NIEHS Spotlight

Birnbaum Addresses Children’s Health at Policy Translation Conference

During her keynote address at a children’s environmental health meeting March 30 at Columbia University, NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., took advantage of her time at the podium to reinforce the Institute’s commitment to the Children’s Centers program and highlight the range of other NIEHS research related to promoting children’s environmental health. ...read more

Former NIEHS Scientist to Direct Gynecologic Oncology Research at Michigan State

John Risinger, Ph.D., who began his career as a biologist at NIEHS in 1989, is the new director of Gynecologic Oncology Research at the Michigan State University (MSU) College of Human Medicine community-based program in Grand Rapids, Mich. ...read more

SBRP Alum Named Environmental Health Science Communication Fellow

Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) Alumna Kathleen McCarty, Sc.D., was named to the 2009 Science Communication Fellows program sponsored by Environmental Health Sciences, the publisher of Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate. ...read more

NIEHS Recognized for Excellence in Animal Care

Reviewers described the NIEHS animal care program as “exemplary” during a recent site visit by the Council on Accreditation of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC International). ...read more

EHP Partners with Mexican Public Health Journal

Scientists in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries can now enjoy the benefits of a new partnership announced in March between the NIEHS-funded journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) and the interdisciplinary Mexican journal Salud Pública de México, according to EHP Editor-in-Chief Hugh Tilson, Ph.D. ...read more

Understanding Parkinson’s as a Disability

The NIEHS Diversity Council Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC) presented the latest in its series of specialized seminars on health topics April 7. The program, titled “Parkinson’s Disease [PD]: Etiology, Clinical and Disability Management,” addressed medical, social and personal dimensions of a condition that affects approximately one million Americans at an estimated cost of $27 billion annually. ....read more

NIEHS Remains #1 IC in Postdoc Satisfaction

For the fourth straight year, NIEHS ranked first among NIH institutes and centers (ICs) on the annual survey of “Best Places to Work” for postdocs conducted by The Scientist magazine. ...read more

DOD and NIEHS Discuss Environmental Sensors

During a daylong discussion on April 21, representatives from NIEHS and Department of Defense (DOD) found that they had more in common than they thought, especially when it comes to a mutual interest in developing sensors that detect chemicals and other potentially harmful agents in the environment. ...read more

Countries Unite to Reduce Animal Use in Product Toxicity Testing

Representatives from four international agencies, including the director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP), signed a memorandum of cooperation on April 27 that could reduce the number of animals required for consumer product safety testing worldwide. ...read more

Friends and Colleagues Honor Wilson

Friends and colleagues from NIEHS and beyond gathered on April 6 to honor NIEHS Principal Investigator (PI) Samuel Wilson, M.D., for his scientific and leadership contributions to the Institute. ...read more

Comments Invited on Stem Cell Guidelines

In the April 23 issue of the Federal Register, NIH announced that it is accepting public comments on its new draft National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research through May 26, 2009. ...read more

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Inside the Institute

Assembly of Laboratory Staff Elects Officers and Councilors

On April 14, the NIEHS Assembly of Laboratory Staff (AoLS) announced the results of its online election of officers and councilors, paving the way for the first organization of its type at NIEHS to serve as an officially sanctioned advocate for the interests of laboratory technical staff — much as the Assembly of Scientists performs that role for the Institute’s staff scientists and principal investigators. ...read more

Earth Week 2009 Kick Off

NIEHS kicked off its annual celebration of Earth Week on April 21 with remarks by Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., who addressed a group of staffers gathered on the patio outside the Institute’s main building. ...read more

NTP Staffer Writes of Inspiration, Faith and Encouragement

National Toxicology Program (NTP) Administrative Specialist Carolyn Hall doesn't advertise her extracurricular talents, but the word is getting around on campus about her new book, Intimate Journey: A Guide to Your Spiritual Path. ...read more

Science Notebook

Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies Gives Rodbell Lecture

The 2009 Dr. Martin Rodbell Lecture Series speaker, Oliver Smithies, D. Phil., is truly a giant in the field of science. His lecture, “Turning Pages: From Gels to Genes,” took place on April 14 and provided an overview of his impressive 61 years of research. ...read more

Colwell Presents 8th Annual Spirit Lecture on Global Health

People from NIEHS and the Triangle scientific community turned out on March 27 to hear distinguished scientific leader and microbiologist Rita Colwell, Ph.D., discuss her life in science and her career-long quest to understand the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. ...read more

GEMS Meeting Focuses on Genome Variability

The Genetics and Environmental Mutagenesis Society (GEMS) held its Spring Meeting April 13 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Auditorium in Research Triangle Park. ...read more

NIEHS Speakers Offer Caveats During NIH NanoWeek

The NIH Nanotechnology Task Force and the NIH Nanomedicine Roadmap hosted a series of symposia and other events in Natcher Auditorium on the NIH campus April 7– 10, celebrating "The Promise of Nanotechnology for Medicine." ...read more

Bogenhagen Discusses Nucleoid Replication in Mitochondria

The NIEHS Laboratory of Molecular Genetics (LMG) Fellows Invited Guest Lecture series welcomed its latest speaker on March 30 with a talk on "Biogenesis and Heredity" by Dan Bogenhagen, M.D. ...read more

Birnbaumer to Lead NIH Directors Challenge Award Project

On April 3, NIEHS Senior Investigator Lutz Birnbaumer, Ph.D., was notified that his ambitious project to better understand the mechanisms involved in epigenetic modifications was selected for support by the NIH Director’s Challenge Award Program. ...read more

Intramural Researchers Find a Key Regulator of Fat Metabolism in Liver

A new study conducted by researchers at NIEHS suggests that nuclear protein SIRT1 regulates fat metabolism in liver. ...read more

Researcher Presents Strategy for Studying Environmental AhR Modulation

In the wake of her 2008 study of dioxin’s effects on the ligand-activated transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and influenza A infection in mice, NIEHS grantee B. Paige Lawrence, Ph.D., has published a review of research on AhR modulation of anti-viral immunity. ...read more

Nobel Winner Andrew Fire to Give Distinguished Lecture

On May 19, Nobel Laureate Andrew Fire will explore "Cellular Responses to Foreign Nucleic Acids" in the latest seminar of the 2008-2009 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series. ...read more

This Month in EHP

The May 2009 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives is now available on-line, with a feature story on environmental effects on the microbiota — the vast population of bacteria and other microbes that regulate health in the gut. ...read more

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Extramural Research

Extramural Update

The NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) recently recognized three additional NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) recipients for their successful transition to tenure track or equivalent status and officially welcomed them as members of the NIEHS grantee community. ...read more

Extramural Papers of the Month

• Pesticide Exposure Raises Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
• Solution Found to Increase Nanotube Luminescence
• Nasal Injury in Rats Exposed to Diacetyl May Be Predictive of Lung Injury in Humans
• Increased Immunoglobulin in Children with Autism

Intramural Research

Intramural Papers of the Month

• Telomere Length Is Associated with Obesity and Weight Gain
• Mouse Allergens Associated with Asthma Symptoms
• Female Mice Neonatally-Treated with Genistein Exhibit Reproductive Abnormalities
• Novel Role for Estrogen Receptor Beta in Granulosa Cells

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Calendar of Upcoming Events

• May 7 in Rodbell Auditorium, 1:00–2:00 — Laboratory of Structural Biology Seminar Series with Angela Gronenborn, Ph.D., speaking on “The CVNH family of lectins — structure, folding and sugar binding”
• May 13 in Rall F-193, 11:00–1:00 — Laboratory of Neurobiology Seminar Series featuring a talk by Miriam H. Meisler, Ph.D., on “Neurogenetic mutants in the mouse reveal human disease genes: epilepsy and ALS”
• May 18 in Rodbell Auditorium, 10:00–11:00 — Laboratory of Molecular Genetics Fellows Invited Guest Lecture Series featuring Christophe Herman, Ph.D., speaking on “Beyond Mutation: Transcription and Protein Folding Errors Generate Heritable Epigenetic Change”
• May 19 in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00–12:00 — Lecture on “Cellular Responses to Foreign Nucleic Acids” by Nobel Laureate Andrew Fire, Ph.D.
• May 20 in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00–12:00 — Summers of Discovery Seminar Series, Speaker TBA
• May 21–22 in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:30–5:00 — NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council Meeting
• May 26 in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00–12:00 — Frontiers of Environmental Sciences Lecture, Speaker TBA
• May 26 in Rall D-350, 11:00–12:00 — Biostatistics Branch Seminar by Ruth Pfeiffer, Ph.D., topic TBA
• May 27 in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00–12:00 — Summers of Discovery Seminar Series, Speaker TBA

View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar

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