NIEHS Spotlight

Allen Wilcox Honored by University of Bergen

The contributions of NIEHS Senior Investigator Allen Wilcox, M.D., Ph.D., to the field of epidemiology will be recognized in Norway on August 29, when the University of Bergen will award him an honorary degree....read more

Looking to the Future of Environmental Public Health

The NIEHS Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) working group held its first brainstorming workshop June 30 - July 1 in Rodbell Auditorium....read more

Hrynkow Addresses Embassy Science Officers

NIEHS Associate Director Sharon Hrynkow, Ph.D. gave a talk June 24 on "Perspectives on Global Neuroscience" to members of the Washington Science Diplomats Club meeting at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C....read more

Promoting Hands-on Science in Texas Schools

NIEHS Grantee Nancy Moreno, Ph.D., delivered an encouraging message to the small, but enthusiastic group of employees and visitors gathered in Rodbell Auditorium on July 2....read more

NIH Continues Search for NIEHS Director

NIH is now accepting applications from qualified candidates for the position of director of NIEHS....read more

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Special Focus on Superfund

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Superfund Grantee Hammock Honored for Teaching

Veteran Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) grantee Bruce Hammock, Ph.D., will receive the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching from the University of California Davis (UCD), where he is a distinguished professor of entomology....read more

Superfund Puts Trust at the Top in Rhode Island Project

An article published in the July 1 issue of Environmental Science and Technology by scientists in the Brown University Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) reports on a successful collaboration between a multi-disciplinary research program and community representatives of a contaminated neighborhood in Tiverton, R.I....read more

2008 Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy Meets

The University of California Davis (UCD) Center for Entrepreneurship hosted the Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy (GTEA) 2008 July 7 – 11 in the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada....read more

Science Camp for Border Students

From the outset, almost everything about the very first University of Arizona (UA) summer camp for the environmental sciences held June 16 – 20 was designed to set it apart from the typical summer camp experience....read more

PCBs Are Topic of Superfund Workshop

Just three weeks before the Flood of 2008 engulfed the state of Iowa, 140 scientists from the United States and nine foreign countries convened in Iowa City, Iowa, to attend the "The Fifth Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Workshop: New Knowledge from Old Pollutants."....read more

Inside the Institute

NIEHS Takes on the Triangle Triathlon in Style

"I’m retired," stated trainer and NIEHS scientist Matthew McElwee after finishing the grueling Triangle Triathlon 2008 July 13 at Lake Crabtree. McElwee is a predoctoral fellow in the NIEHS Comparative Genomics Group. He, along with three of his lab mates, Staff Scientist Elena Braithwaite, Ph.D., Predoctoral Fellow Brooke Tvermoes, and Research Assistant Daniel Snyder, took on the challenge of competing in the event, a USA-sanctioned race featuring a 750-meter swim, 15-mile bike ride and 5K run....read more

Veteran Researcher Colin Chignell Dies Unexpectedly

NIEHS chemist Colin Chignell, Ph.D., died unexpectedly July 16 at age 70 in a drowning accident near North Myrtle Beach, S.C. while on a family vacation. An NIH employee for 42 years, Chignell was a principal investigator in the Photosensitization Reactions Group in the NIEHS Laboratory of Pharmacology at the time of his death....read more

Extramural Research

Extramural Update

On July 9 in Oakland/Emeryville, Calif., more than 50 representatives from public health and emergency response agencies and occupational safety and health training organizations met to review a draft NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) safety and health training tool for earthquake disaster responders....read more

Extramural Papers of the Month

• Discovery of a Shape-Shifting Protein Could Lead to Anti-Bacterial Agent
• Maternal Smoking and Receptor Gene Variant Combine to Increase Risk for Childhood Asthma
• Single Nucleotide Polymorphism is Associated with Neuroblastoma
• Epigenetic Markers Change Over a Lifetime

Science Notebook

Cline Explores Circuits in the Developing Brain

The latest NIEHS distinguished lecture in the 2007–2008 series featured Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory professor Hollis T. Cline, Ph.D., and was hosted by NIEHS Principal Investigator Serena Dudek, Ph.D. Cline presented “Mechanisms of Circuit Development: The Contribution of Synapse Elimination” on July 8 in Rodbell Auditorium....read more

Laboratory of Structural Biology Undergoes Scientific Review

Every four years laboratories at NIEHS meet with their Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) to ensure that the labs are carrying out sound hypothesis-based research....read more

Epigenetic Changes May Be Early Indicators of Cancer

A recent NIEHS-funded study headed by Stephen B. Baylin, M.D., at The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, Md., adds to the evidence that mutation and epigenetic phenomena in common genes may be early prognosticators of cancer....read more

Team Develops Novel Method to Monitor DNA Damage Recognition

In a study published in the June issue of Nanoletters, Principal Investigator Bennett Van Houten, Ph.D., and Postdoctoral Fellow Hong Wang, Ph.D., in the NIEHS Laboratory of Molecular Genetics DNA Repair and Mitochondrial Damage Group, along with their collaborators from the University of North Carolina, present novel methods that overcome obstacles encountered in single-molecule studies....read more

New Techniques in Collaborative X-ray Crystalography

On the afternoon of July 10, NIEHS Staff Scientist Lars Pedersen, Ph.D., presented his most recent research results as part of the Laboratory of Structural Biology seminar series....read more

Cell Migration and Metastatic Cancer Cell Behavior

On July 11, visiting lecturer Leslie Rivera Rosado summarized her research data on cell migration mechanisms for an audience of NIEHS scientists....read more

NRDC Climate Center Director Speaks at RTI

Daniel Lashof, Ph.D., director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) Climate Center, was the featured speaker at an Environmental Sciences Climate Change Seminar sponsored by RTI International on July 10....read more

NTP Marks Milestones in Alternative Methods

When the Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods (SACATM), convened its annual meeting June 18 – 19 at the Research Triangle Park Radisson Hotel, there seemed to be a general sense of satisfaction about the accomplishments being made....read more

Upcoming Distinguished Lecturer Alberto Ascherio

The 2007 – 2008 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series will welcome its final speaker, Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H., at 11:00 a.m. August 12 in Rodbell Auditorium....read more

Calendar of Upcoming Events

• August 5, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Seminar with Ron Crystal, M.D., speaking on "Why Are Some Individuals More Sensitive to the Environment than Others? Genetic Variation and Modulation of Gene Expression in the Human Airway Epithelium"
• August 5, in the Executive Conference Room, 12:00 – 1:00 — Seminar, "Antagonism of the Retinoid X Receptor enhances the repopulating capacity of cultured human Hematopoietic Stem Cells," presented by Rachid Safi, Ph.D.
• August 6, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Summers of Discovery Seminar Series with Jack Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., talking on "A Random Walk through Biomedical Careers and Gene Polymorphisms"
• August 12, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Distinguished Lecture Seminar Series featuring Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H., speaking on "Environmental Risk Factors and Biomarkers of Parkinson's Disease"
• August 15 (Offsite Event), in UNC Bioinformatics Building Auditorium (Room 1131), 10:30 – 11:30 — Joe Piven, M.D. speaking on "Imaging the Developing Brain in Autism" — Registration Required (http://cfx.research.unc.edu/res_classreg/browse_single.cfm?New=1&event_id=21633)
• August 15 (Offsite Event), in UNC Molecular Biomolecular Research Building (MBRB) Ground Floor Auditorium (Room G202), 1:00 – 2:00 — Sam Sisodia, Ph.D, discussing "Function and Dysfunction of Presenilins in Alzheimer's Disease" — Registration Required (http://cfx.research.unc.edu/res_classreg/browse_single.cfm?New=1&event_id=21633)
• August 22, in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Seminar Series, speaker and topic TBA

View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar

Intramural Research

Intramural Papers of the Month

• The Binding of Cell-Surface Nucleolin and P-selectin Promotes Metastasis
• NOS and Nitroglycerin-mediated Vasodilation
• The Involvement of the MEK-MSK1 Pathway in the Immune Response
• Low Doses of UVA Promote Tumor Growth in Human Keratinocytes

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