Creating a “Spellchecker” for Genes

BY LISA YUAN, NIDDK

Imagine a pair of molecular scissors that could snip and tweak sections of the genetic alphabet. Or tweezers that could pluck one letter and replace it with another. These tools have become a reality in recent years, allowing scientists to correct “misspellings” in the genetic code.

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The Merry Band of Stadtmans

Meet 15 New Stadtman Investigators

BY LAURA STEPHENSON CARTER

Meet 15 more investigators who have become part of the Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator Program. The program, which was launched in 2009 and named for the legendary biochemist who worked at NIH for 50 years, aims to recruit a diverse group of scientists pursuing interests across the biomedical-research spectrum. (Pictured: Chandra Jackson, NIEHS and NIMHD.)

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From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research

A New Centralized Institutional Review Board

BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DDIR, AND JONATHAN GREEN, OD

As you almost certainly have heard by now, the NIH Intramural Research Program is in the process of centralizing and consolidating the Institutional Review Board (IRB) system in an effort to improve its consistency and overall efficiency.

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NIH Distinguished Scholars Program

BY CARL HASHIMOTO, OD

As part of an effort to enhance diversity in the scientific workplace, NIH launched the Distinguished Scholars Program (DSP), which facilitates the hiring and career progression of tenure-track investigators who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the biomedical-research workforce.

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News You Can Use: Office of Patient Recruitment

Extending the Reach of NIH Studies

BY BRANDON LEVY, OIR

If researchers design a groundbreaking clinical study, and no patients know about it, what’s the use?

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Research Briefs

Read about discoveries made by NIH intramural researchers: how elevated hormones flag liver problems; a bacteria toxin that triggers the death of cancer cells; T cells that accelerate wound healing; how male mice grow ovaries; imaging modalities that allow scientists to view the retina in unprecedented detail; and more.

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Obituaries 2018

Former NIH scientists and other NIH-affiliated people who died in 2018.

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Farewell to America’s Cancer Doctor

Alan Rabson (1926–2018)

BY MICHELE LYONS, OD

When Katie Couric told her boss that her husband had been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, the first thing he said was, “Call Al Rabson.” Couric, a television journalist, related this story at the celebration of Alan Rabson’s life on October 30th. Rabson died at the age of 92 on July 4, 2018. Guests gathered to share laughter and some tears while remembering “America’s cancer doctor.”

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Finding the Elixir of Life

Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado Studies How Flatworms Regenerate

BY AMRITA MANDAL, NICHD

Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado may have found the elixir of life in a simple organism that scientists have mostly ignored: the tiny flatworm planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. The worm has an amazing ability to regenerate itself from the smallest bits of its tissue.

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The Training Page: NIH Fellows Editorial Board

Influencing Science, One Manuscript at a Time

BY BRANDI CAROFINO AND ERIKA GINSBURG, NCI

The NIH Fellows Editorial Board (FEB) recently celebrated a big milestone: They edited their 1,000th submission.

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The Training Page: Breaking Through the Petri Dish Lid

Institutional and Personal Approaches to Enhancing Diversity

BY SUSAN CHACKO, CIT

Mentorship and institutional change were the main themes at the symposium “Breaking through the Petri Dish Lid: Ways for Women and Underrepresented Groups to Advance Their Careers in Science,” held on October 5, 2018. Prompted by the underrepresentation of women and minorities at the upper levels of science, the symposium featured three panelists—Kathryn Zoon, Hannah Valantine, and Nesrine Taha—who discussed personal and institutional approaches to changing the existing paradigm.

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News You Can Use: NIH Library Services

So Much More than Books

BY KATHLEEN MCGLAUGHLIN, OD

Need to know how to develop bibliometrics that will help you evaluate written publications? Want to understand how to use information-systems technology? How about getting assistance with editing your manuscripts or managing your data? The NIH Library, located in Building 10, is at your service.

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NIH in History: Christian B. Anfinsen

Celebrating the Life and Work of Nobel Laureate Christian B. Anfinsen

BY HUSSAIN ATHER, NICHD, AND ALAN N.SCHECHTER, NIDDK

He won a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1972, and his work still influences research being done today. He was a beloved mentor to dozens of scientists at the NIH. And he worked tirelessly to promote human rights for scientists around the world.

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The SIG Beat

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

Two SIGs are featured here: The Adherence Research Network SIG, which has been around a long time but recently revived its SIG page; and a new SIG—the Circulating Nucleic Acids/Liquid Biopsy Interest Group.

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Announcements

News about events, deadlines, lectures, news about the upcoming NIH Workplace Climate and Harassment Survey, and more.

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