NIEHS Spotlight

NIEHS Renews Agreement with Korea NTP

NIEHS Director David Schwartz and Seung-Hee Kim, director of the Toxicological Research Department at the Korea National Toxicology Program, signed an agreement that will allow the NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program to continue assisting its Korean counterpart.

NIEHS Hosts Strategic Planning Forum in Chapel Hill

The Strategic Planning Forum held at the Chapel Hill Sheraton Oct. 17-18 drew a crowd of approximately 90 participants. Sixty-six were extramural scientists and advocates of the NIEHS mission.

Director Hosts Internal Town Meetings

NIEHS Director David Schwartz hosted five internal town hall meetings during the months of September and October. According to Allen Dearry, director of DRCPT, since it's impossible to meet with each individual, Schwartz wanted to establish two-way dialog with employees who are not managers.

Rodent Genetics Conference

To introduce the scientific community to the efforts of the Center for Rodent Genetics, or CRG, Bill Schrader and Diane Klotz (director and assistant of the CRG, respectively) organized its first annual conference, "Genetics and Genomics of Environmental Disease Models."

Olopade Awarded MacArthur "Genius" Grant

NIEHS grantee Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, an oncologist, founder and director of the Cancer Risk Clinic, and professor of medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago, was named a MacArthur Fellow for 2005.

NIEHS Researchers Featured: PBS, NPR and Newsweek

NIEHS Grants Administrator Fred Tyson and grantee Dan Baden, a marine biologist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, were featured Oct. 11 on UNC TV's North Carolina Now.

Bridging Medical Information Gap on Environmental Health

New guidelines issued by the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation will provide pediatric healthcare providers with new educational tools for recognizing and reducing environmental triggers for asthma.

Inside The Institute

Unmasking Columbus

A book by two contract workers at NIEHS is making lots of headlines in Portugal.

Myers Makes Kool-Aid Bags and More

What do most people do with Kool-aid jammer drink cartons after the juice is gone? Throw them away? Not Jennifer Myers. She makes lunch bags and tote bags out of the sturdy plastic boxes. That's just the latest craft project for the artist turned writer.

Event Marks 15th Anniversary of the ADA

Mark Ezell, director of the North Carolina 100 Percent Tobacco Free Schools program, was the speaker for a disability awareness month event on Oct. 11.

M'n'M Singers Perform at the Rodbell Auditorium

The room was already charged with positive energy after Mark Ezell's presentation, "Bringing Your Wheelchair to Mt. Everest." at the Disability Awareness Month event Oct. 11 at the Rodbell auditorium.

Thanks and Goodbye to Carolyn Snock

Carolyn Snock started working in the NIEHS fitness room about 18 months ago. Since then, she quickly established a following, and from the looks of the buffet table at her going away party Oct. 14, quite a fan base ready and willing to show their appreciation for her efforts.

Wedding Bells

Christine Bruske, director of the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, is now Mrs. Christine Bruske Flowers. She married Bill Flowers Oct. 3. The wedding ceremony was conducted in Stowe, Vt.

Help! I Have a Presentation!

According to William Shakespeare all the world's a stage and all the men and women are merely players. Sarah Wiggin, an NIH scientific public speaking teacher, elaborated on Shakespeare's concept in her own way.

Up and Coming

 

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Science Notebook

Constella Group Awarded $42.3 Million Contract for Clinical Research

Durham-based Constella Group was been awarded $42.3 million over 10 years to conduct a variety of studies for NIEHS. According to a Constella press release, the studies will likely range from intervention trials to case-control and prospective observational studies.

Panel Analyzes Feasibility of Twin Registry

A panel of twin research and registry experts convened in a day-long meeting at Nottingham Hall Oct. 21 to help determine the feasibility of establishing a national U.S. twin registry.

Panel Confirms Previous Findings on DEHP

An expert panel convened Oct. 10-12 to review research on reproductive and developmental toxicity of DEHP a chemical commonly found in plastic, including building and car products, clothing, food packaging, children's products and some medical devices, concluded that not much has changed since a similar panel looked at the issues in 2000.

Award-winning Researcher Gerald Wogan Speaks at NIEHS

Like a detective story, it was a mystery of sorts that drew Gerald Wogan, an MIT professor and NIEHS-funded researcher, into the scientific intricacies of aflatoxin: What killed more than 100,000 young turkeys within a few months in England in the 1960s?

The NIEHS/EPA Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) Hosts the 2004 Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Awardee Seminar

On October 25, Dr. Anne Spuches, the recipient of the seventh annual 2004 Karen Wetterhahn Memorial award shared her latest research on the glucocorticoid receptor with the staff at NIEHS.

Papers of the Month - November 2005

1) Furlong CE, Cole TB, Jarvik GP, Pettan-Brewer C, Geiss GK, Richter RJ, Shih DM, Tward AD, Lusis AJ, Costa LG. Role of paraoxonase (PON1) status in pesticide sensitivity: genetic and temporal determinants. Neurotoxicology. 2005 Aug;26(4):651-9.

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)