In this Issue:
1. NIDCR News
2. NIH News
3. Funding Opportunities
4. Science Advances
5. NIDCR Personnel News
NIDCR NEWS
NIDCR Grantee Receives Prestigious PECASE Award
NIDCR grantee Dr. Suchitra Nelson of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, was one of 12 NIH-supported researchers awarded the nation’s highest honor for scientists at the outset of their professional careers. Ten NIH grantees—including Dr. Nelson—and two intramural NIH scientists were selected by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to receive the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The investigators were honored in a ceremony held at the White House with President George W. Bush on December 19. Dr. Nelson is conducting research on factors that lead to dental caries in low birth weight infants.
NIDCR Funds Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health
In September 2008, the NIDCR again funded Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health. In doing so, the Institute continues its commitment to understanding and eliminating the disproportionate burden of oral diseases suffered by segments of the U.S. population, including the poor, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with acquired or developmental special needs. The Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health are located at:
Boston University
http://www.creedd.org/
University of California, San Francisco
http://dentistry.ucsf.edu/cando/
University of Colorado at Denver
http://aianp.uchsc.edu/cnohr/index.html
University of Florida
http://www.dental.ufl.edu/Offices/TakeTheBite/
University of Washington
http://depts.washington.edu/nacrohd/
At these centers, teams of investigators from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, in partnership with communities, are conducting research on dental caries and oral/pharyngeal cancer. In addition to the Oral Health Disparities Centers initiative, the NIDCR funds numerous and varied types of studies focused on understanding and eliminating inequalities that exist in a wide range of disadvantaged communities and populations. For additional information about oral health disparities research, contact Ruth Nowjack-Raymer, (phone): 301-594-5394, e-mail: Ruth.Nowjack-Raymer@nih.gov
NIDCR Launches New Spanish-Language Website
NIDCR's new Spanish-language website was developed for people who primarily speak Spanish and are seeking oral health information as well as for bilingual individuals seeking information for their Spanish-speaking friends and family members. While it echoes the Institute’s English language website, both the content and the graphic design of the new Spanish site are tailored for U.S. Hispanics/Latinos. Visit the new site at:
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/Espanol/
NIH NEWS
NIH Begins New Process to Report Detailed Funding Information
On January 15, NIH made public the results of a new process for providing detailed funding information for 215 major areas of research. The Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) process uses standard category definitions, knowledge management principles, and computerized tools to categorize research projects. The process was initiated at the request of Congress to provide consistent and transparent NIH research funding information. For the first time, a complete list of all NIH-funded projects related to each category is available. By clicking on each of the categories, the public can access full project listings for that category and view, print, or download the detailed report. Categorized projects funded in FY 2008 can be found in on the RePORT site at:
www.report.nih.gov/rcdc/categories
NIH Releases First Biennial Report of the Director
NIH has released its first Biennial Report of the Director, a document that provides an integrated portrait of NIH research activities. The report makes it easier for Congress, advocates and patient groups, and the general public to understand the many programs within the agency. The report contains an assessment of the state of biomedical and behavioral research organized by disease category and investigative approaches.
Sections of the report include: an introduction to the disease, disorder, field, or approach; a summary of the scope of NIH’s research activities referencing the NIH Institutes and Centers whose missions address the topic; related health statistics; aggregate data on NIH funding; notable examples of research activities, key programs, initiatives, studies and accomplishments; and strategic plans and directions for future research. The report is available on the Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) website:
http://biennialreport.nih.gov
Linda Birnbaum Named NIEHS Director
Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., A.T.S., has been named the new director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program. Before joining NIEHS, Dr. Birnbaum was a senior advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served for 16 years as director of the Experimental Toxicology Division.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Career Development
NIH Roadmap
Small Business
REQUESTS FOR APPLICATIONS
NIH Roadmap
NOTICES
SCIENCE ADVANCES
Science News in Brief
See the following summaries of recent oral health research findings:
New Lead in Resolving Tissue Inflammation
Researchers Open the Gates
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/Research/ResearchResults/ScienceBriefs/CurrentSNIB/January/
Teledentistry Shows Potential to Assist Rural Communities
Study Links Oral Bacteria and VAP
Complex Genetics of Dentin Disorders
Study Shows Fungal Molecule Can Kill Tumor Cells
New Analysis of Periodontitis Prevalence
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/Research/ResearchResults/ScienceBriefs/Archive/archive2008/
NIDCR PERSONNEL NEWS
Dr. Alicia Dombroski Appointed Director, Division of Extramural Activities
Dr. Alicia Dombroski has been appointed director of the NIDCR Division of Extramural Activities, where she served as deputy director for the past two years. As division director, she oversees the Scientific Review, Grants Management, and Research Training and Career Development branches, and represents NIDCR on NIH-wide extramural activities. Dr. Dombroski is also executive secretary of the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council and the Board of Scientific Counselors.
Before joining NIDCR in 2006, Dr. Dombroski was a health scientist administrator in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where she played a leading role in planning and building NIAID’s biodefense program. She came to NIH in 2001 as a scientific review administrator at the Center for Scientific Review. Dr. Dombroski was an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston before moving to NIH.
Dr. Amy Adams Appointed Acting Director, Office of Science Policy and Analysis
Dr. Amy Bany Adams, Ph.D., is the new acting director of the NIDCR Office of Science Policy and Analysis. Dr. Adams has four years of NIH experience within the Office of the (NIH) Director. She arrived at NIH in 2004 as the first American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Policy Fellow, and worked with the NIH director and deputy director on a wide range of efforts, including the NIH Reform Act of 2006 implementation. She also worked with the Revitalizing NIH Peer Review Team. Dr. Adams earned her Ph.D. in cell biology from the Yale University School of Medicine and her B.S. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Leslie Frieden Named Extramural Training Officer
Dr. Leslie Frieden has joined the NIDCR Research Training and Career Development Branch as the new extramural training officer. Dr. Frieden did her undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins University and earned her PhD from Harvard. She completed her postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt, where she studied the role of ephrin-A1 in cardiac valve development. In addition to her scientific knowledge, Dr. Frieden has experience in NIH training and research career development, having received both predoctoral and postdoctoral support through T32 programs. She also has participated in the writing of NIH fellowship and research project grant applications and has published her work in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Norman Braveman Retires
On December 31, Dr. Norman Braveman, assistant to the NIDCR director, retired with almost 30 years of government service at the NIH. His previous positions at the NIDCR included serving as assistant director for program development in the extramural program from 1992 to 2001. Earlier in his NIH career, he was a health scientist administrator in the Office of the Director, NIH and at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Dr. Braveman holds a Ph.D. in psychobiology from Washington State University.