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The NIH Almanac - Major NIH Lectures

The constant exchange of ideas is crucial to progress in medical research. Findings in one field often unexpectedly affect thinking in others. To encourage this exchange of ideas in its own laboratories, NIH hosts more than 1,200 scientific lectures each year by its own researchers and by distinguished visiting scientists from other research institutions. Here are a few highlights of the many lectures NIH hosted in 2007.

The NIH Director's Lectures

Speakers nominated by researchers and scientific interest groups throughout NIH, and approved by the NIH Director.

  • "A Default Mode of Brain Function: History of an Evolving Idea"—Marcus E. Raichle, April 11, 2007
  • Mark Davis, May 2, 2007

David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture

This annual lecture honors the late Dr. David E. Barmes, a World Health Organization expert in oral health, special expert for international health in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Office of International Health, and ardent spokesman for global health. Established in 2001, the lecture series is jointly sponsored NIDCR and NIH’s Fogarty International Center.

  • "Climate Change and Health"—Margaret Chan, December 10, 2007

Cantoni Memorial Lecture Series

This lecture series honors Giulio Leonardo Cantoni, who joined the National Institutes of Mental Health in 1954 as the Chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Pharmacology, now the Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry. He directed that laboratory until 1994.

  • "Biology & Biochemistry of Small RNA"—Phillip A. Sharp, October 22, 2007

John Doppman Memorial Lecture for Imaging Sciences

This annual lecture honors the memory of a devoted physician, researcher, and teacher who spent more than 30 years at NIH and was chief of the Clinical Center’s Diagnostic Radiology Department.

  • "Image-Guided Cancer Treatment: The Science and Vision of an Emerging Field"—J. William Charboneau, October 31, 2007

Gordon Lecture

Named in honor of Robert S. Gordon, Jr., former Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and Special Assistant to former NIH Director James Wyngaarden. Topics focus on clinical research and epidemiology.

  • "Hormones and Breast Cancer: Etiology vs. Ideology"—Robert Hoover, May 16, 2007

Joseph J. Kinyoun Lecture

Established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1979 to honor Dr. Kinyoun, who established in 1887 the Laboratory of Hygiene on Staten Island, the predecessor of the National Institutes of Health.

  • "How We Sense Microbes"—Bruce Beutler, October 25, 2007

Florence Mahoney Lecture

Sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, the series recognizes Mrs. Mahoney's lifetime commitment to medical research and its benefits to people worldwide. Florence Stephenson Mahoney is widely known for her dedicated efforts in shaping national health science policy, particularly with respect to aging.

  • "Protein Misfolding in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease"—Richard I. Morimoto, March 21, 2007

G. Burroughs Mider Lecture

Established in 1968 in honor of the first NIH director of laboratories and clinics. The lecture is presented by an NIH intramural scientist to recognize and appreciate outstanding contributions to biomedical research.

  • "Emerging fluorescence technologies for analysis of protein localization and organelle dynamics"—Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, April 4, 2007

Sayer Vision Research Lecture

Dr. Jane Sayer, an NIH research scientist in NIDDK, established the Sayer Vision Research Lecture and Award at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, in partnership with NEI, to honor her family and the memory of her parents, Winthrop and Laura Sayer. The lecture and award series will provide an opportunity for honorees to explore areas of interdisciplinary collaboration that may lead to advances in diverse medical specialties relevant to vision research.

  • "G protein-coupled receptor signaling in phototransduction"—Krzysztof Palczewski, October 5, 2007

DeWitt Stetten Jr., Lecture

Established by NIGMS in 1982 and presented annually in honor of Dr. Stetten, the third NIGMS director.

  • "Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway"—Kevin J. Tracey, October 24, 2007

Matilda White Riley Lecture

Named for noted NIH social scientist who died in 2004 at age 93 to honor her extraordinary life and work in behavioral and social research.

  • "Integrative Health: A Pathway Approach"—Carol D. Ryff and Burton H. Singer, June 6, 2007
This page was last reviewed on June 10, 2008 .
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