NIEHS Spotlight

NIEHS Officially Welcomes New Director

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Rall Building auditorium June 24 to welcome the fourth NIEHS director, David Schwartz. The crowd overflowed into the lobby and cafeteria as well.

NIEHS Brings Experts and Leaders Together to Examine Childhood Obesity

National and community leaders joined researchers to sort out how a child's environment increases the risk for obesity and to identify ways the environment can be changed to address this health epidemic. More than 700 people gathered for the June 1-2 conference, "Environmental Solutions to Obesity in America's Youth," sponsored by NIEHS.

General Motors Selects NIEHS Grantee for Mott Award

General Motors named NIEHS grantee Gerald N. Wogan, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the 2005 Mott laureate at the 27th anniversary of the GM Cancer Research Awards.

NIEHS Certified as 'Wildlife And Industry Together' Site

NIEHS is the first workplace in Research Triangle Park to achieve certification as a Wildlife And Industry Together, or WAIT, site.

Sister Study Video Wins Aurora Award

The Sister Study Breast Cancer Research video won an Aurora Award for excellence in recruitment. Other category winners in the contest include Disney, Fox Sports NET, the Jewish United Fund of Chicago, Kentucky Educational Television, the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation, U.S. Marine Corps and Xavier University.

Clarice Weinberg Receives Nathan Mantel Award

Clarice R. Weinberg, NIEHS mathematical statistician, is the 2005 recipient of the Nathan Mantel Award for lifetime contributions to statistics in epidemiology.

Inside The Institute

Fran Wagstaff: Solo Driver No More

Fran Wagstaff, an administrative specialist in the Office of the Scientific Director, is quoted on a Research Triangle Park web site, enthusiastically touting the benefits of vanpooling.

Asian Pacific Heritage Celebration

NIEHS celebrated Asian Pacific Heritage June 1 at the Rall Building with a variety of activities, beginning with guest speaker Samia Serageldin, author of "The Cairo House."

Up and Coming

Employee Benefits

Information on the following topics can be found by at http://hr.od.nih.gov/Benefits/newsletters/current.htm

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Science Notebook

NIEHS Director Launches Strategic Plan Initiative

In launching his first broad initiative, David Schwartz encouraged all employees to go to the NIEHS Junction site and answer six questions that can help set priorities for environmental health initiatives at the Institute. Schwartz invited members of the public and all interested parties to provide feedback as well.

Full House: Forum on Endocrine Disrupters Draws Hundreds

Media coverage and general attendance exceeded expectations at the Endocrine Society's pre-meeting forum on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Jerry Heindel, NIEHS scientific program administrator in the Division of Extramural Research and Training, orchestrated the day-long forum at the San Diego Convention Center.

Rodent Models for NTP: What's Ahead?

As part of a series of activities to evaluate the NTP bioassay program, a panel of international experts gathered at NIEHS June 16-17 to discuss possible changes.

Expert Panel Reviews Amphetamines and Methylphenidate

Sponsored by the National Toxicology Program Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, an expert panel convened Jan. 10-12 in Alexandria, Va., to evaluate scientific evidence on the potential reproductive and/or developmental toxicity associated with exposure to the central nervous system stimulants amphetamines and methylphenidate.

Harmful Chemicals May Reprogram Gene Response to Estrogen

New research indicates that an environmental agent -specifically DES, or diethylstilbestrol, which was prescribed for women from 1938 until 1971 to prevent miscarriages - can actually change or reprogram some genes so they function differently.

Day Care Facilities are Significant Source of Indoor Allergens, Study Shows

NIEHS researchers who analyzed data collected from 89 home day cares and child care centers in two North Carolina counties found detectable levels of allergens, including fungus, cats, cockroaches, dogs, dust mites, and mice. The levels mirrored the levels found in Southern homes.

DERT Papers of the Month - May 2005

1) Timms BG, Howdeshell KL, Barton L, Bradley S, Richter CA, Vom Saal FS. Estrogenic chemicals in plastic and oral contraceptives disrupt development of the fetal mouse prostate and urethra. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 May 10;102(19):7014-9.

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