Opportunities for Research in Japan
Through arrangements made with the Fogarty International Center, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is offering fellowships for American biomedical and behavioral researchers to pursue collaborative research in Japanese universities and other eligible institutions and laboratories.
The JSPS Short-term Fellowship provides for stays of 7 to 60 days; the JSPS Short-term Predoctoral Fellowship provides for stays of 3 to 11 months. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and research plans must be arranged in advance with the Japanese host. The application deadline is Jan. 30, 1998.
Interested persons should contact FIC immediately to receive detailed program information and application instructions. Requests should be addressed to: Dr. Allen Holt or Christina McLauchlan at 496-4784; fax: 480-3414; email: jsps@nih.gov.
Chamber Music Concert, Nov. 23
The Rock Creek Chamber Players will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 23 in the 14th floor assembly hall at the Clinical Center. This free public concert, sponsored by the recreation therapy section, will include a quartet for winds attributed to Rossini; a sonata for cello and piano by local composer Kurt Stern; Beethoven's piano sonata in F sharp major, Op. 78; Varese's Density 21.5 for solo flute; and Vivaldi's concerto for two cellos, strings and continuo. For more information call (202) 337-8710.
Gift Supports Alcohol Research
NIAAA director Dr. Enoch Gordis was the featured speaker at a recent black tie dinner at the University of Texas, Austin, where a businessman pledged $5 million for molecular genetic research on alcoholism. The university plans to match the gift through fundraising from additional private sources.
Gordis outlined critical unanswered questions in alcohol research, emphasizing areas where the UT program might shed light. "Molecular biologists will locate the genes responsible for alcoholism vulnerability, determine alcohol effects on gene expression, match gene products and structure with alcohol-related behaviors and identify the locations within neuroreceptors and the brain where alcohol acts. The payoff from these activities will be targeted intervention, prevention, and early detection."
'Turkey Chase' Set, Nov. 27
The 15th annual Turkey Chase 10K Race and 2-mile walk/run will be held Thursday, Nov. 27 on Old Georgetown Rd., south of Beech Ave. The walk and race start at around 8:50 a.m. Registration is cheaper if you do it early; pick up applications at the R&W stores or fitness centers. It's a great way to work off the extra Thanksgiving calories early in the day!
Health Benefits Open Season
The Office of Personnel Management has announced an open season for Nov. 10 through Dec. 8 under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). During that period, eligible employees may change their plan, option, type of enrollment or any combination of these. Also, eligible employees who are not currently enrolled may choose to do so during open season.
Employees eligible to participate in open season may obtain a booklet entitled 1998 FEHB Guide from their personnel office. This contains enrollment instructions, general information about FEHBP, the major features of all plans, premiums, and general categories of coverage such as outpatient and inpatient service, calendar year deductible, catastrophic limit, etc.
Enrollees will be mailed a 1998 brochure by their current health benefits plan. Employees eligible for enrollment who are not currently covered by a federal plan should contact their personnel office for information on the program or plan brochures.
The Office of Human Resource Management will hold a Health Benefits Fair in Bldg. 1, Wilson Hall, on Friday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Representatives from most of the plans will be on hand.
Seniors Enter Medical Cyberspace
Seniors Enter Medical Cyberspace: On Nov. 3-4, the National
Library of Medicine cosponsored a project to "train trainers" of
senior citizens from around the country in how to access health
information on the Internet. NLM is coordinating the project with
NHLBI and NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health, and the
HHS Health Care Financing Administration and the Office of
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The program is giving
special emphasis to trainers from public libraries, senior centers,
and subsidized housing who work with low-income and minority
seniors. Here, Richard Streaty of Washington, D.C., compares
notes with Lillian Colavecchio of Boston at a training session.
After they participate in the instruction at NIH, the trainers will
return home and teach a minimum of 10 seniors per site. A
multiplier effect is expected to raise that number substantially.
Symposium on Oligonucleotides
The NIH Therapeutic Oligonucleotides Interest Group is hosting the "Second NIH Symposium on Therapeutic Oligonucleotides: Targeting Transcription Factors and Signaling Pathways," on Friday, Dec. 5. It will be held in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There will be 13 platform talks as well as a roundtable discussion session at the end. The program will close with socializing from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Reservations are not required. CME credit is available (7 hours). Contact person is Yoon Cho-Chung, 496-4020.
Ancient World, Computer Age Meet
Ancient World, Computer Age Meet: How best to tap the latest
technological developments in order to digitize thousands of
centuries-old manuscripts for preservation and to provide
widespread access? That was the question on the mind of Father
Justin of St. Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai,
Egypt, who on Oct. 6 visited with computer and communications
experts, librarians and others at the National Library of
Medicine. The affable American-born Father Justin is traveling to
various U.S. institutions to observe digitizing projects and to
discuss technical issues. At NLM, he gave an illustrated talk
(sample above) about St. Catherine's Monastery, its collection of
paper, papyrus and parchment manuscripts, and the monastery's
objectives for digitizing and filming the collection.
Orientation Available to Extramural Staff
The Office of Extramural Programs, OD, will present an NIH orientation course entitled "Fundamentals of NIH Extramural Activities," on Monday, Jan. 26, 1998. The course is designed for extramural staff with service of 2 years or less. It will be held in the Natcher Bldg. E1&2 conference room. The course times will be 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; morning registration begins at 8.
The course will include an overview of NIH organization and history; missions and goals of the ICDs; the process of extramural grant and contract support; and a discussion of special issues and programs.
Participation will be limited to 100 people. Registration will be conducted via email on a first-come, first-served basis. Microsoft Exchange mail users can email their requests to the ESATRAIN mailbox on the NIH global address list; other mail systems users can email using the address: ESATRAIN@od.nih.gov. All requests must be received by Jan. 12. Applicants will be informed of the decision concerning their registration within 2 weeks of their submission. For more information contact Shelly Palacios, (301) 770-2670.
Annual Bazaar Scheduled, Dec. 4
The R&W and the Friends of the Clinical Center will host the annual Holiday Bazaar on Thursday, Dec. 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the lobby of the Visitor Information Center, Bldg. 10. The event will feature crafts and vendors with a variety of holiday merchandise for sale. Browse more than 50 vendors for gift ideas, or select seasonal decorations while you raise money for the patient community of the Clinical Center.
The Irish Dancing and Music Festival held Oct. 25 in Masur Auditorium to benefit NIDR fellow Dr. Henry Lancaster was a big success as more than $7,500 was raised to help defray costs associated with a double-lung transplant he will need to combat cystic fibrosis. Here, young dancers from Sean Culkin's school for Irish dance perform before a standing-room-only audience.
Wednesday Afternoon Lectures
The Wednesday Afternoon Lecture series -- held on its namesake day at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10 -- features Dr. Kai Simons on Nov. 26, lecturing on the topic "Sphingolipid-Cholesterol Rafts in Membrane Trafficking and Signaling." Simons is cell biology program coordinator, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg.
On Dec. 3, Dr. Wolf Singer, director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, speaks on "The Putative Role of Response Synchronization in Cortical Processing."
For more information or for reasonable accommodation, call Hilda Madine, 594-5595.
25th Holiday Auction Planned
The Clinical Center's clinical pathology department will hold the 25th anniversary version of its holiday auction on Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event, held in the pathology conference room and library, benefits the Patient Emergency Fund and the Friends of the Clinical Center.
Beginning at 9 a.m., coffee and breakfast breads will be sold, and a silent auction begins at 11. At lunch time, sodas and pizza will be available. The auction ends at 2 p.m. For more information contact Norma Ruschell, 496-4473, or Sallie Seymour, 496-3386, both of whom are in Bldg. 10, Rm. 2C324.
Open Season for Thrift Savings Plan
The Thrift Savings Plan is having another open season from Nov. 15 through Jan. 31, 1998. FERS employees who were hired before July 1, 1997, as well as CSRS employees have an opportunity to change their current election or make an initial election.
Eligible FERS and CSRS employees may elect to contribute to the G fund (government securities), C fund (stocks), and/or F fund (bonds).
The features of the plan and directions on how to make a plan election or to change your current withholding are described in the Thrift Savings Plan Open Season leaflet, which will be distributed to eligible employees by their ICD personnel office. More detailed information is provided in the Summary of the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal Employees booklet and is available in your ICD personnel office.
Use or Lose Reminder
Don't forget to schedule "use or lose" annual leave in writing no later than Saturday, Nov. 22. Questions concerning leave should be directed to individual ICD personnel offices.
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