Events Mark Women's History Month

The theme for this year's Women's History Month is "Women's Work and Women's Health: A Celebration of Knowledge and Achievement." The month of March will feature a number of commemorative events, including:

Wednesday, Mar. 17, 10 a.m. to noon, "Remembering the Journey: A Middle Eastern Round Table Discussion on Women and Science," cosponsored with Fogarty International Center, at the Stone House.

Tuesday, Mar. 23, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., "Women in Science: Past Progress and Persistent Challenges," Dr. Kimberlee Shauman, assistant professor of sociology, University of California at Davis, in Wilson Hall, Bldg. 1.

Career Fair for Foreign Fellows, Mar. 19

The first-ever Career Fair for NIH Visiting Fellows will take place on Friday, Mar. 19 from 1 to 5 p.m. in the atrium of the Natcher Bldg. Dr. Michael Gottesman, NIH deputy director for intramural research, will welcome the participants at 2 p.m.

The event will bring visiting fellows together under one roof with international scientific experts, representatives of foreign universities or programs, embassies and other organizations to help the fellows gain insight and information about their careers and scientific prospects after they complete their training at NIH. The sponsors hope that it will address a critical need, particularly for fellows from developing countries, by highlighting opportunities for them to pursue research careers in their own countries, and by providing information on skill-building resources available to them as they navigate the transition after NIH.

All visiting fellows are invited and encouraged to attend. Sponsors include the NIH visiting fellows committee, the NCI Fellowship Office, the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Further information is available from Sonja Madera, (301) 496-2075, email maderas@mail.nih.gov.

Update on Bldg. 30 Fire

NIDCR employees, temporarily displaced by a fire that occurred in Bldg. 30 on Feb. 1, were scheduled to return to their labs and offices in mid-March. The fire marshal's investigation, repairs, cleaning, air quality testing and reactivation of all safety systems were to be complete by then.

During the transition, approximately 10,000 mice had to be temporarily housed in Bldg. 14G. Although NIDCR staff were eager to move back to Bldg. 30, many were able to continue their research at alternate locations during the interim.

Thomas Bugge (wearing headlamp) of NIDCR's Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, and Yasuo Yoshida, a scientist in the Oral Infection and Immunity Branch, pitch in to salvage research material. NIDCR director Dr. Lawrence's Tabak's lower body can be seen at the top of the stairs.

NIDCR intramural scientists (from top) Guy Lyons, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch; Mi-Young Son, matrix metalloproteinase section; and Pamela Robey, acting scientific director and chief of the Craniofacial and Skeletal Diseases Branch, remove material from Bldg. 30 in wake of Feb. 1 fire. Building inhabitants will be able to return to Bldg. 30 sometime in mid-March.

NLM Offers Exhibit-Based Play

Over the last 150 years, women in medicine have challenged discrimination and prejudice to build careers as doctors, scientists and leaders in public health. Bringing new perspectives to the profession, they have made important breakthroughs that benefit us all. Changing the Face of Medicine (the play) tells the stories of some of the women featured in its companion exhibition and brings their tales to life. This original piece highlights the biographies of these women in three 15-minute acts with four actors playing parts beyond their respective genders and ethnicities. Also, there will be a 10-minute question-and-answer session at the end of each performance.

Dr. Antonia Novello, one of the featured physicians in the play Changing the Face of Medicine, was the first woman — and the first Hispanic — to be appointed Surgeon General of the United States.

The plays will be staged in Lister Hill Auditorium, on the first floor of Bldg. 38A. Performances are Tuesday, Mar. 23, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Mar. 24, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, Apr. 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Send your RSVP for the play or inquiries about the exhibition tours to educator@nlm.nih.gov or phone (301) 496-5963. A sign language interpreter will be available for each performance. If other special accommodation is needed or if you have any questions, contact the exhibition educator at the number above or email jiwon_kim@nlm.nih.gov.

R&W Holds Charity Night at Circus

For the seventh year, the NIH R&W is hosting "Premiere Opening Night of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus" at the MCI Center on Wednesday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m. The event benefits the NIH Charities.

Hundreds of children and families in local hospitals, school programs, county social services programs and more will be on hand. Take your friends, family, coworkers or a date to the evening designed for children of all ages. Great seats are available at a discount including lower level $15.50 (reg. $25), ends $12.50 and upper level seats for only $8. In addition to the show, each ticket purchase also includes the Three Ring Adventure beginning at 6 p.m. This special offer allows you to participate in circus skits and gives you a chance to meet the clowns, acrobats and many more of the performers who make the circus "The Greatest Show on Earth." To purchase tickets, call the R&W activities desk at (301) 496-4600 or Julie Harris at (301) 496-6061. Large groups are also welcome.

'Help Desk' Marks Anniversary

Ten years ago, NIH consolidated 11 different telephone help lines into one centralized "Help Desk" named the Technical Assistance and Support Center (TASC), operated by the Center for Information Technology. From its humble beginnings, with less than a dozen people handling about 700 calls per month, TASC has evolved into the NIH Information Technology (IT) Help Desk with more than 60 staff handling approximately 1,000 calls per day. This growth parallels the dramatic expansion of information technology at NIH. As computer technology has advanced and expanded, so has the need for technical help. For the past 10 years, the goal of the NIH IT Help Desk has remained the same — to provide all customers with courteous, timely and high-quality support. There is no doubt that the coming years will witness many more advances in IT. The staff of the NIH IT Help Desk (above) look forward to being there to help the NIH workforce and to resolve the IT glitches and inevitable surprises that will continue to challenge us in our 21st century workplace.

Wednesday Afternoon Lectures

The Wednesday Afternoon Lecture series — held on its namesake day at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10 — features the G. Burroughs Mider Lecture (which had been postponed back on Jan. 14) on Mar. 24; the topic is "Retroviral Insertional Mutagenesis: A Roadmap for Navigating the Cancer Genome." Speakers are Dr. Neal G. Copeland, director, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, NCI, and Dr. Nancy A. Jenkins, senior investigator in the same program.

On Mar. 31, Dr. Wah Chiu will lecture on "Structural and Digital Biology of Macromolecular Complexes." He is Alvin Romansky professor of biochemistry and director, National Center for Macromolecular Imaging, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

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

Garden Club Sprouts to Life, Offers New Program Format

With spring fast approaching, gardeners with "day jobs" at NIH start dreaming of planting, pruning and puttering in their gardens once again. The NIH Garden Club also hopes to emerge from hibernation. Since the start of security activities, the club has been virtually unable to bring in the usual monthly guest speakers. A group of core members met recently and decided to see if there would be interest in a new program format: quarterly meetings, plant swaps in spring and fall, field trips to local gardens and information exchange via an email list. Interested NIH'ers should visit the Garden Club web site at http://www.recgov.org/r&w/garden/ and complete the information form.

NIH Golf Association Seeks Members

The NIH Golf Association (18-hole coed league) is looking for new members for the 2004 season. We currently have six teams of up to 25+ players each and schedule eight spring/summer stroke-play outings, plus up to five match-play end-of-summer outings each year at local courses (all mid-week and play is optional). We cap the year off on Oct. 11 at Holly Hills Country Club with an outing including golf/cart/food for all members and their guests. Prizes and trophies are awarded and handicaps are maintained from 0-40, so all interested golfers are welcome. For more information contact Howard Somers at (301) 496-8477 or visit http://www.recgov.org/nihga/ for more information.