2004 NIH Director's Awards Ceremony

All employees are invited to the 2004 NIH Director's Award ceremony on Thursday, July 22 at 2 p.m. in the Natcher Bldg. main auditorium. Awards will be presented in four categories: The NIH Director's Award, NIH Mentoring Award, Commissioned Corps awards and EEO awards. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters will be provided. A reception will be held following the ceremony in the Natcher cafeteria. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in the event should contact their IC award coordinators.

Mock-Up Lab Built for Bldg. 33

A laboratory mock-up structure has been built just north of the new multi-level parking garage 10; it will be used to help the design team finalize layout of the labs and the lab systems that will go into Bldg. 33, NIH's new biodefense facility. None of the systems in the mock-up will be functional. The mock-up will be housed in a double-wide trailer, one-story in height. Minimal outside lighting will be provided with the structure. "Once constructed, the mock-up structure will stay in place until the end of the Bldg. 33 construction, which is anticipated to be around October 2005," said Stella Serras-Fiotes of the Office of Research Facilities Development and Operations. "The mock-up will be removed at that time and the construction staging area north of the garage will be restored to a landscaped open space condition, as called for in the campus master plan."

Principles of Clinical Pharmacology Course

The Principles of Clinical Pharmacology course, sponsored by the Clinical Center, will begin in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10 on Sept. 2. The course will be held Thursday evenings from 6:30 to approximately 7:45 and will run through Apr. 28, 2005.

The course covers topics such as pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism and transport, assessment of drug effects, drug therapy in special populations and drug discovery and development. An outstanding faculty has been assembled to present the lectures including Dr. Carl Peck of Georgetown University's Center for Drug Development Science, Dr. Jerry Collins of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Clinical Center's Dr. Arthur J. Atkinson, Jr., who is also the course director. The faculty has also prepared a textbook, Principles of Clinical Pharmacology, that follows the sequence of the course lectures and is available in the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, Inc. bookstore located in Bldg. 10.

Registration is open to all interested persons free of charge. More information about the course, including online registration, is available at http://www.cc.nih.gov/researchers/training/principles.shtml or by calling (301) 435-6618.

Booz Allen Classic, AstraZeneca Benefit Inn

Golfer Adam Scott (c), who won the recent Booz Allen Classic golf tournament, also was named Crestor Charity Challenge winner that week. For Scott's performance at the Avenel Tournament Players Club, AstraZeneca, on behalf of its Crestor brand, and the Classic donated $50,000 to the Children's Inn at NIH and $50,000 to the health care-related charity of Scott's choice. Shown above with Scott are (from l) Jeff Cook of AstraZeneca; Chris Downey of the Children's Inn; Tyrrell Flawn, executive director of the inn; and Marty Russo of Washington Golf Charities. The Crestor Charity Challenge is a season-long weekly competition that recognizes the tournament leader entering the final round at most PGA tour events throughout the year. "We are so grateful to the Washington Golf Charities, AstraZeneca and the Crestor Charity Challenge for this generous gift to the Children's Inn," said Flawn.

FAES Announces Fall Courses

The FAES Graduate School at NIH announces the schedule of courses for the fall semester. The evening classes sponsored by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences will be given on the NIH campus.

Courses are offered in biochemistry, biology, biotechnology (daytime courses), chemistry, immunology, languages, medicine, microbiology, pharmacology, statistics, toxicology, alternative medicine and courses of general interest.

It is often possible to transfer credits earned to other institutions for degree work, and many courses are approved for category 1 credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award.

Classes will begin Sept. 13; mail registration ends Aug. 6 and walk-in registration will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 3. Tuition is $115 per credit hour, and courses may be taken for credit or audit. Courses that qualify for institute support as training should be cleared with supervisors and administrative officers as soon as possible. Both the vendor's copy of the training form and the FAES registration form must be submitted at the time of registration. Note that FAES cannot access training forms entered in the NIHTS system; a signed hard copy (vendors' copy of SF 182 form) is needed in order to process registrations for classes. Asking your institute to pay your tuition does not constitute registration with the FAES Graduate School.

Schedules are available in the graduate school office in Bldg. 60, Suite 230; the foundation bookstore in Bldg. 10, Rm. B1L101; and the business office in Bldg. 10, Rm. B1C18. To have a catalog sent, call (301) 496-7976 or visit http://www.faes.org.

Surplus Food Donated to Needy

A recent change in the menu at the Clinical Center nutrition department resulted in a surplus of food on hand in the kitchen, so several employees decided that the excess food should be donated to Shepherd's Table, a service with locations in Silver Spring and Rockville that feeds needy people. On hand for the donation were (from l) Toney Darden, a cook assistant; Dorothy Martin, food service cook, shop steward for AFGE Local # 2419 and UCAN (Union Community Action Network) councilor; and Kenneth Joholske, library technician in the NIH Library who is also a UCAN councilor and union steward for the library. UCAN councilor Darin Thomas (not shown) helped load the food onto a truck.

Sailing Association Open House, Picnic

Would you like to learn to sail? Does the idea of racing sailboats appeal to you? Come check out the NIH Sailing Association at its open house and picnic on Saturday, Aug. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Selby Bay Sailing Center, Mayo, Md. The event will introduce the NIH and NOAA communities to NIHSA. Short sails will be available to adults over 18 on a first-come, first-served basis, weather permitting, and there will be cookout food and drink. Cost is $5 per person. Membership applications will be available, as will sign-ups for fall basic training class (if spaces are available). For more information, including directions to the picnic, visit www.recgov.org/sail.

R&W Bullpen Party Hosted at Orioles Park

The NIH R&W recently hosted a bullpen party for the employees of NIH with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Among the special guests was a Little League team (l) from Simon Elementary School, from Ward 8 (Anacostia), Washington, D.C. Team members enjoyed their first visit to Camden Yards as guests of the R&W and were treated to a picnic lunch from Boog's Place, as well as tickets to the game. The team also witnessed baseball history as Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his first home run at Camden Yards. Also on hand was Camp Fantastic's Michael Taft (below), who was selected to receive the Heavy Hitter Award by the Baltimore Orioles on behalf of the NIH R&W. He is shown with his mother, Georgiann, and the Oriole Bird before he went on the field to receive the award. Camp Fantastic is a program of NCI, NIH and R&W to assist children undergoing treatment of cancer with recreational programming.