CATALYTIC REACTIONS On the New Clinical Research Center: Please allow the beautiful trees around the NIH campus to be cultured and not destroyed. I write specifically to preserve several trees marked for cutting to make way for construction of the new Clinical [Research] Center and Center Drive. The awe-inspiring white oak tree marked number 154 and several other majestic oaks in the vicinity of number 154 as well as several stately tulip-poplars along the proposed swath of cutting should remain standing. Their beauty stimulates the imagination and is, therefore, part of what makes the NIH campus a unique and valuable site to conduct biomedical research. They provide an irreplaceable natural sanctuary for quiet reflection. These trees symbolize the power of life and inspire us to solve problems with the living. The trees, furthermore, imbue pride and honor in the wider community. In the final tally, these trees may provide more immeasurable value for the NIH mission than the structures that replace them. Please revisit the trees and make every effort to allow their survival. I hope that you will inform the NIH community of plans to cut the trees so that they may offer further input to what I see as a proposed diminution of our NIH. Brian Lowe, NHLBI

On Training Scientists at NIH: I would add to Dr. Michael Gottesman's extensive list of the necessary components of research training the availability of formal courses that last from a few hours to entire academic years. More and more components of the NIH, such as DCRT and the Building 10 Library, offer research-related training programs. The Clinical Center offers a highly successful Core Course in Clinical Research., and the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School offers a rich menu of courses that can fill gaps in a fellow's training, bring him or her up to date in areas that have emerged or developed quickly since graduate school, or give a fellow background in a broad range of areas he or she may be curious about, helping in formulating new areas of research for an evolving career. These various educational programs are important complements to the less formalized training that takes place in the laboratory setting itself. For FAES course offerings, call 496-7476. Alan Schechter, FAES Graduate School How about getting a job and finding a good mentor? Also, it's not all just from the trainees' perspective: How about rewarding mentoring and teaching mentors how to do a good job? --Anonymous

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