2007 Annual Report - Contents

Board of Scientific Counselors
Scientific Director's Preface
Workshops and Conferences Organized by NICHD Intramural Research Program Staff in 2007

Bone and Extracellular Matrix Branch: Joan C. Marini, Chief
Joan Marini: Genetic Disorders of Bone and Extracellular Matrix

Cell Biology and Metabolism Program: Juan S. Bonifacino, Program Director
Irwin Arias: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Hepatocellular Polarity and Biliary Secretion in Health and Cholestasis
Juan Bonifacino: Protein Sorting in the Endosomal-Lysosomal System
Ramanujan Hegde: Regulation of Secretory and Membrane Protein Biogenesis
Mary Lilly: Cell Cycle Regulation During Oogenesis
Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz: Dynamics of Secretory Membrane Trafficking, Sorting, and Compartmentalization
Gisela Storz: Small, Noncoding RNAs and Small ORFs

Program in Cellular Regulation and Metabolism: Alan G. Hinnebusch, Program Director
Mary Dasso: Mitotic Regulation in Higher Eukaryotes by Ran and SUMO-1
Thomas Dever: Mechanism and Regulation of Eukaryotic Protein Synthesis
Alan Hinnebusch: Transcriptional and Translational Regulatory Mechanisms in Nutrient Control of Gene Expression
Chi-Hon Lee: Development and Function of Drosophila Visual Circuits
Henry Levin: Retrotransposons as Models for the Replication of Retroviruses
Yun-Bo Shi: Molecular Mechanisms of Frog Metamorphosis
Alexander Strunnikov: SMC Family Proteins and Associated Factors in Mitotic Chromosome Segregation
Roger Woodgate: Studies on DNA Replication, Repair, and Mutagenesis in Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Cells

Program in Developmental and Molecular Immunity: John B. Robbins, Rachel Schneerson, Joint Program Directors
John Robbins and Rachel Schneerson: Development of Vaccines Against Bacterial Diseases, Especially in Children

Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics: Constantine Stratakis, Program Director
Greti Aguilera: Neuroendocrinology of Stress
Jeffrey Baron: Regulation of Skeletal Growth
Carolyn Bondy: The X-Chromosome and Gender Effects in Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Longevity
Kevin Catt: Peptide Hormone Receptors and Signal Transduction
Janice Chou: Molecular Genetics of Heritable Human Disorders
Maria Dufau: Receptors and Actions of Peptide Hormones and Regulatory Proteins in Endocrine Mechanisms
David Klein: The Pineal Gland and Chronobiology
Anil Mukherjee: Heritable Neurodegenerative and Autoimmune Disorders
Ida Owens: Molecular Biology, Regulation, and Biochemistry of UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Isozymes
Forbes Porter: Cholesterol Deficiency and Genetic Syndromes
Constantine Stratakis: Molecular Genetics of Adrenocortical Tumors and Related Disorders
Charles Strott: The Biotransformation of Endobiotics by Sulfonation
Jack Yanovski: Physiology, Psychology, and Genetics of Obesity

Program in Developmental Neuroscience: Chris McBain, Program Director
Tamás Balla: Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinases and Cell Regulation
Marc Bornstein: Child and Family Development Across the First Two Decades of Life
Andres Buonanno: Developmental Regulation of Neuronal and Muscle Plasticity
Dax Hoffman: Potassium Channels and Dendritic Function in Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons
Kuo-Ping Huang: Signal Transduction in Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity
Y. Peng Loh: Secretory Protein Trafficking and Granule Biogenesis in Neuroendocrine Cells
Bai Lu: Neurotrophic Regulation of Synapse Development and Plasticity
Mark Mayer: Glutamate Receptor Structural Biology
Chris McBain: Hippocampal Interneurons and Their Role in the Control of Network Excitability
John Newman: Neuroethology of Crying
James Russell: Calcium-Based Excitability in Glial Cells
Stanko Stojilkovic: Signaling and Secretion in Neuroendocrine Cells
Mark Stopfer: Olfactory Coding and Decoding by Ensembles of Neurons
Stephen Suomi: Genetic and Envrionmental Determinants of Primate Biobehavioral Development

Program in Genomics of Differentiation: Igor B. Dawid, Program Director
Sohyun Ahn: Molecular Genetics of Neural Stem Cells
Michael Cashel: Integration of Bacterial Nutritional Responses
Ajay Chitnis: The Evolution and Dynamics of Genetic Regulatory Networks in Zebrafish Neurogenesis
David Clark: Chromatin Remodeling and Gene Activation
Robert Crouch: Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular-Genetic Events of Recognition and Resolution of RNA/DNA Hybrids
Igor Dawid: Molecular Genetics of Embryogenesis in Xenopus and Zebrafish
Melvin DePamphilis: Regulation of Mammalian Cell Proliferation and Development
Bruce Howard: The Chromatin-Based Epigenome in Development and Aging
Judith Kassis: Control of Gene Expression During Development
James Kennison: Regulation of Homeotic Gene Function in Drosophila
Judith Levin: Molecular Genetics of Mammalian Retrovirus Replication
Paul Love: Signals Regulating T Cell Development
Richard Maraia: La Antigen, RNA Polymerase III, and Associated RNA Metabolism in Cell Biology, Growth, and Development
Keiko Ozato: Developmental Gene Regulation of the Immune System
Karl Pfeifer: Molecular Genetics of an Imprinted Gene Cluster on Mouse Distal Chromosome 7
Thomas Sargent: Control of Ectodermal Development in Xenopus
Brant Weinstein: Organogenesis of the Zebrafish Vasculature
Robert Weisberg: Mechanisms for Controlling Gene Expression in Bacteria and Bacteriophage
Heiner Westphal: Genes that Control Mouse Development

Program in Molecular Medicine: Tracey Rouault, Program Director
Stephen Kaler: Diagnosis and Treatment of Inherited Pediatric Diseases
Tracey Rouault: Regulation of Intracellular Iron Metabolism

Program in Perinatal Research and Obstetrics: Roberto Romero, Program Director
Roberto Romero: Mechanisms of Disease in Preterm Labor and Complications of Prematurity; Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Anomalies

Program in Physical Biology: Joshua Zimmerberg, Program Director
Peter Basser: Tissue Biophysics and Biomimetics
Sergey Bezrukov: Biophysics of Large Membrane Channels
Robert Bonner: Medical Biophysics
Leonid Chernomordik: Membrane Fusion Mediated by Viral and Developmental Protein Fusogens
Amir Gandjbakhche: Stochastic Modeling of Biological Processes: Quantitative Optical Imaging and Tumor-Induced Angiogenesis
Leonid Margolis: HIV Pathogens in Human Lymphoid Tissue
Ralph Nossal: Cell Biophysics
Adrian Parsegian: Physical Forces Organizing Biomolecules
Donald Rau: Intermolecular Forces, Recognition, and Dynamics
Alfred Yergey: Applications of Mass Spectrometry to Biophysics, Biochemistry, and Medicine
Joshua Zimmerberg: Membrane Remodeling During Viral Infection, Parasite Invasion, and Apoptosis; Components and Kinetics in Exocytosis

Program in Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology: Alan DeCherney, Program Director
Wai-Yee Chan: Regulation of Gene Expression, Cellular Proliferation, and Differentiation in Mammalian Development
Alan DeCherney: Reproductive Endocrinology and Science
Tomoshige Kino: Glucocorticoid Actions in Physiology and Pathology
Lawrence Nelson: The Menstrual Cycle and Human Reproduction
Lynnette Nieman: Adrenal Gland Disorders and Disorders of Female Reproduction
Karel Pacak: Diagnosis, Localization, Pathophysiology, and Molecular Biology of Pheochromocytoma
Owen Rennert: Genetic and Genomic Studies in Normal Development and Diseases
James Segars: Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Section on Nervous System Development and Plasticity
Douglas Fields: Nervous System Development and Plasticity

Section on Physical Biochemistry
Sergey Leikin: Physical Principles of Biomolecular Recognition, Self-Assembly, and Regulation

Scientific Core Facilities
James Russell: Microscopy and Imaging
Alfred Yergey: Mass Spectrometry
Jonathan Epstein: Scientific Software Support and Bioinformatics