NIDDK Debuts Newly Designed Website
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK) recently unveiled a new and improved website to offer researchers
and people searching for health information more online information
and resources in an easier-to-use format.
The website redesign features better navigation and more user-friendly
functions. Users who visit www.niddk.nih.gov will now enjoy:
- new “Scientific Areas” sections that enable researchers to
find funding areas and opportunities in their field of interest
with up-to-the-minute information about special NIDDK initiatives,
upcoming conferences, research resources, and NIDDK staff contacts
- easier navigation for finding information about the kind of
science the NIDDK funds and instructions necessary for completing
the grant application process
- a stable health education section for the public with consumer-focused
information about diabetes, endocrine and metabolic diseases,
weight control, nutrition, digestive diseases, kidney and urologic
diseases, and some blood diseases along with statistics, links
to additional resources, Spanish translations, and access to
NIDDK publications
Most of the website improvements occurred behind the scenes. “The
new website now has a database-driven content management system,
giving us much better tools to maintain it as a truly living document,” said
Maren Laughlin, Ph.D., senior adviser for integrative metabolism
at the NIDDK. “The new, improved site structure should allow website
visitors to see more easily all that is available to them.” Laughlin
served on the NIDDK 18-member content committee, one of two committees
set up to rework the website’s extramural sections.
“Our website is truly the public face of the NIDDK,” said Acting
NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. “It facilitates the conversation
among biomedical researchers at our universities and small businesses,
the American public, and the Institute. With this new website,
we hope to invite greater participation and better serve our mission
of improved health for the American people.”
Though already popular — a user survey of the health information
section reported an 82 percent overall satisfaction rate for November
2005 through January 2006 — the NIDDK staff hope the new website
will attract even more visitors.
The recent facelift is phase one of an overall three-part plan
to revamp the entire NIDDK website. While the first phase focused
on site architecture and updated content, phases two and three
will put design and color to work to give the home page and other
parts of the site a fresh look. Final improvements include the
addition of multimedia content and more database tools, such as
an automated event calendar and organizational chart to make finding
staff contact information easier. Professional and NIDDK web staff
also will have new, interactive, electronic tools to help update
and maintain the website.
The NIDDK, a component of the NIH, conducts and supports research
in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive
diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic
diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting
people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass
some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting
Americans. For more information about NIDDK and its programs,
see www.niddk.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |