BTRIS Seminar Series Begins

The Biomedical Translational Research Information System (BTRIS) team is holding a Translational Research Informatics Seminar Series. Each month, Dr. Jim Cimino, BTRIS project manager and chief of the Laboratory for Informatics Development, will host discussions on the current use of information systems in translational research. The seminars will be held in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10 from 2-3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21; Tuesday, Mar. 24; Tuesday, Apr. 21; Tuesday, May 19; Tuesday, June 16 and Tuesday, Sept. 15.

BTRIS—a research data repository and tool that will provide investigators with electronic access to, and analysis capabilities of, research data—is currently under development and will be released in July. For more information about BTRIS, visit http://btris.nih.gov/.

Summer Camp Guide 2009

Summer camp registration is just around the corner; now is the time to start researching your options. For NIH’ers’ convenience, the Division of Amenities and Transportation Services, ORS, and the NIH WorkLife Center are offering Camp Guide 2009 at 5 locations on 5 different days. All sessions are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 13, Bldg. 10, B1 cafeteria

Wednesday, Jan. 14, Rockledge I, 4th floor cafeteria

Thursday, Jan. 15, Bldg. 31 cafeteria

Wednesday, Jan. 21, Executive Plaza North lobby

Thursday, Jan. 22, Bldg. 50 lobby

Attend one of these events to pick up the 2009 Summer Camp Guide and camp brochures. Camp vendors will not be on site; however, a child care referral specialist and NIH staff will be available to help you get started. All services are free of charge.

For those who need reasonable accommodation to participate, contact Tonya Lee at (301) 402-8180 five days before the event.

ORS Wellness Series Continues, Jan. 14

The next lecture in ORS’s wellness initiative “Focus on You: Promoting Employee Health and Well-Being at NIH” will be “Too busy to exercise? Simple ways to become more active,” on Wednesday, Jan. 14 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Bldg. 1 cafeteria (3rd floor). The lecture will provide simple, effective and fun things that anyone can do to be more active (and shed those holiday pounds). Future topics will address how to begin physical activity, lifestyle interventions to reduce heart disease and stress reduction. For a complete list of topics and locations, call Chris Gaines at (301) 402-8180 or visit http://dats.ors.od.nih.gov/. Sign language interpreters will be provided. Individuals who need reasonable accommodation should call the number above and/or the Federal Relay, 1-800-877-8339.

This Ornament Is a ‘Knockout’
	The NIH Super Knockout Mouse, pictured left (a construction of Eppendorf tubes, Qiagen collection tubes, a Kimble Pasteur pipette, optical filter paper and Sarstedt permanent markers), was the winning entry in the Holiday Ornament Competition for NICHD fellows. Designer and postbac Eleanor Ory is in the section on medical biophysics, Program in Physical Biology. Photo: Anna Schmidt

‘Yellow Sheet’ Goes Green

The NIH Calendar of Events, better known as the Yellow Sheet, is going green. It has reached a point where electronic events scheduling is so widespread that print copies of the calendar have limited value. Moreover, the electronic version (at http://calendar.nih.gov/) is updated throughout the day whereas the print copy is not always current due to the time needed to reproduce and distribute thousands of copies.

The current online calendar allows users to subscribe on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Also, you can automatically add selected events to your Mac iCal (or MS Entourage for Mac) or MS Outlook Calendar. If you use a news reader (aggregator), there’s an RSS feed option.

If you want a print copy, simply use the “printable version” link at the top of the display. You also have the option of printing only those events of interest to you. You can also forward one or more events to a colleague via email.

Suggestions for improvements are welcome by writing to nihcala@od.nih.gov.

World AIDS Day Observed at Rockledge

Dr. Carl Dieffenbach (l), director of NIAID’s Division of AIDS, addresses an audience of coworkers and others who had gathered at 6700B Rockledge prior to embarking on a silent walk around the water fountain in front of their office to commemorate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 Photo: Judi Miller

Royall To Review Year in Uganda, Jan. 12

Dr. Julia Royall will speak about her work in Africa on Jan. 12. Photo: Daniel Hama

Dr. Julia Royall, NLM chief of international programs, has long worked on health issues in Africa. However, she was able to spend a full year there recently, as a Fulbright scholar, 2007-2008. On Monday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. in Lister Hill Auditorium, Bldg. 38A, she will share highlights from the year in a multimedia program open to the public.

Her projects ranged from measuring knowledge about malaria in a small village without electricity to planning a videoconference between Ugandan medical students in the capital city, Kampala, and NIH malaria researchers in Bethesda. Another focal point was an interactive tutorial on malaria, presented in four local languages. Created by students, faculty and Ugandan artists and vetted by people in the village, this highly praised consumer resource, a version of MedlinePlus, now lives at www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/africa. A team from the newly founded Gulu Medical School in the country’s war-torn northern region is about to use the same format for a tutorial on mental health. Illustrations for this culturally sensitive program will be done by affected teens in that region.

An underlying theme for Royall during her fellowship was building human capacity and infrastructure at universities in Gulu, Kampala and other cities. She will conclude her talk with recommendations for NIH involvement in Uganda and other African nations and her thoughts on how NLM/NIH can fill the medical information gap in Uganda and beyond.

Join the HHS Mentoring Program

NIH wants you to join the HHS Mentoring Program. Those interested in serving as mentors and mentees across the NIH community are invited to join the 2009 program.

As part of NIH and HHS’s commitment to promoting continuous development and enhancing performance at all levels, permanent federal employees are encouraged to participate. Building a confidential, interactive relationship is the cornerstone of this program. The emphasis on developing leadership and management competencies at various levels will ensure a beneficial experience for both mentors and mentees.

Program components include an online search-and-match system to connect individuals, a mentor-mentee orientation, a year-long mentoring relationship commitment and program events and resources to enhance and facilitate dialogue and growth. Individuals can participate as both mentors and mentees, and can choose senior-to-junior or peer-to-peer mentoring relationships. Mentors can expect the minimum 20-hour annual mentor time commitment to be very manageable, with ample opportunities for both mentors and mentees to be more involved in the program’s activities.

As a tool in employee development, the HHS Mentoring Program does not supplant the NIH scientific mentoring and customized IC leadership mentoring programs that are available to employees in some institutes and centers. Instead, it fills an existing need and enables NIH-wide or even HHS-wide relationships. If you are interested in being mentored or mentoring another individual at NIH, discuss with your supervisor the possibility of participation in the 2009-2010 program.

For more information, including links to online registration and information session dates, visit http://learningsource.od.nih.gov/HHS_Mentoring.html.