ChildKind Infant Center Marks 20th Anniversary

The ChildKind Infant Center recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Staff and board members received a poster of appreciation at the June 10 NIH child care board meeting. Shown are (from l) Isolean Canty, ChildKind assistant director; Lee Ettman, director; Tim Tosten, director, Division of Employee Services, ORS; and Charles Carter, ChildKind board member. The ChildKind Infant Center opened at Suburban Hospital in 1984 to provide care for children of hospital employees. With so many NIH employees using the service, the program moved to a modular building on the NIH campus in 1987 and continues to provide care for 33 children of NIH'ers. The children range in age from 6 weeks to 3 years. The program is licensed by the State of Maryland and accredited by the National Association of Young Children. Parents, children, staff and alumnae celebrated this milestone with an anniversary picnic on June 6. For more information about this and other child care services at NIH, call the ORS Division of Employee Services at (301) 402-8180.

NIH Offers ClinPRAT Training

The NIH Clinical Pharmacology Research Associate Training (ClinPRAT) program is a 3-year postdoctoral research fellowship training program sponsored by the Clinical Center and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The program emphasizes the application of laboratory pharmacology, biostatistics, pharmacokinetics and chemistry to the study of drug action in humans. Postdoctoral training positions are available starting July 1, 2005, and in subsequent years.

Candidates must have the M.D. degree. In general, they will have completed 3 years of residency training and will be board-eligible in a primary medical specialty when entering the program. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Candidates' qualifications are evaluated by the clinical pharmacology steering committee. Selection is highly competitive and preference will be given to applicants with outstanding potential. Most successful candidates either have had Ph.D. degrees in addition to their M.D. degree or substantial prior research experience. The stipend is determined by the candidate's educational and professional experience.

ClinPRAT fellows have the opportunity to participate in the NIH General Loan Repayment Program. For more information visit http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/researchers/training/clinprat.shtml. shtml or call Donna Shields at (301) 435-6618.

Principles of Clinical Pharmacology Course

The Principles of Clinical Pharmacology course, sponsored by the Clinical Center, will begin in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10 on Sept. 2. The course will be held Thursday evenings from 6:30 to approximately 7:45 and will run through Apr. 28, 2005. "Many medical schools don't offer formal courses in clinical pharmacology," said Dr. John Gallin, director of the Clinical Center. "This program covers what researchers need to know concerning the clinical pharmacologic aspects of drug development and use."

The course covers topics such as pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism and transport, assessment of drug effects, drug therapy in special populations and drug discovery and development. An outstanding faculty has been assembled to present the lectures including Dr. Carl Peck of Georgetown University's Center for Drug Development Science, Dr. Jerry Collins of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Clinical Center's Dr. Arthur J. Atkinson, Jr., who is also the course director. The faculty has also prepared a textbook, Principles of Clinical Pharmacology, that follows the sequence of the course lectures and is available in the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, Inc., bookstore located in Bldg. 10. The textbook is also available from Amazon.com.

This is the seventh year that the course is being offered. Registration is open to all interested persons free of charge. Certificates will be awarded at the end of the course to students who attend 75 percent of the lectures. More information about the course, including online registration, is available at http://www.cc.nih.gov/researchers/training/principles.shtml or by calling (301) 435-6618.

Sailing Association Open House, Picnic

Would you like to learn to sail? Does the idea of racing sailboats appeal to you? Come check out the NIH Sailing Association at its open house and picnic on Saturday, Aug. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Selby Bay Sailing Center, Mayo, Md. The event will introduce the NIH and NOAA communities to NIHSA. Short sails will be available to adults over 18 on a first-come, first-served basis, weather permitting, and there will be cookout food and drink. Cost is $5 per person. Membership applications will be available, as will sign-ups for fall basic training class (if spaces are available). For more information, including directions to the picnic, visit www.recgov.org/sail.

Principles of Clinical Research Taught

Registration for the 2004-2005 "Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research" will begin Aug. 18. The course will run from Oct. 18 through Feb. 15, 2005. The deadline for registering is Oct. 4. Classes will be held on campus on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5 to 6:30. There is no charge for the course but purchase of a textbook is required. A certificate will be awarded upon successful completion of the course, including a final exam. For more information or to register, visit http://www.cc.nih.gov/researchers/training/ippcr.shtml or call (301) 496-9425.