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Anita B. Roberts Lecture Series 
 

Anita B. Roberts Lecture Series:
Distinguished Women Scientists Anita Roberts

The Anita B. Roberts Lecture Series, "Distinguished Women Scientists at NIH, highlights outstanding research achievements of women scientists at the NIH. The seminar is dedicated to Dr. Anita Roberts and honors her role as an exceptional mentor and scientist.

Anita joined the NIH in 1976 and spent 30 years at NCI, rising to Chief of the Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis. She died of gastric cancer in May 2006, leaving a legacy that touched both the professional and personal lives of all who knew her. Her work focused primarily on TGF-beta and its role in the growth of epithelial and lymphoid cells. In 2003, Thomas Scientific's Science Watch listed her among the 50 most-cited scientists during 1982 to 2002, a feature called "Twenty Years of Citation Superstars."

Anita was a superstar to many for her mentoring talent and her ability to balance family and work life. Her successful lab was well known for meeting family needs and for providing an environment both intellectually and emotionally enriching. The lecture series in her name serves to highlight the fact that the NIH recognizes the value and necessity of a supportive workplace.

Click here to view Videocasts of past Anita Roberts lectures

Past Lectures:

September 28, 2012
Esther M. Sternberg, MD, Research Director, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona at Tucson, Formally Chief, Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior NIMH/NIH. "Neural Immune Connections: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond".



April 5, 2012

Judith Walters, Ph.D. Chief, Section on Neurophysiological Pharmacology, Experimental Therapeutics Branch, NINDS. " Inside the Parkinsonian Brain: Is Too Much Rhythm a Bad Thing? " Click here for an interview with Dr Walters where she talks about her career path: "Women in Science", found half way through NIH Radio podcast #0149.



October 27, 2011
Keiko Ozato, Ph.D. Chief, Section on Molecular Genetics of Immunity, Laboratory of Molecular Growth Regulation, NICHD. "Chromatin Regulation of Innate Immunity"

 

April 29, 2011
Elaine Ostrander, Ph.D. Chief, Cancer Genetics Branch, NHGRI.  "The Shape of Things: Complex Genetics of the Domestic Dog"
Click here for an interview with Dr Ostrander where she talks about her career path: "Women in Science", found half way through NIH Radio podcast #0144.

October 28, 2010

Pamela Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D., Head, Cell Signaling Section, Genetic Disease Research Branch, NHGRI "Integrating T cell signals"

March 25, 2010
Judith Rapoport, M.D., Chief, Child Psychiatry Branch, NIMH: "Brain Development in Healthy, Hyperactive & Psychotic Children"  


October 15, 2009
Sharon Wahl, Ph.D., Chief, Cellular and Clinical Immunology Section, Oral Infection and Immunity branch , NIDCR: "Host Defense Gone Awry: From Inflammation to Cancer"

April 16, 2009
Kanta Subbarao, M.B., Chief, Emerging Respiratory Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, NIAID: "
The Pandemic Threat of Avian Influenza Viruses"

October 30, 2008

Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Ph.D., Chief, Section on Organelle Biology, Cell Biology & Metabolism Branch, NICHD:  "Emerging Fluorescence Technology for the Analysis of Protein Localization and Organelle Dynamics"

 

March 4, 2008
Susan Gottesman, Ph.D., Chief, Biochemical Genetics Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, NCI/CCR, "Stress Adaptation vis Regulatory RNAs"

October 23, 2007

Nora Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Why Is It So Hard for the Addict's Brain to Say No?"

April 12, 2007

Elaine Jaffe, M.D., Head, Hematology Section, Acting Chief of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, "The Many Guises and Disguises of Follicular Lymphoma"

October 26, 2006

Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., Director, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; Chief, Vascular Biology and Genomics Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, "Genomic Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease"

Further Reading about Anita Roberts
NIH Catalyst. Sept-Oct 2007: The Shining Legacy of Anita Roberts.
NIH Catalyst. Nov-Dec 1996: The Jugglers: How NIH Scientists Balance Careers and Families.
Anita's lab page.
Anita's blog. This has remained unaltered since Anita's death and is a testament to her strength and joie de vivre.

  
 
 

 
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