2018 Research Festival

A Potpourri of Science

CREDIT: JOHN GALLAGHER AND AUDRAY HARRIS, NIAID

From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

Toward a More Civil Community at the NIH

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR

2018 Research Festival: Plenary Sessions

The three plenary sessions featured four institute directors; immunodeficiency, rare diseases, and genetic disorders; and allergies and flu.

2018 Research Festival: Selected Concurrent Symposia

Featuring the NIH chemists, genome editing, high-throughput sequencing, computational biology, and the NIH Hackathon.

2018 Research Festival: Virtual Reality

NIH Researchers Showcase VR’s Potential for Biomedicine

BY KATHRYN DEMOTT, NEI

Virtual reality (VR) systems have hit a sweet spot. Enhancements in resolution and interactive capacity have come together at a reasonable price point. Judging from the range of VR demos at the NIH Research Festival, the NIH community has plenty of ideas for tapping into the technology’s biomedical potential.

From the Annals of NIH History: An Oral History of a Machine

If Only Our Machines Could Talk

BY E. GORDON MARGOLIN, M.D.

An unusual “oral history” interview with FACS II, a fluorescence-activated cell sorter, who worked at NIH from 1976 to 1992, and played an important role in scientific advancements.

Colleagues: Recently Tenured

Meet your recently tenured colleagues: Kevin M. Brown (NCI-DCEG), Ahmed Gharib (NIDDK), Eytan Ruppin (NCI-CCR), Martin Schnermann (NCI-CCR), Naomi Taylor (NCI-CCR), Niraj Tolia (NIAID, pictured).

Announcements: KUDOS

Congratulations to the Nobel laureates, including three NIH-funded winners and one NIH alum; the NIHers elected to the National Academy of Medicine; Adriaan Bax who won the 2018 Welch Chemistry Award; and Dan Kastner, the Federal Employee of the Year.

New Methods

New Tool Helps NIH Postdocs Visualize Employment Trends

BY ROBIN ARNETTE, NIEHS

Scientists looking for jobs after completing their training may soon have a new tool that helps them evaluate various career paths.

Research Briefs

Read about the latest NIH scientific discoveries: Immune culprits linked to inflammation and bone loss in gum disease; probiotic Bacilllus eliminates Staphylococcus bacteria; broader understanding of high-impact chronic pain; novel vaccine for Lassa Fever and rabies; and more.

The Training Page

My Summer of Learning…and…Surprises…at the NIH

BY ELANA SHAW, EMORY UNIVERSITY

“Elana, you are here first and foremost to learn,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases staff clinician Agnes Mwakingwe-Omari told me on the first day of my summer internship with the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology.

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

Two SIGs have new names, but they are still going strong and welcome new members: The “NIH Artificial Intelligence Interest Group” (formerly the “Artificial Intelligence Robotic Pharmaceutical Screening Interest Group”) and the “Protein Trafficking and Organelle Dynamics Interest Group” (formerly the “Protein Trafficking Interest Group”).