T H E   N I H   C A T A L Y S T     N O V E M B E R   –   D E C E M B E R  2004

INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Four More IOM Stars
The ranks of NIH scientists elected to the Institiute of Medicine expanded by four this year: Zeke Emanuel, director of the Department of Clinical Bioethics, CC; Alan Guttmacher, clinical advisor to the director, NHGRI; Bob Nussbaum, chief of the Genetic Disease Research Branch, NHGRI; and Tom Quinn, NIAID senior investigator. n
Demystifying Medicine

The popular Demystifying Medicine course will be offered again in 2005. The course aims to bridge the gap between Ph.D.s trained in basic science and the medical problems to which their skills and insights could be applied. Presentations of patients and pathology are accompanied by state-of-the-art analyses of related basic and clinical science.

Starting January 4 and ending May 17, the course will be held every Tuesday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Building 50 ground-floor auditorium (Rooms 1227 & 1233). All presentations will be videocast.

The course is geared to graduate and medical students, clinical and Ph.D. fellows, and staff. Background information and handouts will be available.

Those seeking academic credit for the course can register with FAES; otherwise, registration is at the Listserv.

Participants who attend at least 75 percent of the sessions and complete a web-based final examination will receive a certificate. The course schedule follows and can also be found at the website.
NIH/Duke Training Program in Clinical Research

Applications are being accepted for the 2005–2006 NIH-Duke Training Program in Clinical Research, The deadline for applying is March 1, 2005.

The program is designed primarily for physicians and dentists who want formal training in the quantitative and methodological principles of clinical research and is intended to be a part-time complement to ongoing clinical training.

Courses are offered at the NIH Clinical Center via videoconference. Academic credit for the course may be applied toward satisfying the degree requirement (24 credits of graded course work plus a 12-credit research project) for a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research from Duke University School of Medicine.

Applications are available in the NIH Clinical Center, Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education, Building 10, Room B1L403.

Additional information regarding coursework and tuition costs is available at the program website.

E-mail queries can be sent to the same address.

Enrollment is limited. Interested individuals should check with their NIH institute or center regarding funding for participation. Successful applicants will be notified by July 1, 2005. n
Pharmacology Training Programs

PRAT

The NIGMS Pharmacology Research Associate (PRAT) program is now accepting applications for positions to begin in October 2005. Applications must be received by January14, 2005.

This is a 3-year competitive research fellowship program that supports training at NIH or FDA laboratories for postdoctoral candidates in the pharmacological sciences and related research areas.

Applicable areas of research may include, but are not limited to, molecular pharmacology, signal-transduction mechanisms, drug metabolism, immunopharmacology, chemistry and drug design, structural biology, endocrinology, bioinformatics, and neuroscience.

PRAT fellows receive competitive salaries as well as supply and travel funds. Candidates apply in conjunction with an identified preceptor, who may be any tenured or tenure-track scientist at NIH or FDA.

For more information or application materials, contact the PRAT program assistant at 301-594-3583 or by e-mail, or visit the PRAT website.

ClinPRAT

The Clinical Pharmacology Research Associate (ClinPRAT) program is intended for physicians who wish to acquire specialized clinical and laboratory training in the pharmacological sciences.

For more information or application materials, contact Donna L. Shields at 301-435-6618 or by e-mail or visit the ClinPRAT Web site. n

Book Early and Enjoy the Club

 

If you like recondite books and have a somewhat eccentric mind, I’ve got a great book club for you.

The NIH Biomedical Computing Interest Group (BCIG) sponsors a highly successful (in terms of attendance, participant liveliness, and follow-up accolades) book club that was started over a year ago.

Good, friendly, informative dialogue occurs at every meeting. Participants feel free to speak or not to speak. Some read the books in detail and others don’t.

We have already selected nine books for the 2005 program: three on computer science, three on biomedical sciences, and three on organizational behavior.

Here are the books and the dates they will be discussed:

n 1/27 eXtremeProgramming eXplained, Kent Beck

n 2/24 The Triple Helix, Richard Lewontin

n 3/24 The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell

n 4/28 Leonardo’s Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies, Ben Shneiderman

n 5/26 Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins, Steve Olson

n 6/23 Micromotives and Macrobehavior, Thomas C. Schelling

n 7/28 Free Software for Busy People, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli

n 9/22 Life Evolving: Molecules, Mind, and Meaning, Christian de Duve

n 10/27 Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed., Tom DeMarco, Timothy Lister

You can get these books through most book suppliers, including the FAES Book Store and the NIH Library, or through interlibrary loan at your local library.

Authors Shneiderman, Olson, Al-Ubaydli, and perhaps others are likely to attend when their books are discussed.

All meetings will be held in the NIH Clinical Center (Building 10) in the Medical Board Room (Room 2C116) on Thursdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

For more information, please contact Jim DeLeo at 301-496-3848 or e-mail—or refer to the BCIG website.

—Jim DeLeo

TCB at NIH: Entering a New Business System

NIH has begun replacing its Administrative Database (ADB) with the fully integrated NIH Business System (NBS) that will automate and link all of NIH's administrative processes, resources, and financial information.

One of the first two modules in place for the start of fiscal 2004—the NBS Travel System—was used to process 70,719 travel authorizations, 56,988 travel vouchers, and 6,543 local travel vouchers during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004. (Because travel documents are now electronically routed, CANs have been replaced by "project"  numbers.)

To help NIH users navigate the new system, an NBS Management Center was established in September 2003; 15,000 help calls were logged in fiscal 2004, and 99 percent of them have been resolved. In addition, each institute and center has appointed a liaison to the NMC.

The NBS team is now readying modules to be used in FY2006 (starting October 1, 2006)—property, acquisitions, station support and research and development contracts, supply/inventory, and several finance modules.

More information about the NBS project can be found at this website. n

 

 

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