Division of Intramural Research (DIR)

Led by NINR Acting Scientific Director, Dr. Jessica M. Gill, DIR consists of two offices (Office of the Clinical Director and Office of the Training Director), four branches (Advanced Visualization Branch, Biobehavioral Branch, Symptom Management Branch, and Tissue Injury Branch), and the Symptom Science Center.

Office of the Clinical Director

The Office of the NINR Clinical Director, led by Dr. Suzanne Wingate, is responsible for the safety, clinical, administrative, regulatory, and research-related support services for the NINR DIR program. The functions of this office are to ensure safe and competent clinical and research care of research participants, perform clinical competency assessment of staff and trainees, and liaise with the Clinical Center to perform professional credentialing of clinical providers. Additionally, the office executes pre-Institutional Review Board as well as ongoing protocol reviews, implements and oversees the regulatory and quality management of protocols, evaluates resource use for protocols, and participates in collaborations with other Institutes and Centers for shared resources.

Team Members

Medical Officer:

Brian Walitt, MD, MPH

Office of the Training Director

The development of a strong cadre of nurse scientists has been a primary goal of NINR since its establishment. Led by Dr. Pamela Tamez, NINR’s Office of the Training Director (OTD) prepares a diverse and talented research workforce and supports a variety of training opportunities for scientists at all career levels.

OTD provides research opportunities for PhD nursing students and research intensives for nurse scientists, including the Summer Genetics Institute, the Graduate Partnerships Program and the Methodologies Boot Camp. The office oversees and supports the career development and training of intramural fellows, including summer interns, postbaccalaureate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral scholars.

Biobehavioral Branch

The Biobehavioral Branch supports research into the interplay of behavioral, biological, and environmental determinants of health and wellness across populations. The research focuses on the following areas:

Sensory Science and Metabolism Unit (Principal Investigator: Dr. Paule Joseph)

This research is focused on understanding the integral process underlying the primary senses—principally chemosensation. The goal is to understand the fundamental molecular, behavioral, and neural mechanisms associated with chemosensory symptoms (taste and smell alterations) in metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and related comorbidities.

Symptom Management Branch

Developing new and better ways to manage adverse symptoms is vital to improving quality of life for those living with acute and chronic illness. The Symptom Management Branch is dedicated to improving the understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of a range of symptoms, their effect on patients, and the biological and behavioral bases for how patients respond to interventions. The research focuses on the following areas:

Symptom Biology Unit (Principal Investigator: Dr. Leorey Saligan)

Research in this area examines the nature and causes of fatigue in relation to cancer and its treatments. The purpose is to understand and identify biobehavioral mechanisms of fatigue in order to develop more effective ways to manage it and, as a result, improve patient outcomes. 

Tissue Injury Branch

The Tissue Injury Branch conducts clinical and laboratory-based studies on the mechanisms of tissue injury, including the identification of molecular targets and pathways activated in response to cellular damage, to provide greater understanding of the pathophysiology associated with tissue injury and identify novel targets for therapeutic intervention. The research focuses on the following areas:

Brain Injury Unit (Principal Investigator: Dr. Jessica Gill)

This research program examines the risks for neurological and behavioral symptoms following traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions through the discovery of blood-based biomarkers. The research is focused on identifying biomarkers in military personnel, athletes, and civilians to improve the clinical care provided to individuals with brain injuries and concussion. The goal of this research area is to develop and improve monitoring and intervention methods to prevent the risks posed from brain injuries, and to improve the care of these individuals if they develop chronic neurological or behavioral symptoms and deficits.

Advanced Visualization Branch

The Advanced Visualization Branch (AVB) develops and evaluates augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) experiences to engage the participant in multi-sensory experiences and examine the impact on health behavior.

Adjunct Investigator: Dr. Patti Brennan

This unit develops interactive virtual reality simulations that present health information to patients with a variety of complex health conditions. These simulations enable patients to rehearse problem-solving behaviors to foster improved health outcomes within home-based care environments. This research also seeks to define methodologies for AR/VR technology as a health tool to aid disease-management nursing strategies in the transition from acute care settings to outpatient environments. Additionally, this research seeks to identify recommendations for how to best deliver this type of technology to patients.

NINR Symptom Science Center

The mission of the Symptom Science Center (SSC) is to promote the understanding of the biologic and behavioral mechanisms of symptoms to improve patient outcomes. The Center is led by NINR, but promotes collaborations across the intramural and extramural communities of the National Institutes of Health. The Center follows NINR’s commitment to train scientists and clinicians interested in symptom science. Dr. Leorey Saligan currently leads the Center within NINR’s Division of Intramural Research. The SSC is actively enrolling participants for two research studies:

1. Patient-Centered Assessment of Symptoms and Outcomes or the P-CASO study (NCT03952624)
2. A Proof-of-Concept Trial on the Effect of Ketamine on Fatigue or the POC-Ket study (NCT04141696)

Recent Publications:

Genomics of Fibromyalgia. In, S.G. Dorsey & A.R. Starkweather (eds), Genomics of Pain and Co-morbid Symptoms.
Lukkahatai, N, Saligan, LN. 2020., pp. 145-153. 

Dynamic Brain Activity Following Auricular Point Acupressure in Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy: A Pilot Longitudinal Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.
Yeh, CH, Caswell, K, Pandiri, S, Sair, H, Lukkahatai, N, Campbell, CM, Stearns, V, Van de Castle, B, Perrin, N, Smith, TJ, & Saligan, LN. Glob Adv in Health Med. 2020 Feb 13;9:2164956120906092. doi: 10.1155/2020/6375876

Analysis of Defective Pathways and Drug Repositioning in Multiple Sclerosis via Machine Learning Approaches.
deAndrés-Galiana EJ, Bea G, Fernández-Martínez JL, Saligan LN. Comput Biol Med. 2019 Dec;115:103492. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.103492.

Whole Blood Transcriptomic Profiles Can Differentiate Vulnerability to Chronic Low Back Pain.
Dorsey SG, Renn CL, Griffioen M, Lassiter CB, Zhu S, Huot-Creasy H, McCracken C, Mahurkar A, Shetty AC, Jackson-Cook CK, Kim H, Henderson WA, Saligan L, Gill J, Colloca L, Lyon DE, Starkweather AR. PLoS One. 2019 May 16;14(5):e0216539. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216539.