; several vials of smallpox virus (samples from the 1950s) were found on campus and safely transferred to the CDC; NIH has been doing research for decades to eradicate the Ebola virus (pictured).

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Research Briefs

NIH researchers have figured out a way to regenerate teeth; developed an experimental vaccine to prevent the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya; invented a nasal brush that can rapidly diagnose an incurable prion disease in humans; made a discovery about how a sickle-cell drug works; developed a new sickle-cell drug that has been acquired by a pharmaceutical company; and more. 

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News You Can Use

Let’s Talk: Communicating Early with the FDA

Pre-IND Meetings with FDA May Help Shorten Drug Development Time

BY ERIC BOCK, OD

The path from discovery to approval can be long, but meeting early with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may significantly shorten it.

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From the Annals of NIH History

Intelligence Tests

This Houghton Mifflin test material was part of the “Form L Revised Stanford-Binet Scale,” used by National Institute of Mental Health researchers in the 1950s to test the intelligence of children taking part in certain clinical studies.

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Announcements

NINR Director’s Lecture, NIH Research Festival, Chen Lecture, NIH-Japan Symposium, Cajal exhibit, records schedules, workshop on using advanced technologies in biomedical research, NCATS Toxicology Challenge, and more. 

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