Grad Student Festival, Sept. 11-12

The NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival will be held Sept. 11-12 on campus. It will introduce 200 advanced graduate students in the sciences to the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) with the aim of recruiting them to do postdoctoral training here. The annual festival includes poster presentations; plenary sessions that address NIH and how it works, resources for postdoctoral fellows at NIH and experiences of former NIH postdoctoral fellows; scientific sessions highlighting research in the IRP; tours of campus and specialized research and clinical facilities; interviews with NIH investigators interested in hiring postdoctoral fellows; and informal opportunities to interact with current trainees. For more information, contact Dr. Patricia Sokolove at (301) 402-3889.

2009 COPR Nomination Process Open

NIH is seeking applicants to fill vacant appointments for the 2009 Council of Public Representatives (COPR) roster. Nominations are due Friday, Sept. 26. COPR advises the NIH director on cross-cutting topics related to medical research and health issues of public interest that ultimately promote individual, family and community well-being. COPR consists of up to 21 individuals who are selected from among the diverse communities that benefit from, and have an interest in, NIH research, programs and activities. For more information or to obtain a nomination form online, visit http://copr.nih.gov/nomination.asp. To request a form by mail, phone (301) 650-8660 ext. 269, fax (301) 650-7172 or email COPR1@palladianpartners.com.

Tae Kwon Do Beginner’s Class

The NIH Tae Kwon Do School is offering a beginner’s class for adults and mature teens. New students are invited to begin classes on Monday, Sept. 8. The curriculum combines traditional striking arts, forms, sparring and basic aikido techniques with emphasis on self-defense. No experience is necessary. Classes meet in the Malone Center (Bldg. 31C, B4 level, next to the NIH Fitness Center) from 6 to 8 p.m. on Mondays and 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays (6-7 p.m. Fridays, optional). Registration fee is $50 and includes 10 weeks of beginner’s class and a uniform costs $40. Interested persons are welcome to watch regular training sessions. For information call Lewis Sloter, (301) 213-5841 or visit www.recgov.org/r&w/nihtaekwondo.html.

Privacy Training Deadline Nears, Sept. 12

Privacy awareness training was rolled out this summer to NIH staff as a new requirement. In the initial phase, those designated as having a significant role with respect to privacy were asked to complete the course. Now, all remaining employees and contractors are required to take it by Friday, Sept. 12. Your privacy coordinator will track user completion and provide certification when you finish all course modules. Visit http://irtsectraining.nih.gov to complete training.

Harvard’s Reede To Give Diversity Lecture, Sept. 17

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management will host the third 2008 presentation in its NIH Diversity Seminar Series on Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. to noon in Wilson Hall, Bldg. 1. Dr. Joan Reede, dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard Medical School, will be the keynote speaker. All are encouraged to attend. Sign language interpreters will be provided. For more information, call (301) 451-0478. Individuals who need reasonable accommodation should call Carolyn Hunter at (301) 496-9281 or the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

Sept. 22 Is Car Free Day

On Monday, Sept. 22, NIH will join the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and other employers in the area to celebrate Car Free Day. If you are currently traveling to work by bicycle, carpool, mass transit, vanpool or by foot, go to http://carfreemetrodc. com/Home/tabid/54/Default.aspx and make the pledge you will be car free on Sept. 22. NIH’ers not currently participating in alternative transportation commuter options may go to the NIH Transportation web site http://dtts.ors.od.nih.gov/transportation.htm to see a range of commuter options. As an incentive for those who are driving alone or otherwise not currently receiving a transit subsidy and who would like to try the NIH Transhare for this day, you may sign up to receive up to a $10 Metrochek at the NIH Parking Office (31/B3B04) the week of Sept. 15. Contractors are not eligible for the NIH Transhare Program. All participants must sign an agreement to use these non-transferable funds for mass transit on Sept. 22 and be “car free.” For more information about this event, call Joe Cox, (301) 402-RIDE (7433).

Camera Club Opens Annual Photo Contest

The NIH Camera Club’s annual open photography competition will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 6:15 p.m. in the community room at the Classic Hyatt Residence, 8100 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase. The entry fee is $2 per image and up to four images can be submitted per category. Categories are black-and-white prints, color prints, color slides and digital images. Prizes will be awarded. The Camera Club, an R&W sponsored organization, meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month (September-June) at the Classic Hyatt Residence. A guest speaker shares photographic expertise and images and judges club members’ photos on topics such as travel, architecture or experimental photography. Joining the club is a great way to improve your photography and meet friendly people. For more information contact Gosia at mbodurka@verizon.net or visit www.recgov.org/r&w/camera.html.

NIDDK Publishes Easy-to-Read Booklet on Interstitial Cystitis

The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse has a new easy-to-read booklet to help people understand the difference between interstitial cystitis (IC), or painful bladder syndrome (PBS) and other sources of bladder pain. People with IC/PBS usually experience pain when the bladder fills and empties but rarely experience bladder pain all the time. The pain might even go away for weeks or months but then returns. Getting a correct diagnosis for the pain can be difficult because IC/PBS symptoms resemble those of other conditions. The booklet What I need to know about Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome explains the causes and symptoms of this condition, as well as available tests and treatments. Treatment options include bladder retraining, physical activity, physical therapy, stress reduction, medication, bladder stretching, nerve stimulation and surgery. NIDDK is funding a research program to advance understanding of urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes related to the bladder, including IC/PBS. The multidisciplinary approach to the study of chronic pelvic pain will include up to six discovery sites that will assess potential relationships between IC/PBS and chronic nonbacterial prostatitis and other chronic pelvic pain syndromes. An online copy of What I need to know about Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome is available at www.kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/interstitialcystitis_ ez/index.htm. To order a copy, go to www.catalog.niddk.nih.gov or contact NKUDIC at 3 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892-3580, 1-800-891-5390 (phone), (703) 738-4929 (fax), nkudic@info.niddk.nih.gov.

Aidan Lucas (r) tries to figure out why the bird keeps bobbing as Alex Runkles looks on.

‘Adventure in Science’ Recruits Faculty, Students Adventure in Science, a non-profit science education program for children, is planning its 16th year at NIH. The program, which meets on Saturday mornings October through March in Bldg. 10, is designed to show 8-11 year-olds the fun of science using hands-on activities, from building (and launching) model rockets to dissecting frogs. The teachers are mostly NIH volunteers, from postdocs to institute directors. A similar program for children ages 12-15 is available at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg. If you are interested in volunteering to teach in the program, contact Peter Kellman, (301) 496-2513, kellmanp@nhlbi.nih.gov or Ed Max, (301) 827-1806 (max@cber.fda.gov). If you would like to enroll your child, you can request forms from the 4H office at Montgomery County Cooperative Extension, (301) 590-9638. Return completed forms promptly, since the program is oversubscribed every year.

Daniel Liu and Ariel Blakey study energy conversion in a motor.

NIH Earth Day Contest Inspires Student Interest, Research

Representatives from NIH recently presented a plaque and congratulations to Tay Davis, first student winner of the “Name IT Contest” at a ceremony held at Walter Johnson High School. On hand were (from l) Dr. Julia Arnold of NCCAM; Kenny Floyd, director of the Division of Environmental Protection (DEP), ORF; Capt. Ed Rau, contest organizer, from DEP; and Davis, who is planning a career in medicine. The Moringa tree in the background, already 4 feet tall, was the tiny seedling that appeared in the Mar. 7, 2008, edition of the NIH Record. The tree was donated to the school for its greenhouse collection. The book Floyd is holding about Moringa titled Miracle Tree was written by Monica Marcu, previously an investigator with NCI. Her book is probably the most comprehensive book on the benefits of Moringa in medicine, cosmetics and nutrition and its history of use for more than 5,000 years, said Rau. Photo: Bill Mills

NHLBI Lecture Series Hosts Nobelist Goldstein

The NHLBI Biomedicine Lecture Series on Aug. 4 hosted a lecture, “The Cholesterol Feedback Story: A Tale of Membrane Proteins and Sterol Sensors,” by Nobel laureate Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, who with colleague Dr. Michael S. Brown, won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Goldstein and Brown’s groundbreaking work on the regulation of cholesterol metabolism laid the groundwork for the development of statins, drugs that are used by millions around the world to lower high cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. Goldstein (c) is shown here with Nobel laureate Dr. Marshall Nirenberg, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968, and NHLBI director Dr. Elizabeth Nabel. From 1968 to 1970, Goldstein worked in Nirenberg’s NIH lab as a postdoctoral fellow.

NCCAM Launches Initiatives to Help Patients, Physicians Navigate CAM Use A national consumer survey conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and AARP found that two-thirds of Americans over age 50 used some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), but less than one-third of them discussed their CAM use with their physicians. The most common reasons for this, the survey found, were that the physician never asked, the patients did not know they should talk about it and there was not enough time during office visits. NCCAM recently launched a new educational campaign, “Time to Talk,” to open the lines of communication about CAM use. By reaching out to professional and consumer organizations, the center hopes to educate patients and health care providers about the need to initiate this important dialogue. NCCAM has developed tip sheets, wallet cards and posters to educate and remind both communities to discuss CAM use. NCCAM is also helping patients and health care providers make wise choices in CAM use with its new publication, Herbs at a Glance: a Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements. The booklet contains information on more than 40 commonly used herbs. The easy-to-read guide includes scientific information on each herb, potential side effects and additional sources. A free copy is available online at www.nccaminfo.org/herbs/herbs.asp or by emailing info@nccam.nih.gov. Time to Talk materials are available from the NCCAM Clearinghouse (1-888-644-6226 toll-free) and the web site http://nccam.nih.gov/timetotalk/.

Local and Organic at NIH

Coworkers (from l) Anna Mazzuca, Robb Mann and Ann Schombert of NCI’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology recently discovered cucumber plants growing near their Bldg. 37 offices. Over the past few weeks they have harvested approximately 40 cucumbers. “Over the years, I have looked at the sunny open spaces at NIH and enviously imagined cultivating some of it for a vegetable garden,” said Dawn Walker, the lab’s technical manager. “My own yard is mostly shade and I can only have a couple of tomato plants and a few bean vines. I’ve often thought that it would be wonderful if we could grow organic fresh fruits and vegetables here at NIH, to be used in the Children’s Inn for example. As it turns out, Mother Nature has taken over a little corner of the NIH grounds and sowed cucumber seeds. Cucumber sandwich anyone?” Photo: Pat Goggins