NIEHS Spotlight

Researchers Quoted in USA Today

Retha Newbold, a developmental endocrinologist, and Ken Korach, director of the NIEHS Environmental Disease and Medicine Program, were quoted extensively in a USA Today article Aug. 3. The article on the front page of the Life section was titled, "Are our products our enemy?"

Promoting Alternative Transportation Earns TTA Leadership Award

NIEHS was honored July 29 by the Triangle Transit Authority with a leadership award in the large company category.

Familiar Faces in Commuter Places: See NIEHS Faces on SmartCommute Posters

Four NIEHS employees are poster models for the SmartCommute Challenge, a triangle area initiative to promote alternative transportation to automobiles. Belinda Wilson, Dick Sloane, Xuefei Wu and Liya Qin are seen throughout the triangle on a poster encouraging Research Triangle Park employees to take the SmartCommute Challenge. Taking the challenge means you will commute by alternative transportation at least once by Sept. 30.

NIEHS-Funded Research Graces the Cover of Science News

Five years ago, NIEHS decided to commit $6.6 million to research on red-tide toxins. That research is making quite a splash in the biomedical research community.

Labor Movement and Civil Rights, Intricately Intertwined

James Andrews, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, is a war veteran. Besides the time he served in the military, which resulted in a Purple Heart, he is a veteran of a different kind of war - the American civil rights movement. Civil rights issues and unions issues are based on the same principles and face the same challenges. They are inextricably intertwined, he said.

Summer Student Aims High, Plans to Give Back to her Community

Karla Hernandez-Cruz knew for a long time what she wanted to do. When asked, she does not hesitate: "Go to medical school and get a Ph.D."

Poster Session Concludes Summer Program

Most of the 67 participants in the 2005 Summers of Discovery program displayed research posters for NIEHS staff on July 27. The majority of the participants in the poster session and the Summers of Discovery Program are undergrad and graduate students, but there were six college faculty members, a middle-school teacher and six high-school students.

Julia Gohlke Receives James C. Bradford Memorial Student Poster Award

Julia Gohlke received the James C. Bradford Memorial Student Poster Award in the postdoc category at the 45th annual Teratology Society meeting in June. The award included $250 and a plaque. Gohlke is a post-doctorate candidate in the Environmental Toxicology Program.

Ray Tennant Receives Toxicology Forum Award

Ray Tennant, director of the National Center for Toxicogenomics, received the George H. Scott Memorial Award on July 12. The award was given at the Toxicology Forum's 31st Annual Summer Meeting in Aspen, Colorado.

NIH Hosts Health Symposium at BIG National Training Conference

More than 5,000 federal employees attended the 27th Annual Blacks In Government National Conference in Orlando, Fla. Aug. 1-5. A highlight of the week-long conference was the Health Symposium on Aug. 3 sponsored by the NIH National Center on Minority Health and Disparities. The theme was "The Health Status of the African American Community.

Central Storage? What's That?

Most computer users just want their computers to work properly. They're not so concerned about what makes computers function. But if you do much business traveling or telecommuting, central storage is a function you will want to know about since it allows you to access your data from home, from your work PC or from a laptop. A feature of this new program will also automatically synchronize versions of data files or documents to ensure you are working on the most current version.

Inside The Institute

Beth Mahler Reaches Out to Mentally Ill

Ask any Club Horizon staff or club member if they know Beth Mahler, and you will likely hear, "No, I don't believe I do." But ask what kinds of things volunteers have done there, and most folks will tell you volunteers painted the entire 5,500 square feet of the club last year. Beth Mahler, a contractor in the Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, and her 17-year-old son, Charlie Gaul, are the phantom volunteers who did the painting. Like so many other things she does for the clubhouse, she said, she did it because "it just needed to be done."

Man About Town: John Schelp

John Schelp, it seems, is everywhere you look in the media lately.

NIEHS in the Community: Durham's "Back to School Youth Fair"

Three NIEHS employees, all sorority sisters, got involved in the "Back to School Youth Fair" in Durham because they wanted to touch the lives of underprivileged children. They rounded up a group of NIEHS staffers who were also willing to volunteer their time and expertise, and spent a day showing kids that science is all around them in their daily lives.

Contract Specialist Catches Big Fish - Or Does She?

Jennifer Smith, a contract specialist in DERT's Research Contracts Branch, shows off her latest catch from the family pond in Alabama. Co-workers insist she didn't really catch the fish, but rather, talked it out of the water.

Kelly Godfrey & Hearing Dog "Panther" On the Prowl

When Billy was 7 years old, he fell and hit his head on the corner of a bed. He cried for twenty minutes. His mom was in the kitchen, but didn't hear him. She could only read lips....

Chinese Brush Painting

The Rall Building cafeteria was decked out with a festive and rather colorful eastern atmosphere for six weeks beginning July 13 in recognition of Asian Pacific Heritage Month. NIEHS employees took advantage of a Chinese Brush Painting class sponsored by the Diversity Council.

Former Summer Student Receives Davidson Institute Fellowship

A Michigan teen who spent last summer working at NIEHS was named Davidson Institute Fellow.

30 Years: David Brown Changes Direction

With 30 years under his belt, David Brown retired from the Public Health Service. David Schwartz, NIEHS director, Sam Wilson, deputy director, Anne Sassaman, DERT director, Chip Hughes, Worker Education and Training Program director, and Allen Dearry, DRCPT director, spoke about Brown's contributions to NIEHS.

NIEHS Town Hall Meetings Scheduled

NIEHS Director David Schwartz will host a series of town hall meetings for NIEHS staff to voice opinions, ideas and priorities.

Up and Coming

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Science Notebook

Zeldin Labs Move toward Bench-to-Bedside Goal

Research efforts in the Molecular and Cellular Biology and Environmental Cardiopulmonary Disease groups are rapidly moving toward the bench-to-bedside goal according to translational investigator, Darryl Zeldin, who heads both groups at NIEHS.

EHP Credibility Reflected in Climbing Numbers

The numbers are speaking loud and clear. Editor-in-Chief Tom Goehl and his crew in Environmental Health Perspectives exerted a lot of effort over the past four years to improve the journal's credibility and to establish it as a top-notch journal. The numbers reflect their success.

Uncle Sam Needs YOU: More Research Veterinarians Needed for Public Service

Reports are calling for executive-level coordination of veterinary research to overcome gaps in information sharing among federal agencies. To compound the problem, the supply of veterinarians appears to be shrinking just when the need for them is exploding, the reports said.

Tox Town Adds US Mexico Border Neighborhood

Tox Town is an interactive website created by the National Library of Medicine to introduce visitors to environmental health risks associated with toxic chemicals encountered in everyday life. Visitors to the site view information on communities by moving their computer mouse over drawings of cities and towns.

Papers of the Month - July 2005

1) Johnson J, Bagley J, Skaznik-Wikiel M, Lee HJ, Adams GB, Niikura Y, Tschudy KS, Tilly JC, Cortes ML, Forkert R, Spitzer T, Iacomini J, Scadden DT, Tilly JL. Oocyte generation in adult Mammalian ovaries by putative germ cells in bone marrow and peripheral blood. Cell. 2005 Jul 29;122(2):303-15.

The Environmental Factor is produced monthly by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (https://www.niehs.nih.gov/), Office of Communications and Public Liaison. The text 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)