Environmental Factor, August 2008, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIEHS Spotlight
Allen Wilcox Honored by University of Bergen
The contributions of NIEHS Senior Investigator Allen Wilcox, M.D., Ph.D., to the field of epidemiology will be recognized in Norway on August 29, when the University of Bergen will award him an honorary degree....read more
Looking to the Future of Environmental Public Health
The NIEHS Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) working group held its first brainstorming workshop June 30 - July 1 in Rodbell Auditorium....read more
Hrynkow Addresses Embassy Science Officers
NIEHS Associate Director Sharon Hrynkow, Ph.D. gave a talk June 24 on "Perspectives on Global Neuroscience" to members of the Washington Science Diplomats Club meeting at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C....read more
Promoting Hands-on Science in Texas Schools
NIEHS Grantee Nancy Moreno, Ph.D., delivered an encouraging message to the small, but enthusiastic group of employees and visitors gathered in Rodbell Auditorium on July 2....read more
NIH Continues Search for NIEHS Director
NIH is now accepting applications from qualified candidates for the position of director of NIEHS....read more
Special Focus on Superfund
Superfund Grantee Hammock Honored for Teaching
Veteran Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) grantee Bruce Hammock, Ph.D., will receive the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching from the University of California Davis (UCD), where he is a distinguished professor of entomology....read more
Superfund Puts Trust at the Top in Rhode Island Project
An article published in the July 1 issue of Environmental Science and Technology by scientists in the Brown University Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) reports on a successful collaboration between a multi-disciplinary research program and community representatives of a contaminated neighborhood in Tiverton, R.I....read more
2008 Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy Meets
The University of California Davis (UCD) Center for Entrepreneurship hosted the Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy (GTEA) 2008 July 7 – 11 in the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada....read more
Science Camp for Border Students
From the outset, almost everything about the very first University of Arizona (UA) summer camp for the environmental sciences held June 16 – 20 was designed to set it apart from the typical summer camp experience....read more
PCBs Are Topic of Superfund Workshop
Just three weeks before the Flood of 2008 engulfed the state of Iowa, 140 scientists from the United States and nine foreign countries convened in Iowa City, Iowa, to attend the "The Fifth Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Workshop: New Knowledge from Old Pollutants."....read more
Inside the Institute
NIEHS Takes on the Triangle Triathlon in Style
"I’m retired," stated trainer and NIEHS scientist Matthew McElwee after finishing the grueling Triangle Triathlon 2008 July 13 at Lake Crabtree. McElwee is a predoctoral fellow in the NIEHS Comparative Genomics Group. He, along with three of his lab mates, Staff Scientist Elena Braithwaite, Ph.D., Predoctoral Fellow Brooke Tvermoes, and Research Assistant Daniel Snyder, took on the challenge of competing in the event, a USA-sanctioned race featuring a 750-meter swim, 15-mile bike ride and 5K run....read more
Veteran Researcher Colin Chignell Dies Unexpectedly
NIEHS chemist Colin Chignell, Ph.D., died unexpectedly July 16 at age 70 in a drowning accident near North Myrtle Beach, S.C. while on a family vacation. An NIH employee for 42 years, Chignell was a principal investigator in the Photosensitization Reactions Group in the NIEHS Laboratory of Pharmacology at the time of his death....read more
Extramural Research
Extramural Update
On July 9 in Oakland/Emeryville, Calif., more than 50 representatives from public health and emergency response agencies and occupational safety and health training organizations met to review a draft NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) safety and health training tool for earthquake disaster responders....read more
Extramural Papers of the Month
Science Notebook
Cline Explores Circuits in the Developing Brain
The latest NIEHS distinguished lecture in the 2007–2008 series featured Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory professor Hollis T. Cline, Ph.D., and was hosted by NIEHS Principal Investigator Serena Dudek, Ph.D. Cline presented “Mechanisms of Circuit Development: The Contribution of Synapse Elimination” on July 8 in Rodbell Auditorium....read more
Laboratory of Structural Biology Undergoes Scientific Review
Every four years laboratories at NIEHS meet with their Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) to ensure that the labs are carrying out sound hypothesis-based research....read more
Epigenetic Changes May Be Early Indicators of Cancer
A recent NIEHS-funded study headed by Stephen B. Baylin, M.D., at The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, Md., adds to the evidence that mutation and epigenetic phenomena in common genes may be early prognosticators of cancer....read more
Team Develops Novel Method to Monitor DNA Damage Recognition
In a study published in the June issue of Nanoletters, Principal Investigator Bennett Van Houten, Ph.D., and Postdoctoral Fellow Hong Wang, Ph.D., in the NIEHS Laboratory of Molecular Genetics DNA Repair and Mitochondrial Damage Group, along with their collaborators from the University of North Carolina, present novel methods that overcome obstacles encountered in single-molecule studies....read more
New Techniques in Collaborative X-ray Crystalography
On the afternoon of July 10, NIEHS Staff Scientist Lars Pedersen, Ph.D., presented his most recent research results as part of the Laboratory of Structural Biology seminar series....read more
Cell Migration and Metastatic Cancer Cell Behavior
On July 11, visiting lecturer Leslie Rivera Rosado summarized her research data on cell migration mechanisms for an audience of NIEHS scientists....read more
NRDC Climate Center Director Speaks at RTI
Daniel Lashof, Ph.D., director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) Climate Center, was the featured speaker at an Environmental Sciences Climate Change Seminar sponsored by RTI International on July 10....read more
NTP Marks Milestones in Alternative Methods
When the Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods (SACATM), convened its annual meeting June 18 – 19 at the Research Triangle Park Radisson Hotel, there seemed to be a general sense of satisfaction about the accomplishments being made....read more
Upcoming Distinguished Lecturer Alberto Ascherio
The 2007 – 2008 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series will welcome its final speaker, Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H., at 11:00 a.m. August 12 in Rodbell Auditorium....read more
Calendar of Upcoming Events
- August 5, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Seminar with Ron Crystal, M.D., speaking on "Why Are Some Individuals More Sensitive to the Environment than Others? Genetic Variation and Modulation of Gene Expression in the Human Airway Epithelium"
- August 5, in the Executive Conference Room, 12:00 – 1:00 — Seminar, "Antagonism of the Retinoid X Receptor enhances the repopulating capacity of cultured human Hematopoietic Stem Cells," presented by Rachid Safi, Ph.D.
- August 6, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Summers of Discovery Seminar Series with Jack Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., talking on "A Random Walk through Biomedical Careers and Gene Polymorphisms"
- August 12, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — Distinguished Lecture Seminar Series featuring Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H., speaking on "Environmental Risk Factors and Biomarkers of Parkinson's Disease"
- August 15 (Offsite Event), in UNC Bioinformatics Building Auditorium (Room 1131), 10:30 – 11:30 — Joe Piven, M.D. speaking on "Imaging the Developing Brain in Autism" — Registration Required (http://cfx.research.unc.edu/res_classreg/browse_single.cfm?New=1&event_id=21633)
- August 15 (Offsite Event), in UNC Molecular Biomolecular Research Building (MBRB) Ground Floor Auditorium (Room G202), 1:00 – 2:00 — Sam Sisodia, Ph.D, discussing "Function and Dysfunction of Presenilins in Alzheimer's Disease" — Registration Required (http://cfx.research.unc.edu/res_classreg/browse_single.cfm?New=1&event_id=21633)
- August 22, in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Seminar Series, speaker and topic TBA
View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar