 |
NCI 2006 Budget Proposal Available on Web
NCI recently launched the HTML version of The Nation's Investment in Cancer Research: A Plan and Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2006 online at http://plan.cancer.gov. On this site, users can take advantage of an enhanced search capability and click on links to other Web sites to view additional information on programs and topics highlighted in the document. This professional judgment plan and budget outlines NCI's vision for the future and the collective judgment of NCI staff, its advisory groups, and representatives of the cancer research and advocacy community regarding those activities and resources that will most effectively move NCI toward its Challenge Goal to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. The plan is built around seven strategic areas for new investment designed to help deliver the promise of improved patient care and public health for all. NCI will publish a companion progress report in the next few months to update the community on achievements in each of these strategic investment areas. Users can also download the document as a PDF from this site; hard copies can be ordered by sending an e-mail request to cisocc@pop.nci.nih.gov.
NCI Voted One of Best Work Sites for Postdocs
The NCI campuses in Maryland were named as the third-best work environment for postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences in the United States, according to the third annual Best Places to Work for Postdocs survey by The Scientist magazine. The Environmental Protection Agency campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., received first- and second-place honors respectively.
More than 3,500 postdoctoral fellows responded to the survey and cited a valuable training experience, access to research equipment and library resources, and good mentoring relationships as the ingredients that make for a good workplace. Full survey results are available in the February 14 issue of The Scientist.
In the United States, government institutions and private research centers accounted for 11 of the top 15 work environments. Institutions in Canada, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands occupy 11 of the top 15 spots for non-U.S. institutions.
PBS Documentary Features NCI
An hour-long documentary, Cancer Cures?: Sesno Reports, features interviews and footage of NCI leaders, as well as cancer patients being treated at the NIH Clinical Center. Hosted by former CNN reporter Frank Sesno, the program includes interviews with NCI Director Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, Dr. Steven Rosenberg, Dr. Lee Helman, Dr. Harold Freeman, and others. A number of cancer survivors, including NPR Political Analyst Cokie Roberts, relate their personal stories, describing how they learned about their disease and how they found ways to cope and survive. The program focuses on medical progress against the disease, as well as new therapies under development.
The program will air on public television stations through the rest of the year. Check local listings for the air date and time.
NLM Lecture Focuses on Cultural Perceptions of Cancer
Dr. Keith A. Wailoo, Rutgers University history professor, with several published works on the history and sociology of science, spoke last week at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) about "Race, Science, and Cancer," a talk adapted from his upcoming book. In tracing the phenomenon of cancer, both within the African American community and the larger society in 20th century America, Dr. Wailoo illustrated why shifting perceptions - driven by cultural and technological events - have contributed to reasons why certain ethnic groups and special populations may not easily accept the cancer awareness message as it is often presented. For most of the century - for a variety of demographic, commercial, technological, and cultural reasons - cancer messages were tailored and directed primarily to white populations. This may have prevented the messages from being clearly translated into other groups' cultural contexts. A VHS tape of the lecture may be viewed at NLM or by contacting the NLM directly at (888) 346-3656.
Yeh to Speak at International Women's Day Celebration
On Tuesday, March 8, the NIH's Fogarty International Center and Office of Research on Women's Health will sponsor an International Women's Day celebration from 4:00-5:30 p.m., in Wilson Hall, Building 1, at the NIH Campus in Bethesda, Md. The celebration will feature panel discussions from international women scientists at NIH discussing their research and career paths. Among the featured speakers will be Dr. Grace Yeh, chief of CCR's Cellular Defense and Carcinogenesis Section in the Laboratory of Metabolism.
More information can be found at http://www.fic.nih.gov.
Polymer Engineering Leads to Drug Delivery Advances
Dr. Robert Langer, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave a talk on February 24 as part of NCI's Nanotechnology Seminar Series. Dr. Langer discussed the use of chemically engineered polymers to provide sustained release of a wide range of drugs and genes to treat cancer and other diseases.
Dr. Langer highlighted more than 30 years of work that, at nearly every step, has successfully challenged scientific dogma and produced new scientific insights into how to successfully deliver therapeutically important molecules in the human body. His initial work was instrumental in the discovery of angiogenesis inhibitors. Dr. Langer's work has lead directly to the development of therapeutics that millions of patients use every day.
Some of the examples he discussed included the development of chemotherapy wafers that can be implanted in the brain to slowly release a drug used to treat glioblastoma or implanted in the prostate gland to treat prostate cancer.
More information on the Nanotechnology Seminar Series can be found at: http://nano.cancer.gov/events_nanotech_seminar_series.asp
|
