Environmental Factor, February 2008, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIEHS Spotlight
NIEHS Welcomes Trainees
As part of a continuous effort to improve postdoctoral training at NIEHS, the Institute held what organizers described as the first ever systematic NIEHS Trainee Orientation January 17 in Rodbell Auditorium to welcome new — and several old — trainees....read more
Scientists Link Health and Climate Change at National Meeting
On January 16 the National Council for Science and the Environment convened its the Climate Change: Science and Solutions conference of in Washington, D.C. The NIEHS was a sponsor for the meeting and had representatives on hand as participants....read more
With IRB OK, Researchers Launch New Breast Cancer Study
Investigators Clarice Weinberg, Ph.D. and Dale Sandler, Ph.D., had reason to celebrate on January 18 when they learned that the NIEHS Institutional Review Board (IRB) had given final approval for launching their new study of breast cancer, known as the Two Sister Study....read more
Institute Helps Disseminate Malaria Publication
NIEHS was one of the supporters of a 340-page supplement on malaria published in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Funding from the NIEHS through a collaborative agreement with the Fogarty International Center (FIC) helped to make this important publication available free of cost to public health scientists and practitioners worldwide....read more
Senior Trainee to Establish Free Radical Lab
NIEHS research fellow Dario Ramirez, Ph.D., leaves NIEHS in February to begin a new phase in his career and set up his own lab for his new job in Oklahoma City, after working for seven years in the NIEHS Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry (LPC)....read more
DISCOVER Grants Awarded
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) announced awards totaling $6.8 million for the first year of funding to three new research centers called DISCOVER centers - Disease Investigation Through Specialized Clinically-Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research....read more
Enhancing Oceans and Human Health Initiative
During a reception at POGO, Suk, center, posed with Anthony Knap, Ph.D., left, president and director of BIOS; and Anthony Haymet, Ph.D., director of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. As Suk noted, “These partnerships are also a way of broadening our constituency.”...read more
Julianne Malveaux Speaks at King Celebration
On Wednesday January 16, NIEHS employees celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a standing-room-only event held at the neighboring Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Main Auditorium....read more
Durham Careers in Science Consortium Meets at NIEHS
Finding ways to augment science curriculum and activities — and consequently turn young people on to careers in science — is the goal of a diverse group of educators, business people, scientists and community leaders who gathered at NIEHS January 14 for a meeting of Durham Careers in Science (DCIS)....read more
Inside the Institute
An Outside Look at 530 Davis Drive
For the 350 or so NIEHS employees and contractors who work in the satellite office spaces at East Campus and Nottingham Hall, the final months of 2008 will mean making a move into consolidated office space at 530 Davis Drive in Keystone....read more
Black History Month Events
Campus and area organizers have finalized arrangements for three events during February to celebrate Black History Month — a yearly acknowledgement of the struggles and accomplishments of African Americans....read more
Family Health Transitions Seminar Series Begins February 6
The NIEHS Office of Management and the Disability Advocacy Committee are sponsoring a series of six seminars on family health transitions topics. The presentations will take place on Wednesdays during February and March in the Executive Conference Room and will feature local experts with non-profits and businesses....read more
White Tigers Land Again in Rodbell
Rodbell Auditorium was the scene once more of youngsters flying through the air, boards cracking into pieces from well-placed kicks and grunts punctuated by the thud of landing feet as students from the White Tiger Taekwondo School in Cary took over the stage January 18 during their third visit to the Institute....read more
Science Notebook
Inflammasome and Infection
In Rodbell Auditorium on January 8, 2008, NIEHS welcomed Richard A. Flavell, Ph.D., as part of the continuing 2007–2008 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture series. Flavell discussed the intricacies of innate and adaptive immunity in a lecture titled “The Inflammasome in Pathogen Recognition and Inflammation.” Principal Investigator Donald Cook, Ph.D., of the Laboratory of Respiratory Biology hosted the event....read more
Evolution of Human Genome's 'Guardian' Network
Human evolution has created enhancements in key genes connected to the p53 regulatory network -- the so-called guardian of the genome -- that boost the network's safeguards against DNA damage that could cause cancer or a variety of genetic diseases, according to an international team of scientists led by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) that included Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center....read more
Superfund Study of Toxins in China’s Freshwater Ecosystem
Scientists from Dartmouth College, Lakeland College, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing investigated the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of the toxic metals, mercury and arsenic, in Lake Baiyangdian, China....read more
Portier Outlines Strategy for HTS Pathway Analysis
The January 9 talk by NIEHS Associate Director Chris Portier, Ph.D., in Rodbell Auditorium was the first in a series of seminars sponsored by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Biomolecular Screening Branch....read more
Upcoming Distinguished Lecture Features Mitchell Lazar
The 2007-2008 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series continues at 11:00 a.m. February 13 with a talk by Mitchell Lazar, M.D., Ph.D., on “Nuclear Receptor Regulation of Metabolism.” Lazar’s talk will take place in Rodbell Auditorium and be hosted by Trevor Archer, Ph.D., chief of the NIEHS Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis. ...read more
Extramural Research
Extramural Update
On September 4, 2007, NIEHS extramural and intramural staff met with twelve international air pollution research experts in Mexico City to discuss the breadth and depth of different air pollution studies around the world, and to assess the feasibility of comparing and pooling data to better understand the diverse clinical responses and genetic susceptibility to exposure to air pollution across different populations....read more
Papers of the Year 2007
- IL-6 and Gender Differences in Liver Cancer Rates
- Polymerase Stalling and Transcriptional Regulation
- S-nitrosothiols: Possibilities in Fighting Asthma and Heart Disease
- Breast Enlargement in Prepubertal Boys
- Mutant Astrocytes Play a Role in the Degeneration of Motor Neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Unique Substrate Specificity of DNA Polymerase Mu
- Predictive Gene Also Maintains Differentiation of Mammary Ductal Cells
- Genes in Blood Can Predict Harmful Levels of Acetaminophen
- Inhibition of RelB Synthesis by ERα Signalling Controls the Shift in Breast Cancer Cell Phenotypes
- RNA Direct Transfer of Genetic Information
- Supplementation Counteracts Bisphenol A-Induced Epigenetics Changes
- DNA Polymerase Epsilon and Leading-Strand DNA Replication
- Study Links Gene Expression Changes in Babies to Arsenic Exposure
- Identification of a New Base Excision Repair Cofactor
- Parkinson-like Degenerative Changes Linked to Reduced Dopamine Storage
Calendar of Upcoming Events
- February 1 in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Lecture Series featuring Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Ph.D., speaking on “Maternal Obesity-The Number One Problem Facing Prenatal Care Providers In The New Millennium”
- February 5 (Offsite Event) at the Consumer Product Safety Commission Headquarters in Bethesda, Md., 1:00 – 5:00 — Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Ten-Year Anniversary Symposium, Celebrating the Advancement of Public Health and Animal Welfare With Sound Science: Envisioning New Directions in Toxicology
- February 13 in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Distinguished Lecture with Mitchell A. Lazar, M.D., Ph.D., speaking on “Nuclear Receptor Regulation of Metabolism”
- February 15 in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Lecture Series with Jim Putney, Ph.D., topic TBD
- February 19-21 (Offsite Event) at the Doubletree Hotel, Tampa, Florida — Assessing Bioavailability as a Determinant of Pollutant Exposure: Building a Multidisciplinary Paradigm for the 21st Century and Beyond
- February 20 in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:00 – 5:00 — NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council Meeting
- February 21 in Rodbell Auditorium, 10:00 – 11:00 — Laboratory of Molecular Genetics Seminar Series talk on “Genes, Environment and Chance: Their Role in Aging” by Tom Johnson, Ph.D.
- February 22 in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Lecture Series featuring Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, M.D., Ph.D., topic TBD
- February 27-28 in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:30 – 5:00 — National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors Technical Reports Review Subcommittee Meeting
- February 28 (Offsite Event) at the Natcher Center in Bethesda, Md., 8:00 — 5:00 — Cells to Society: Overcoming Health Disparities
- February 29 in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Lecture Series talk by Ruben Carbonell, Ph.D., topic TBD
- March 4 – 6 (Offsite Event) at the United States Geological Survey National Center in Reston, Virginia — Geological Society of America special meeting, “GeoHealth I: Building Bridges across the Geological and Health Sciences”
View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar