Events
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) campuses host a variety of events that inform, challenge, and unite the biomedical research community. IRP investigators lead or participate in many of these events, and they regularly present their work at scientific conferences at the NIH and around the world. We invite you to learn about (and possibly join us in) some of our upcoming events. Unless otherwise noted, times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST).
How Telomeres Solve the End-Protection Problem
Monday, September 18, 2017, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center (Bldg. 10)
The first lecture of the 2017–2018 CCR Eminent Lecture season is “How Telomeres Solve the End-Protection Problem” by Titia de Lange, Ph.D., the Leon Hess Professor and Director, Anderson Center for Cancer Research, at Rockefeller University. De Lange, a winner of a 2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, focuses on mammalian telomeres, which are made up of long arrays of double-stranded TTAGGG repeats that end in a single-stranded 3′ overhang. These telomeric repeats wither away in a shortening process that is associated with cell proliferation. Telomerase can counteract this attrition and stabilizes telomeres by adding back telomeric repeats. However, telomerase is absent from most human somatic cells, and, as a result, cells eventually die due to depletion of their telomere reserve. Cancer cells, on the other hand, usually reactivate telomerase, thereby achieving unlimited proliferative potential. The goal of de Lange’s research is to understand how telomeres protect chromosome ends, and what happens when telomere function is lost during the early stages of tumorigenesis before telomerase is activated.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center (Bldg. 10)
Next up in the Genomics and Health Disparities Lecture Series is “Risk, Race & Resilience: Three Dimensions of Health Disparities,” by Herman Taylor, M.D., director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute and professor of medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine.
Taylor is a nationally-recognized cardiologist leader with broad experience and success in key areas including invasive practice/research. Over the last decade he has focused predominantly on preventive cardiology and leadership of the landmark Jackson Heart Study (JHS) and ancillary observational research projects. Taylor was appointed in 1999 as the Principal Investigator and Director of the Jackson Heart Study, the largest epidemiological study of African Americans and cardiovascular disease of its kind ever undertaken. Since assuming that role he has held three simultaneous positions with the institutions funded by the NIH to administer the Study: Professor of Medicine and an attending cardiologist (and the inaugural holder of the Aaron Shirley Endowed Chair for the Study of Health Disparities) at University of Mississippi Medical Center; Visiting Professor of Biology in the Division of Natural Sciences at Tougaloo College; and, Clinical Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Jackson State University.
Improving Communication with Critically Ill Patients
Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center (Bldg. 10)
The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) will hold the third Director’s Lecture of 2017. Mary Beth Happ, Ph.D., will present “Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Improving Communication with Critically Ill Patients”. Dr. Happ will describe her program of research which addresses family bedside presence during critical illness, end-of-life care and treatment decision making in the ICU, and patient and family outcomes in acute-critical illness.
Dr. Happ is a Nursing Distinguished Professor of Critical Care Research and Associate Dean of Research and Innovation at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. She is an NIH-funded researcher in the areas of critical care and aging. For over 20 years, Dr. Happ’s research has focused on improving care and communication with impaired patients, and their families and clinicians during hospitalization and at the end of life. She developed the SPEACS-2 online training program and toolkit for use with ICU patients. She is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America and the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Happ has authored more than 120 journal articles, editorials, and book chapters.
Monday, September 25, 2017 to Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Room 1D13, NIAID Grand Hall, 5601 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
The NIAID Vaccine Translational Research Branch (VTRB) and the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) is hosting the 2nd Nanotechnology Workshop for HIV, RNA, Infectious Diseases, and Vaccine Delivery.
This is the second meeting in this new series, for multidisciplinary international researchers working on Infectious disease targets including HIV (protein and DNA/RNA-based) and the use of synthetic or biologically-derived nanoparticles/delivery vehicles as a platform for vaccine/immunogen delivery. Understanding the mechanisms of action and delivery of nanoparticle vaccines coupled with scalable manufacturing translation remains an important endeavor for HIV vaccine and infectious disease research. VTRBs objective is to provide impetus to such innovative and enabling technologies that can greatly accelerate next-generation prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine development.
This meeting will focus on discussion and exchange of ideas in diverse areas of vaccination, innovative therapies and delivery systems for development of new-generation vaccines against prevalent and emergent infectious diseases including HIV.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017, 8:15 am to 5:00 pm
Lister Hill, Bldg. 38A
NCATS is hosting a workshop, Translational Challenges of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) over a decade ago has transformed stem cell biology and biomedical research, ranging from disease modeling, drug discovery and predictive toxicology to regenerative medicine applications. To bring iPSC-based therapies more efficiently to patients, it is pivotal to continue addressing the key knowledge gaps and roadblocks in a coordinated multidisciplinary fashion. This workshop, hosted by NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, will focus on defining collaborative opportunities, addressing challenges and applying best practices in translational iPSC research. Topics of interest are quality control standards for pluripotency, safety, experimental reproducibility, cost-efficient scalability and manufacturing, improved and efficient differentiation protocols, advances in -omics and functional characterization of cell type identities, and other relevant questions. As a deliverable of the workshop, the gathered information and recommendations will be used to draft a white paper for the translational stem cell community.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017 to Thursday, September 28, 2017
Natcher Conference Center (Bldg. 45)
Join us for the 2017 NHLBI Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Symposium. The event will bring together experts in stem cell biology, cardiovascular development, translational cardiovascular stem cell biology, endogenous heart regeneration and new technologies and models. The emphasis will again be on recent discoveries and trends. We will examine the challenges and critical questions that require answers as the field moves forward to clinical applications. The Symposium’s goals are to help the science and field move forward, to find consensus regarding the translation of stem cell biology and research into a clinical setting, and to inspire participants in their own work. Topic areas are: Stem Cell Biology; Cardiovascular Development; Translational Cardiovascluar Stem Cell Biology; Endogenous Heart Regeneration; and New Technologies and Models. Register online.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (reception to follow)
Masur Auditorium, NIH Clinical Center (Bldg. 10)
The first WALS lecture of the 2017–2018 season scheduled so far is a higher-profile Director’s lecture (one of three next season) by Roderick MacKinnon, M.D., of The Rockefeller University. Dr. MacKinnon won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Peter Agre in 2003 for his work on the structure and operation of ion channels.
From the speaker: “Ion channels catalyze the diffusion of inorganic ions down their electrochemical gradients across cell membranes. Because the ionic movements are passive, ion channels would seem to be extraordinarily simple physical systems, yet they are responsible for electrical signaling in living cells. Among their many functions, ion channels control the pace of the heart, regulate the secretion of hormones into the bloodstream, and generate the electrical impulses underlying information transfer in the nervous system. My research is aimed at understanding the physical and chemical principles underlying ion channel function.”
The NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, colloquially known as WALS, is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. Lectures occur on most Wednesdays from September through June from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Building 10 on the NIH Bethesda campus.
Oxygen Club of Washington’s 30-year Anniversary Symposium
Tuesday, October 3, 2017, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center (Bldg. 10)
Please join us for the Oxygen Club of Washington’s 30-year Anniversary Symposium, hosted by the Free Radical Interest Group. The goal of this Symposium is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oxygen Club of Washington, D.C. The Oxygen Club works to bring together individuals from a wide range of fields that are interested in understanding the redox mechanisms play in basic physiology, disease and treatment strategies. The Oxygen Club, founded by Daniel Gilbert in 1987, was the first group organized to discuss redox science. This interdisciplinary Symposium will provide the opportunity to both learn and network.
The symposium topics and speakers are: “Mitochondrial Stress Signaling in Disease, Aging and Immunity” by Gerald S. Shadel, Ph.D. (Yale); “Mechanisms of Activation of Innate Immunity in DNA Repair-deficient Human Cells” by Sonia Franco, M.D., Ph.D. (JHU); “Low-field Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Tissue Oxygen In Vivo” by Murali Krishna Cherukuri, Ph.D. (NCI); “Effects of Hypoxia on Acute Radiation Syndrome: Survival, Cytokines, and miRNAs” by Juliann G. Kiang, Ph.D. (Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute); and “Elimination of the Unnecessary: Programmed Cell Death Explored by Redox Phospholipidomics” by Valerian E. Kagan, Ph.D., D.Sc. (UPitt). Please come in person; the event will not be videocast. For more information, contact Michael Graham Espey, Ph.D., chair of the NIH Free Radical Interest Group.
Monday, October 16, 2017, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
National Museum of American History, Constitution Avenue between 12th & 14th Streets, NW Washington D.C.
Please join us for a screening of the film “Hilleman: A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children” to be followed by a panel conversation. The event features Anthony S. Fauci, MD, National Institutes of Health; Kristen Ehresmann, MPH, RN, Minnesota Dept. of Health; Paul Offit, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Alexandra M. Lord, PhD, National Museum of American History; and Jon Hamilton of NPR.
Space is limited. Please R.S.V.P. by Friday, October 6, at http://americanhistory.si.edu/rsvp/hilleman-screening or (202) 633-3651.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 to Thursday, October 26, 2017
Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center (Bldg. 10)
We are delighted to welcome you to the 2017 Systems Biology Symposium. This conference will bring together leading experts in the field to discuss cutting-edge research in five key areas of systems biology:
Single-cell epigenomics: Cellular heterogeneity in a homogeneous population of cells has been extensively studied by single-cell transcriptomics. However, the mechanisms that underlie the extraordinary heterogeneity is not well understood. Recent progress in single-cell epigenomics has begun to reveal a chromatin basis for the observed heterogeneity in gene expression. This session will focus on recent developments of single-cell epigenomic techniques and their applications to various biological systems.
Imaging-based systems biology: Integrative, multi-scaled imaging approaches have provided critical insight into the signaling, communication, and distribution systems within cells, tissues, and organisms. Presentations in this session will feature recent developments in the visualization and assessment of spatial and temporal interactions and connectivity both within and across cells.
Quantitative and integrative proteomics: The past decade has seen striking advances in technical approaches to protein mass spectrometry, allowing systems biologists to carry out proteome-wide quantification of protein abundances and post-translational modifications. This session will focus on cutting-edge methodologies for quantitative proteomics and large-scale integration of proteomic data with other data types.
Systems biology of metabolism: Metabolic profiling has rapidly evolved due to many technical advances. Metabolomics often is coupled with genomic or proteomic profiling to provide novel insight into elucidating biomarkers and disease mechanisms. This session will focus on novel metabolic pathways involved in cardiovascular disease.
Large-scale data integration: Large, complex data sets are a pervasive feature of systems biology. Presentations and discussions will focus on new approaches to combine and analyze disparate types of ‘omics’ data, to design algorithms that minimize computational time and reduce search space, and to construct informative and predictive biological networks from the data.
