Bike To Work Day, May 7

Celebrate National Bike to Work Day with the NIH Bicycle Commuter Club and the NIH Fitness Center on Friday, May 7 from 7 to 9:30 a.m. on the Paul Rogers Plaza in front of Bldg. 1.

Free bagels and juice will be provided to anyone with a bicycle. A drawing will be held for prizes such as 3-month memberships to the NIH Fitness Center, flashing LED lights from the NIH Federal Credit Union and much more.

The Bicycle Commuter Club will be offering a free bicycle safety check. This is appropriate both for current riders and for those who are interested in getting back into riding but have not been on their bicycle in some time.

You can also register your bicycle with the NIH Police (which is strongly recommended for those who ride and park their bicycle on campus), participate in a survey to identify local cyclists' safety concerns and potential solutions, learn about the bike club's monthly bike trail maintenance schedule, and find out about preferred bicycle commuter routes to campus, local cycling events, bicycle shops and organizations.

Even if you don't currently bike to work, plan to stop by and get to know some of your fellow NIH'ers who have chosen to drive one less car on the roadways, use one less parking space, maintain local paths for everyone's enjoyment, and advocate for improved roadway safety on and around the NIH Bethesda campus to make commuting to NIH safer for all.

Wednesday Afternoon Lectures

The Wednesday Afternoon Lecture series — held on its namesake day at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10 — features Dr. Rafael Yuste on May 5; his topic is "Imaging the Structure and Function of the Cortical Microcircuit." He is associate professor, department of biological sciences, Columbia University.

On May 12, Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor will give the Robert S. Gordon, Jr., Lecture in Epidemiology on the topic, "Diversity, Body Size and Diabetes: Genetics Without Genotyping." She is professor and division chief of epidemiology, department of family and preventive medicine, University of California School of Medicine, San Diego.

For more information or for reasonable accommodation, call Hilda Madine, (301) 594-5595.

STEP Examines Roots of Happiness

The staff training in extramural program (STEP) committee will hold a Science for All forum titled, "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" on Thursday, May 6 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in Lister Hill Auditorium, Bldg. 38A.

Why is my glass always half empty when yours is always half full? Does positive thinking aid in life success? Is there a correlation between attitude and physical health? Does failure always lead to unhappiness? Is happiness genetic? Are you born lucky? This forum will explore the biology and psychology of happiness and strategies for effecting positive change in your life.

All Welcome to Inn Open House

The Children's Inn at NIH invites the NIH community to its Open House on Thursday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be tours of the inn's new expansion and light refreshments will be served. Guests should take the campus shuttle to the Clinical Center and walk from there to the inn; no parking is available.

Construction is now complete on the first major expansion in the history of the inn. The facility, which opened in 1990, now has a total of 59 new and newly-refurbished rooms to accommodate pediatric outpatients at NIH and their families. The expansion will open for inn residents on May 10.

Privacy Act Training Symposium Set

The NIH Office of Management Assessment will conduct a training symposium to discuss the Privacy Act of 1974 at NIH and relevant privacy issues on Thursday, May 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. in Conf. Rm. E1/E2 of the Natcher Conference Center. The symposium will be videocast to NIEHS. Issues to be covered include collection of information, parts of a system notice, provisions of disclosure, relationship to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), key players and responsibilities as well as civil and criminal remedies. All NIH employees are welcome. No advance registration is necessary. The conference room seats 100. Individuals with disabilities who need sign language interpretation and/or reasonable accommodation to participate may contact Karen Plá at (301) 402-6201 or plak@od.nih.gov.

National Day of Prayer To Be Marked, May 6

Contracting Officials Meet in Frederick

Diane Frasier, head of NIH contracting activity, and other NIH contracting officials recently joined Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) in Frederick at a meeting to network with area biotech firms and help them learn of contracting opportunities at Fort Detrick, NCI and Science Applications International Corp., the contractor that handles design, construction and maintenance requirements for the NCI-FCRDC government-owned, contractor-operated site.

OSE Film Series Goes 'Silver'

The Office of Science Education (OSE) has announced a new venue for its long successful public science education program, Science in the Cinema. In partnership with the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, OSE is sponsoring the 2004 program at the historic Silver Theatre located in downtown Silver Spring.

Science in the Cinema is a free film festival open to anyone who enjoys movies and has an interest in science and medicine. Every second Tuesday during May, June and July, a film with a medical science-related theme will be shown in its entirety beginning at 7 p.m. Following each film, a guest speaker with expertise in the film's subject area will comment on the science depicted in the film and take questions from the audience.

The NIH and AFI Silver film series will touch on a variety of medical science topics, including depression, cancer, history of medicine and medical research ethics.

For tickets, film schedule and more information visit OSE's web site, http://science.education.nih.gov/cinema. For information about the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, visit http://afi.com/silver or call (301) 495-6720.

FEW Presents 'Negotiation Skills'

The Bethesda chapter of Federally Employed Women (FEW) will host Dr. M. Joan DeSimone, consultant and professor, Johns Hopkins University, at its brown bag meeting on Tuesday, May 11, from noon to 1 p.m. in Bldg. 31 Rm. 6C06. DeSimone will present "Negotiation Skills." She earned her Ph.D. in applied behavioral science from the University of Maryland and works with groups in organizations to increase productivity and morale. All are welcome to attend.

Sign language interpreters will be provided. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate should contact Allyson Browne, (301) 451-0002 or the Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339) by May 10.

Tae Kwon Do Beginner's Class

The NIH Tae Kwon Do School is offering a beginner's class for adults and mature teens starting May 10. The curriculum combines traditional striking arts, forms and sparring with emphasis on self-defense. No experience is necessary. Class will meet in the Malone Center (Bldg. 31C, B4 level, next to the NIH Fitness Center) from 6 to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, and will continue for about 2 months until participants can be integrated into the regular school training. Dues are $40 per quarter and a uniform costs $30. Interested persons are welcome to watch regular training sessions. For information call Andrew Schwartz, (301) 402-5197 or visit http://www.recgov.org/r&w/nihtaekwondo.html.

APAO Honors Employee Achievement

The NIH Asian Pacific American Organization (APAO) recently honored NIH employees with its Outstanding Achievement Award. Three traditional award categories recognize NIH'ers for significant accomplishments in advancing NIH/IC EEO goals, scientific research and administrative work.

The traditional presentations were preceded by a special award to Dr. Ruth Kirschstein, senior advisor to the NIH director, for more than 30 years of dedicated support to APAO members.

Awardees include Dr. Bai Lu for outstanding achievement in biomedical research at NIH, Prahlad Mathur for excellence in continuous service to APAO and Charly Wells for dedicated volunteer service to APAO.

APAO also used the opportunity to install new officers: Dr. Dar-Ning Kung of NLM, president; Prahlad Mathur of OD, vice president; Donna Wells of NEI, treasurer; Ihsia Hu of NLM, executive secretary; and Tony Gavino of CIT, co-executive secretary.

Nutrition Month Prizes Announced

Congratulations to RNs Pam Costner and Sandy MacDonald, and Patient Representative Laura Cearnal for winning the Healthy Lifestyle gift baskets. Each basket contains healthy cooking magazines, a pedometer and exercise guidelines, a coupon for a free French cooking class at L'Academie de Cuisine, free 1-month membership to the NIH Fitness Center, a complete nutritional assessment and body composition analysis by the NIH dietetic interns, a 1-year subscription to Nutrition Action newsletter, and a variety of healthy foods. The NIH dietetic interns of the clinical nutrition service thank the NIH community for supporting this Nutrition Month activity. Proceeds ($340) benefit the NIH Patient Emergency Fund.