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NIH Record  
Vol. LXI, No. 1
January 9, 2009
 Features
NIEHS Welcomes Birnbaum as Next Director
Turning African ‘Brain Drain’ into ‘Brain Gain’
Nine NIH’ers Named 2008 AAAS Fellows
Astute Clinician Lecture To Address Marfan Syndrome
Stadtman Gift Expands, Embellishes Rock Creek Regional Park
HERC: Herculean Tool for Recruitment
Presidential Award Recognizes 12 Associated with NIH
Clinical Center Raises Over $7,000 for CFC
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Briefs
Milestones
Digest
Volunteers
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Angelou Brings Art to Science Summit
Health Disparities Gets Intramural Research Component
  Dr. Maya Angelou addresses health equity summit.
  Dr. Maya Angelou addresses health equity summit.

A jazz scat segued seamlessly into a Deep River blues riff. African proverbs wound naturally into Croatian travel tales. Rhythmic lines from Langston Hughes flowed effortlessly into her own stream of consciousness stanzas. It was just Dr. Maya Angelou doing what she does—this time for the sake of health and medical research, and for the inspiration and edification of about 4,400 attendees at “NIH Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities” held Dec. 16-18 at the Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, Md.

“When I thought about all the people you touch by the work you do, I thought I would commend you and thank you in their names—for all of the people whose faces you’ll never see and whose names you’ll never hear—because of your commitment to the idea of equity in medical care for everyone,” Angelou said. “I think we can move beyond disparity—because I look at the world, at everything, as if it is a half-filled glass. I think the word disparity puts the weight on the already encumbered. I think if I look at it as ‘equity,’ I have a diffrent image. [I see] more emphasis on opportunity, on seeking, with more resolve, more hope.”
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Budget, Boston Lab Top Meeting Agenda
ACD Hears U.S. Stimulus Package Could Spur NIH Finances
  Dr. Adel Mahmoud updates the ACD on the biosafety lab at Boston University.
  Dr. Adel Mahmoud updates the ACD on the biosafety lab at Boston University.

Prospects for Congress to augment NIH’s 2009 budget and an update on the status of a Boston biosafety lab topped the agenda at the 97th meeting of the advisory committee to the NIH director on Dec. 5.

With NIH operating under a continuing resolution (CR) since the beginning of fiscal year 2009 on Oct. 1 of last year and much of the nation focused on a worldwide money crunch, financial concerns at NIH were uppermost on everyone’s mind. Dr. Raynard Kington, presiding over his first ACD gathering as acting NIH director, called on NIH budget director John Bartrum to summarize the agency’s current financial picture and strategies to improve its funding outlook in the near term. Bartrum said the CR would expire Mar. 6, and that NIH was operating at the FY 2008 appropriation level until a budget is passed. NIH expects an omnibus budget by late January/early February.
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