
Environmental Factor, November 2009, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIEHS Spotlight
Birnbaum Speaks at Milwaukee Town Hall
As the crowning event of a visit to Milwaukee, NIEHS and National Toxicology Program Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., spoke October 1 at the latest NIEHS Town Hall Meeting. The event drew a capacity crowd to the Milwaukee Public Library's Centennial Hall. ...read more
Trainees Turn Out in Record Number for National Postdoc Appreciation Day
As part of the NIEHS Trainee Assembly (NTA) fall General Meeting on September 24, NTA and the NIEHS Office of the Scientific Director celebrated the first annual National Postdoc Appreciation Day with snacks, fellowship and prizes. ...read more
Fellows and Investigators Showcased at Annual NIH Research Festival
When NIH held its week-long annual Research Festival October 6-9, seven postdoctoral fellows and two investigators from NIEHS were on hand in Bethesda to celebrate the accomplishments of NIH scientists. ...read more
First Annual Meeting of the NIEHS Centers for Neurodegeneration Science
The NIEHS Centers for Neurodegeneration Science (CNS) - formerly The Collaborative Centers for Parkinson's Disease Environmental Disease Research (CCPDER) - held the program's first annual meeting on October 8 and 9 at NIEHS. ...read more
Shaughnessy Represents NIEHS at Biotech Conference
NIEHS Health Science Administrator Dan Shaughnessy, Ph.D., served as the NIEHS/NIH representative at the Eighth Annual Charlotte Biotechnology Conference, held October 8 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). ...read more
Harry Gives Special Guest Lecture at Stereology Workshop
NIEHS Neurotoxicology Group Principal Investigator Jean Harry, Ph.D., delivered the special guest lecture at the 15th Annual Fall Stereology Workshop, "Applications of Unbiased Stereology To Neural Systems" - held October 14-16 in Chicago as a preconference event of the 38th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neurosciences. ...read more
Sister Study Exceeds Recruitment Goal: Now the Real Work Begins
NIEHS has many reasons to celebrate this October as it recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The NIEHS Sister Study began recruiting women for this landmark study during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October 2004 and this October has reached a milestone. ...read more
WETP Grantees Look at Global Issues in Worker Safety
At their annual fall workshop last month, NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) grantees were treated to a forum on emerging developments in global health and safety that promise to have a major impact on worker training. ...read more
NIEHS Center Intern Recognized by EPA Head
Fifteen-year-old NIEHS-supported center intern Otana Jakpor enjoyed the latest boost in her burgeoning career in the environmental health sciences on September 30 when she received special recognition from Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during Jackson's visit to Los Angeles. ...read more
Superfund Announces Wetterhahn Award Winner
The NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) announced that Kathleen Radloff, a doctoral student at Columbia University, is the twelfth recipient of the Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award. Radloff will be presented with the award at the SRP Annual Meeting in New York where she will deliver a keynote address highlighting her research ...read more
NIEHS Center Director Honored by Oregon State
On September 23 in Corvalis, Ore., Oregon State University (OSU) recognized the achievements of NIEHS grantee David Williams, Ph.D., with its Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award - the highest award the university presents to members of its faculty. ...read more
WETP Grantee To Be Nominated for FEMA Post
On October 9, President Barack Obama announced his intention to make several high-level nominations, releasing a list that includes NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) grantee Elizabeth M. Harman. ...read more
Editorial Recognizes NIEHS-Funded Research
A University of Southern California (USC) study on prenatal tobacco smoke (PTS) exposure and DNA methylation partially funded by NIEHS has been commended for the quality of the research. ...read more
Kim Receives Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program Award
Sangmi Kim, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, received a Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from the Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for 2009 on October 7. ...read more
NIEHS-Funded Training for HazMat Emergency Response in American Samoa
In June 2009, University of California, Davis Extension (UCDE) instructors taught three health and safety courses for handling hazardous materials and emergency response in American Samoa on the main island of Tutuila. ...read more
Call for Nominations to the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee
In the October 16 Federal Register, NIEHS issued a request for the nomination of voting members to serve on the NIH/NIEHS Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC). ...read more
Inside the Institute
Presentation Addresses Obesity as a Disability
The NIEHS Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC) began its observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month on September 30 with a presentation on "Obesity, Mortality and Quality of Care: Implications for Disability." ...read more
Speaker Explores the Secret History of Columbus
During its latest Hispanic Heritage Celebration on October 6, the NIEHS Diversity Council offered employees and contractors a novel perspective on explorer Christopher Columbus with a lecture by historian Manuel Rosa. ...read more
Motivational Speaker Wows Disability Event Audience
As one of its featured presentations in observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, on October 14 the NIEHS Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC) featured the multi-talented motivational speaker and mentor Tawana Williams. ...read more
DERT Celebrates the Completion of ARRA Work
Employees in the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) do an exceptional job of funding and managing environmental health sciences research grants to investigators throughout the country. ...read more
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Nears Goal as Campaign Continues
By the end of the day on October 30, NIEHS employees had pledged nearly $60,000 or 85 percent of the campaign's 2009 goal of $70,000, and CFC organizers were confident NIEHS would reach or exceed the goal as the campaign continues through November 20. ...read more
Science Notebook
GEMS Holds 27th Annual Fall Meeting
The Genetics and Environmental Mutagenesis Society (GEMS) celebrated the anniversary of its annual meeting series October 5 at the William and Ida Friday Center on "Dissecting Genome Structure, Genetic Traits and the Basis for Complex Diseases." ...read more
Researchers Find Link Between Cholesterol and Asthma
High cholesterol levels have been linked to a variety of illnesses such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes, but recent research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggests that cholesterol may also play a role in asthma. ...read more
Experts Review Revisions to Local Lymph Node Assay Method
On October 20-22, scientists from NIEHS, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) participated in an international expert consultation to evaluate modifications of the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) ...read more
Nobel Winner Speaks at RNA Society Meeting
Sponsored in part by NIEHS, the "Symposium on RNA Biology VIII: RNA Tool and Target" was held on October 16 and 17 at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in the RTP. ...read more
Oceans Center Study Offers Caveat for Beachgoers
By combining solid research and relationship building, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-NIEHS Center for Oceans and Human Health (COHH) at the University of Miami and its collaborators are taking their science to the people on the beaches of America - and highlighting an underappreciated human source of exposure to bacteria, including the potentially deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ...read more
Superfund Study Links PCE and Birth Defects
Prenatal exposure to a chemical solvent can put babies at increased risk for birth defects, according to an NIEHS-funded study published in the September 2009 issue of Environmental Health. ...read more
SNPs and Dog Ownership Associated with Eczema Status
New findings by NIEHS-funded researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) report genetic and environmental risk and protective factors involved in the development of eczema in children - an atopic condition that is considered the result of complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and skinbarrier aberrations. ...read more
NC State Professor Discusses Nanoparticle Toxicity
NIEHS grantee James Bonner, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at North Carolina State University, gave a seminar at NIEHS on October 15 outlining some of his latest findings on engineered nanoparticles. ...read more
Cumulative Lead Exposure Linked to Death from CVD
A collaborative study that included three NIEHS grantees - Marc G. Weisskopf, Ph.D., Sc.D., Joel Schwartz, Ph.D., and Howard Hu, M.D., Sc.D. - underscores the cumulative effects of exposure to lead and is the first study to investigate the association between mortality and lead levels in bone. ...read more
Artificial Protein Can Direct Alternative Splicing of Genes
What started out as a very basic research project looking at a fly protein, has now morphed into a plausible method that may help researchers better study and manipulate disease-associated gene activity. ...read more
Prenatal Exposure Can Influence Gene Regulation and Later-Life Events
On October 14, Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), presented the second in a series of talks sponsored by the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT). ...read more
This Month in EHP
This month, Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) considers so-called "beneficial uses" of the more than 131 million tons of coal combustion waste (CCW) produced each year in the U.S. The focus article, "Trash or Treasure? Putting Coal Combustion Waste to Work," investigates whether using CCW in construction brings with it a potential for toxic leaching from building materials. ...read more
Upcoming Distinguished Lecturer Gail Mandel
The 2009-2010 NIEHS Distinguished Lecture series continues this month with a November 12 talk by Gail Mandel, Ph.D., on "Repression Mechanisms and Neuronal Phenotype." ...read more
Extramural Research
Extramural Update
NIH received $10 billion under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Of that NIEHS received $168 million for environmental health research grants and $19.4 million for the Superfund program, to be awarded over fiscal years 2009 and 2010. In fiscal year 2009, the NIEHS funded 325 grants, allocating approximately $133 million and $27 million respectively for awards and supplements. ...read more
Extramural Papers of the Month
- Carbon Nanotubes Can Affect the Lining of the Lungs
- Electronic Nose Smells Toxins
- Arsenic and Heart Arrhythmia
- Prostate Gene Polymorphism Linked to Bladder Cancer
Intramural Research
Intramural Papers of the Month
- DNA Scrunching Can Facilitate Repair by Filling the Gaps
- Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity Can Be Modulated by Differential Calcium Handling
- UV Radiation Modulates the Expression of Certain Autoimmune Diseases in Women
- A Novel Chromosomal Candidate Region for Childhood Asthma
Calendar of Upcoming Events
- November 2-4 (Offsite Event), at the Hilton Research Triangle Park, 8:30-5:00 - National Toxicology Program Report on Carcinogens Expert Panel Meeting on Formaldehyde
- November 3-4 (Offsite Event), at Columbia University, New York, 8:30-5:00 - Superfund Research Program Annual Meeting
- November 3-6 (Offsite Event), at the Twin City
Quarter in Winston-Salem, N.C. - "Faces of a Healthy Future: National Conference to End Health Disparities II" (http://facesofahealthyfuture.com/)
- November 5, in Rodbell Auditorium, 8:00-5:00 - NIEHS 2009 Science Day
- November 7-11 (Offsite Event), at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia - American Public Health Association 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition
- November 10, in Keystone 1003AB, 10:00-11:00 - DERT Keystone Seminar with Patty Opresko, Ph.D., topic TBA
- November 12, in Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00-12:00 - Distinguished Lecture featuring Gail Mandel, Ph.D., speaking on "Repression Mechanisms and Neuronal Phenotype"
- November 16, in Rodbell Auditorium, 10:00-11:00 - Seminar featuring Brian Strahl, Ph.D., speaking on "Regulation and Function of Histone-Modifying Enzymes in Transcription"
- November 18-20 (Offsite Event), in San Francisco - Annual Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers Meeting with a November 18 Town Hall Meeting featuring Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D.
- November 19-20 (Offsite Event), in Sausalito - Sixth Annual Early Environmental Exposures Meeting, with keynote address by Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D.
- November 20-22 (Offsite Event), at the Perth
Exhibition Centre, Perth, Australia - 13th InternationalPacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health Conference: Environmental Exposures in the Era of Climate Change (http://www.pacificbasin.org/blog/)
View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar