NIEHS Spotlight

Wilson Reports on State of the Institute at May Meeting

On May 29 - 30, the NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council held its 124th meeting in Rodbell Auditorium. As the first item on its agenda, the members were presented with an encouraging report on the progress NIEHS continues to make toward its goal of scientific excellence....read more

Draft BPA Brief Faces Public Comment and Board Review

Less than two months after the eagerly anticipated Draft National Toxicology Program (NTP) Brief on Bisphenol A (BPA) was made publicly available, the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) considered the draft brief as part of its semi-annual public meeting on June 11 - 12 at the Research Triangle Park Radisson Hotel....read more

NIH Ethicist Tackles "Cutting Edge Consent"

As part of a daylong Institutional Review Board Retreat June 12, NIH ethicist Jerry Menikoff, M.D., J.D., explored the implications of informed consent during a lecture in Rodbell Auditorium. Menikoff's talk was titled "Cutting Edge Consent: What Law and Ethics May Require Beyond Current Practice." The event was hosted by David Resnik, Ph.D., J.D., bioethicist in the NIEHS Division of Intramural Research....read more

Training Community Health Advocates in the City of South Tucson

Funded in part by the NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Program, the University of Arizona conducted a "Fundamentals of Toxicology" workshop for a group of community health advocates known as promotoras (see text box). A total of 19 female promotoras and one male promoter ventured to the UA campus for this half-day training session on April 19, 2008....read more

Cidlowski Honored at Endo 08

NIEHS Principal Investigator John Cidlowski, Ph.D., was presented with the 2008 Edwin B. Astwood Award at the Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, June 15 - 18. Cidlowski is one of eleven distinguished recipients of ENDO 08 Laureate Awards, which the society describes as "the pinnacle of achievement in the field of endocrinology."....read more

Library Expands Bioinformatics Support with Fargo Appointment

In late May, the NIEHS Library and Information Services Center added a new resource to its staff with the appointment of former bench scientist David Fargo, Ph.D., as Bioinformatics Information Specialist. His appointment is the most recent in a series of developments that have enhanced the library's information services resources for scientists at NIEHS....read more

Assistive Technology Aids Federal Employees

"The key words are reasonable and appropriate," explained guest speaker Michael Young during his June 4 presentation in Rodbell Auditorium on assistive technology and services for federal employees with disabilities. Young's talk, titled "Leading the Way with Accommodations," was sponsored by the NIEHS Diversity Council's Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC)....read more

NIH Begins Search for NIEHS Director

NIH is now accepting applications from qualified candidates for the position of director of NIEHS. The closing date for applications is Monday, August 4, 2008....read more

Inside the Institute

Homeschoolers Expand Their Understanding of Climate Change

Sometimes, asking is all it takes to open doors. That's what the parents of a team of Triangle-area homeschoolers found out when they contacted the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison about a field trip to NIEHS and a workshop on climate change. The parents thought a visit to NIEHS would help their children prepare for the research-presentation component of the 2008 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Lego League Climate Connections Tournament....read more

Summers of Discovery Participants Enjoy Annual Picnic

On June 18, the Summers of Discovery Class of 2008 participants and mentors gathered for the program's traditional rite of summer at the Annual Picnic on the patio outside the NIEHS Cafeteria. The simple, but seasonal, fare included hamburgers and hot dogs with sides of coleslaw and potato and pasta salad....read more

Evergreen Consulting Recognizes Media and Glassware Employees

Just about everyone in the Rall Building at NIEHS has seen the rows of gleaming beakers on display in module D, but few get to see the hard work that goes on behind closed doors to make sure that labs have the glassware and media they need. On June 20, for the second year in a row, contract manager Heath Carroll recognized Evergreen workers for their excellent performance during the last evaluation period with a surprise lunch and certificates of appreciation....read more

Another Successful Fun-Filled Family Day

Sounds of laughter, popular music from local DJ's and smells of summer grilling on the patio of the NIEHS Rall Building were not the only things attracting employees and their families to come out for the 3rd Annual Family Day Celebration. However, they were enough to transform the auditorium, patio, cafeteria and lakefront from scientific business as usual into a carnival-like playground for kids of every age. The event, organized by Dona McNeil and the Work Life Committee, was held on June 3....read more

Discoverers Take Softball Trophy

Retribution was the name of the game as the second annual Friends and Family Softball Tournament concluded Family Day on June 3. Nearly 80 NIEHS employees and their families came out to support and cheer on their fellow co-workers, as they prepared to take on opposing divisions....read more

Friendship the Fish Fry Way

Despite record-breaking heat and a Code Orange ozone-advisory, nearly 100 federal employees gathered under the covered picnic area at the NIEHS ball field on June 5 for the Blacks In Government (BIG) Annual Fish Fry. Naturally, the perfectly prepared fried flounder, fries, hushpuppies and sides attracted hungry co-workers, but the real reason gatherers return every year is to fellowship with one another and raise money for local scholarships....read more

Science Notebook

Air Pollution Researcher Delivers Distinguished Lecture

The researchers who examine air pollution understand that airborne particles can impact human health. One of these scientists, Jonathan M. Samet, M.D., presented an overview of the field as part of the NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series. The seminar was titled "Airborne Particles and Health: What Do We Know in 2008?" and took place in Rodbell Auditorium on June 10. Dale Sandler, Ph.D., chief of the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch and Acting Clinical Director Darryl Zeldin, M.D., senior investigator in the NIEHS Laboratory of Respiratory Biology, co-hosted the event....read more

Research Fellow Reviews Role of Protein Mutations in Mitochondria

On June 11 in Rall Building Conference Room D350, Sherine Chan, Ph.D., presented her research to the NIEHS Laboratory of Molecular Genetics (LMG) investigators as a part of the LMG Wednesday Seminar Series. Chan, who is a Research Fellow in the Mitochondrial DNA Replication Group, spoke on "Proteins at the Mitochondrial DNA Replication Fork."....read more

Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lamps Spurs Superfund Research

The Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) laboratory of Robert Hurt, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation at Brown University, is studying mercury vapor release from broken and spent compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)....read more

Nobel Winner Reviews the Greenhouse Effect

One of the pioneers of global warming and greenhouse effect research, F. Sherwood Rowland, Ph.D., spoke on May 22 at the Research Triangle Park Headquarters as part of the RTI Modern Sciences Seminar Series. Rowland's talk, "Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change," was sponsored by the RTI Fellow Program and hosted by Senior Fellow R. K. M. Jayanty, Ph.D. Several NIEHS employees were among the audience gathered for the pre-lunch event....read more

Director's Challenge Study on Breastfeeding and Pulmonary Disease

The June issue of Pediatrics includes the latest findings to emerge from research funded through the NIEHS Director's Challenge Program in Integrative Research awarded in October 2006. NIEHS Laboratory of Respiratory Biology (LRB) Chief Steven Kleeberger, Ph.D., is the principal investigator for the grant, which supports work at NIEHS, the Panamerican INFANT Network at Johns Hopkins University and Fundación INFANT in Buenos Aries, Argentina....read more

Long-term Pesticide Exposure May Increase Risk of Diabetes

Licensed pesticide applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes, according to authors of a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. The association between specific pesticides and incident diabetes ranged from a 20 percent to a 200 percent increase in risk, said scientists with the NIEHS and National Cancer Institute (NCI)....read more

Upcoming Distinguished Lecturer Hollis Cline

The 2007 - 2008 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Series will welcome its next speaker, Hollis T. Cline, Ph.D., at 11:00 a.m. July 8 in Rodbell Auditorium. Cline will speak on "Mechanisms of Developmental Plasticity in the Visual System." The lecture will be hosted by Serena Dudek, Ph.D., principal investigator and head of the NIEHS Synaptic and Developmental Plasticity Group....read more

Extramural Research

Extramural Update

Over one hundred parents, families and caregivers of children, along with adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), took part in a daylong town hall meeting held at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento California on May 3....read more

Extramural Papers of the Month

• Risks of Coarse Particulate Air Pollution
• Social Isolation and Possible Implications for Breast Cancer
• Mapping Gene Expression in the Human Liver
• Enzyme Variant Identified as a Susceptibility Factor for Heart Failure

Intramural Research

Intramural Papers of the Month

• Exposure to Pesticides Increases Risk of Diabetes
• Sox8 Plays an Important Role in Male Fertility
• The Involvement of DNA Polymerases in Eukaryotic Replication
• Structures of DNA Polymerase Β Provide the First Glimpse of Pre-Mutagenic DNA Synthesis

Calendar of Upcoming Events

• June 30 - July 1, in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:00 - 5:00 - Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Workshop
• July 2, in Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 - 10:30 - Seminar with Nancy Moreno presenting Environmental Health Partnerships to Improve Science Education: Benefits to Research Institutions and Schools Using Real-World Environmental Health Themes in the Classroom
• July 2, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 - 12:30 - Summers of Discovery Weekly Seminar: "Inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor mediates airway hyperreactivity in environmental models of asthma" by Stavros Garantziotis, MD
• July 8, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 - 12:00 - Distinguished Lecture Seminar Series featuring Hollis T. Cline, Ph.D., discussing "Mechanisms of Developmental Plasticity in the Visual System"
• July 9, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 - 12:30 - Summers of Discovery Weekly Seminar: "Calcium Signaling During Egg Activation" with Carmen Williams, M.D., Ph.D.
• July 10, in F193, 1:00 - 2:00 - Laboratory of Structural Biology Seminar Series with Lars Pederson, Ph.D., Topic TBA
• July 16, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 - 12:30 - Summers of Discovery Weekly Seminar: "Calcium: Yes, Bones and Teeth, but So Much More" by Jim Putney, Ph.D.
• July 21 - 22 (Offsite), at the RTP Radisson Hotel, 8:30 - 5:00 - NTP Report on Carcinogens: Expert Panel Meeting Report - Topic: Styrene
• July 23, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 - 12:30 - Summers of Discovery Weekly Seminar: Featuring Dale Sandler, Ph.D., discussing "The Sister Study - A Prospective Study of Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors for Breast Cancer in an Enriched Cohort"
• July 24, in Rodbell Auditorium, 3:00 - 4:00 - Frontiers in Environmental Sciences Lecture Series featuring Edward "Ted" Emmett, M.D., topic TBA
• July 30, in the Rall Building Mall, 9:00 - 12:00 - Summers of Discovery Annual Poster Session

View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar

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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)