The NIH Record -November 11, 2011

NIH deputy director for intramural research Dr. Michael Gottesman talks about some of the tech advances at this year’s Research Festival, including the use of a QR code (shown above at top right corner) on promotional material.
Smartphones. The World Wide Web. PubMed. NHGRI. The Children’s Inn. For just a brief time at the opening plenary session on Oct. 24, NIH’s Research Festival marked its quarter century by remembering things the world didn’t have 25 years ago, when the annual science celebration was born.

“The program has grown considerably since our first Research Festival in 1986,” acknowledged NIH deputy director for intramural research Dr. Michael Gottesman. “Just going by the numbers, this is a really impressive week.

” In addition to the 6 presentations on opening morning, there were 4 concurrent symposia featuring 20 topics and 120 talks, and 4 poster sessions with more than 400 posters. A 2-day scientific equipment show ended the 5-day event.
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Will Also Review SBIR/STTR
NIH Moves Forward on Main SMRB Recommendations

By Rich McManus

NIH director Dr. Francis Collins at SMRB meeting
While a challenging budget outlook for NIH continues to cloud the horizon, members of the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) on Oct. 26 learned that progress is being made on the two most substantial recommendations it has yet made to NIH director Dr. Francis Collins: that NIH create a new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and that a single institute take the place of NIAAA and NIDA.

“We are all very energized by the potential of NCATS,” said Collins.

However, he offered a “reality check” on the NIH budget, which has essentially flattened following the doubling that occurred during 1998-2003 (excepting the one-time American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increase of $10.2 billion in 2009). “Our buying power is essentially the same as it was 10 years ago, even as scientific opportunities have expanded,” he said.
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