NIEHS Spotlight

NIEHS Staff Honored: NIH Director's Award

Four NIEHS employees received the NIH Director's Award July 18 at Natcher Auditorium in Bethesda. They are Perry Blackshear, Thorsten Fjellstedt, Cindy Lawler and Kathy Odenwald.

STP Young Investigator of the Year: Kennita Johnson

Kennita Johnson, who started working at NIEHS just 18 months ago, was selected for the Young Investigator Award at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology in June.

DRCPT Focuses on Translation of Research

The NIEHS Division of Research Coordination, Planning, and Translation hosted a two-day retreat, recruiting a cross section of representatives from various Institute disciplines to discuss ways of ensuring the Institute's research has the greatest possible impact on public health and medicine.

Marian Johnson-Thompson Recognized for Diversity Efforts

Marian Johnson-Thompson, director of Education and Biomedical Research Development, was recognized by the American Society for Microbiology for "outstanding service as chair of the American Academy of Microbiology's Committee on Diversity 2002-2005."

NIEHS Grantee is Finalist for Ford Foundation Award

NIEHS grantee Gary Grant is one of 29 national finalists for the 2005 Leadership for a Changing World award. Seventeen winners will be selected to receive $100,000 to advance their work and an additional $15,000 for supporting activities.

Clinical Staff Hosts Public Health Officials from Kazakhstan

Two public health officials from Kazakhstan toured the NIH Clinical Center and met with Fred Miller, head of the NIEHS Environmental Autoimmunity Group, as part of a professional exchange program.

Shyamal Peddada: American Statistical Association Fellow

Shyamal Peddada, of the Biostatistics Branch, was elected fellow of the American Statistical Association. Peddada and 55 other fellows will be honored at the annual Joint Statistical Meetings Aug. 7-11 in Minneapolis.

Inside The Institute

Miss Black Arizona: Brains and Beauty

Rachel Wilhite is nothing if not tenacious. She could probably glide through life on her good looks and cheerful disposition, but she'd rather use her intellectual abilities and her drive to get her where she wants to be.

Colleges Scout Cynthia Radford's Son

Cynthia Radford said she was not surprised when colleges started scouting her linebacker son. What did surprise her was how soon they did. Virginia Tech, University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Clemson, University of Virginia and Wake Forest University have all been trying to convince Devin Radford that he should play for them. But Radford still has a year to go to finish high school.

CFC Adopts Debbie Garner's Theme for 2005 Campaign

Debbie Garner, editorial assistant in the Environmental Diseases and Medicine Program in the Laboratory of Respiratory Biology, has made more than the average contribution to the local Combined Federal Campaign.

Daycare Center Opening Delayed

The new daycare center opening date was pushed back to September as construction teams work to complete the $3.6 million facility. It previously was scheduled to open after the July 4 weekend.

New Strategies in Playgrounds

When is a playground not just a playground? When it's an outdoor learning environment, of course.

Zimbabwe: The House Munhumutapa Built

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management sponsored a cultural mini-series July 13 at the Rodbell auditorium. The presentation was titled, "Zimbabwe: The House Munhumatapa Built."

Disability Advocacy Sub-Committee Formed

The Disability Advocacy Subcommittee, a new addition to the NIEHS Diversity Council, was established to monitor concerns and improve the working conditions for employees with disabilities. The subcommittee works in conjunction with the Disability Awareness Committee, which plans activities for Disability Awareness Month in October.

Weekly e-mail: New Source for Event Info

Gone are the individual all-hands e-mail announcements about upcoming scientific seminars. Instead, a single e-mail will serve as notification of scientific events each week. As part of an initiative by NIEHS Director David Schwartz, a weekly e-mail now goes out to all Institute employees. It goes out each Thursday, and lists NIEHS-sponsored scientific events for the upcoming week.

OM Workshop: Personal & Organizational Change

The Office of Management sponsored a workshop July 21 at Nottingham Hall for federal staff and contractors affected by A-76 efforts. The workshop was titled, "Understanding Personal and Organizational Change."

A-76: What is it?

The A-76 program, as it is commonly called, refers to the competitive sourcing activities outlined in the President's Management Agenda, Competitive Sourcing Initiative. One of the goals of the program is to outsource activities to the private sector when it is more economical to do so, according to the NIH A-76 web site.

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Science Notebook

Cure Magazine: NTP Research, Chris Portier and Ray Tennant

The cover of the summer issue of Cure magazine sports an article on radiation hazards. "The Dark Side of the Sun & other radiation hazards" extensively quotes Chris Portier, associate director of the National Toxicology Program. Ray Tennant, director of the National Center for Toxicogenomics, is quoted throughout a sidebar article on genetic interactions.

CDC Report on Environmental Chemicals

From a CDC press release

New Discovery May Help Doctors Treat Infertility

NIEHS researchers determined that fertility drugs may not work for women who lack the estrogen receptor beta.

More Than Half of U.S. Population Reacts to Allergens

New findings from an ongoing study show that more than half of the people in the United States tested positive to one or more allergens.

Under the Microscope: Rob Wine's Research

The following photographs were submitted by Rob Wine, a biologist in the Laboratory of Neurobiology.

Air Pollution Linked to Low Birth Weight, Premature Birth

A six-year study of more than 600,000 babies in Southern California revealed that pregnant women who were exposed to high levels of outdoor air pollution had a greater risk of low birth weight babies and premature births.

DERT Papers of the Month - June 2005

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)