NIEHS Spotlight

Birnbaum Greets Employees at Town Hall

Speaking to a standing-room-only audience on January 26, new NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., offered employees a preview of what they can expect from her leadership during an hour-long talk and question-and-answer session. ....read more

Leaders Discuss University of New Mexico Research

A visit last month to Albuquerque, NM, by NIEHS leaders Sam Wilson, M.D., and Allen Dearry, Ph.D., brought together then U.S. Representative and Senator-elect Tom Udall and members of his staff with NIH/NIEHS grantees at the University of New Mexico (UNM). ...read more

National Children’s Study Starts in North Carolina and New York

Following eight years of intensive research and planning on what was described as “a landmark day for a landmark study,” on January 13 NIH launched the National Children’s Study at sites in North Carolina and New York....read more

Neurobiology Postdoc Awarded Communication Fellowship

This year, Negin Martin, Ph.D., a research fellow in the NIEHS Membrane Signaling Group, is taking a big step forward toward her career goals by participating in an advanced training opportunity in science communication....read more

Robertson Chairs SLA Centennial Commission

NIEHS Library Director Dav Robertson is excited about the 100th anniversary of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and his appointment as chair of the 2009 Centennial Commission...read more

Distinguished Guest Gives Disability Presentation

On January 13, the NIEHS Diversity Council Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC) welcomed as its keynote speaker one of the highest ranking officials with a disability in the federal government today, Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Department of Justice (DOJ) Ollie Cantos, J.D....read more

Superfund Grantees Begin Work on Documentary Series

With support from the NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP), researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are following a road less traveled in order to translate their scientific research into policy and public health information....read more

UC Davis Study Examines Rise in Autism Rates

A new analysis of data on autism performed by NIEHS grantees at the University of California Davis (UCD) undermines arguments that California’s dramatic 7- to 8-fold increase in autism cases may be largely due to changing diagnostic practices of physicians....read more

Former Postdoc Joins Biotech Management Team

In December 2008, Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) of Madison, Wis. announced the appointment of three new executives, including former NIEHS Postdoctoral Fellow Emile Nuwaysir, Ph.D., to lead the company as it attempts to industrialize stem cell technologies after raising $18 million in venture capital. ...read more

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Inside the Institute

Wilson to Focus on Research Full Time

Samuel H. Wilson, M.D., the longtime Deputy Director and recent Acting Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), announced his decision to step away from his administrative roles at the Institute. ...read more

NIEHS Scientists Get Tips on Giving Better Presentations

Developing and delivering a compelling PowerPoint presentation can be a challenge, but for the 24 scientists who participated in a two-day training class coordinated by the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL), that task may now be a little easier....read more

NIEHS Staffers Bring Help to Durham Homeless

The bitter cold on Friday January 16 failed to hamper the generosity of a group of NIEHS employees who transported donated food to a shelter for the homeless in Durham, NC. ...read more

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Extramural Research

Extramural Update

After fifteen months of work dedicated to the establishing the new Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) program, the Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) at NIEHS announced the first Request for Applications (RFA) titled “Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants.” ...read more

Extramural Papers of the Month

• Selenium May Prevent High-Risk Bladder Cancer
• Gene Packaging is Important in Cancer
• Dopamine Transmission Impaired by Manganese
• Dioxin Disrupts Prostate Development

Intramural Research

Intramural Papers of the Month

• Researchers Find a Novel Target for Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3Beta Phosphorylation
• The Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Trichostatin A Upregulates NAG-1
• A Role for CYP2J5 in Blood Pressure Regulation via an Estrogen-Dependent Mechanism
• Computational Studies of the Catalytic Mechanism of Human DNA Polymerase Lambda

Science Notebook

The Role of MAPK Pathways in Metastasis

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are signal transduction cascades that regulate gene expression, cell growth and development, and apoptosis or cell death....read more

Columbia University Researcher Discusses Mitochondrial Disorders

On January 13, Salvatore DiMauro, M.D., a leading researcher in the study of mitochondrial disorders, gave a distinguished lecture at NIEHS titled “Mitochondrial Medicine.”...read more

Study Offers Insight into Endocrine Disruption by Soy

NIEHS-supported researchers report compelling new evidence about the mechanisms linking genistein supplementation during development of mice to altered DNA methylation patterns that can lead to serious health complications later in life, according to a study published in the journal Endocrinology....read more

Trainees Host Stress-Induced Mutagenesis Seminar

On January 5, the NIEHS welcomed Susan Rosenberg, Ph.D., a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine, who conducted a thought-provoking seminar regarding DNA mutation in response to environmental stress....read more

Nano Research Pioneer Speaks at NIEHS

Duke University nanomaterials specialist Mark R. Wiesner, Ph.D., made his first visit to NIEHS on January 9 as a guest lecturer in the Frontiers of Environmental Sciences series. His talk, “Reducing Uncertainty Surrounding Environmental Risks of Nanomaterials: Assessing Transport and Transformation,” kicked off the 2009 series...read more

Upcoming Distinguished Lecture Features Michael Mendelsohn

NIEHS will welcome the next speaker in its 2008-2009 Distinguished Lecture Series on February 10 at 11:00 a.m. in Rodbell Auditorium. Michael Mendelsohn, M.D., will present a seminar on “Estrogen Receptor Action in the Cardiovascular System” hosted by NIEHS Principal Investigator and Chief of the Receptor Biology Group Ken Korach, Ph.D....read more

Cidlowski to Speak in Duke Immunology Seminar Series

NIEHS Principal Investigator John Cidlowski, Ph.D., will lecture on February 17 at 4:00 p.m. in 143 Jones Building on the Duke University campus. His talk, “The Secret Lives of Glucocorticoid Receptors,” is part of the Duke University Medical Center Department of Immunology Seminar Series....read more

This Month in EHP

The February 2009 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives is now available on-line, highlighting issues surrounding global warming/ climate change, endocrine disruptors and the health effects of air pollution....read more

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Calendar of Upcoming Events

• February 5 (offsite event) at 103 Bryan Research Building at Duke University, 12:00 – 1:00 — Ion Channel Research Unit Seminar Series with ONES grantee Sven-Eric Jordt Ph.D., speaking on "Sensory TRP Channels in Airway Reflex Control and Inflammation"
• February 5 – 6 (offsite event) at Turin, Italy — Lorenzo Tomatis Conference on Environment and Cancer
• February 6 (offsite event) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Blue Cross & Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Auditorium, 8:30 – 11:30 — The Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer: Perspectives and Approaches, A Symposium in Honor of Dr. Barbara Sorenson Hulka, registration required (http://www.sph.unc.edu/epid/Hulka_Symposium.html)
• February 10 in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00 — NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series featuring a talk on “Estrogen Receptor Action in the Cardiovascular System” by Mike Mendelsohn, M.D.
• February 11 – 13 (offsite event) at Columbia University — "Translating Superfund Basic Research Program Triumphs into Public Health Progress: Understanding and Implementing Effective Research Translation"
• February 13 in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 - 10:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Lecture Series
• February 17 (offsite event) at 143 Jones Building, Duke University, 4:00 – 5:00 — Duke Department of Immunology Seminar Series featuring John Cidlowski, Ph.D., addressing "The Secret Lives of Glucocorticoid Receptors"
• February 18 in Rall Building D-350, 11:00 – 12:00 — Seminar on “Disclosing Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Research: Attitudes of Investigators, IRB Members, and Research Subjects” by Kevin Weinfurt, Ph.D.
• February 19 in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:30 – 5:00 — National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council (NAEHSC) meeting
• February 20 (offsite event) Searle Conference Center at Duke University, 8:30 – 5:00 — Managing Toxic Risks for Global Health Symposium, presented by: Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program, Superfund Basic Research Center and the Duke Global Health Institute, registration required (http://www.globalhealth.duke.edu/toxicrisks/)
• February 24 in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:30 – 5:00 — NTP Board of Scientific Counselors Meeting
• February 25 in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:30 – 5:00 — NTP BSC Technical Reports Review Subcommittee Meeting
• February 26 in Rodbell Auditorium, time TBA — Multi-Cultural Event

View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar

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The Environmental Factor is produced monthly by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/), Office of Communications and Public Liaison. The content is not copyrighted, and it can be reprinted without permission. If you use parts of Environmental Factor in your publication, we ask that you provide us with a copy for our records. We welcome your comments and suggestions. (bruskec@niehs.nih.gov)