NIEHS Spotlight
Council approves concepts, shares budget concerns
The 138th meeting of the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council Feb. 20-21 included a candid assessment of budget challenges ahead.
Public-private group explores sustainable alternatives assessment
NIEHS provided much more than meeting space and hospitality during a Health and Environmental Sciences Institute workshop Feb. 7-8.
Putting climate change and human health science into practice
A meeting Jan. 30-31 in Washington, D.C., brought together agency partners and grantees to address one of today’s most critical public health issues.
NIEHS hosts workshop for secondary school science educators
Thanks to a long-standing partnership with the N. C. Association for Biomedical Research, 27 educators were able to attend a free workshop Feb. 6 at NIEHS.
Birnbaum visits Northeastern SRP partner in Puerto Rico
NIEHS/NTP Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., visited the University of Puerto Rico Medical Campus Feb. 4 to discuss the importance of transdisciplinary research.
Summer intern earns national recognition 
William Ge was chosen as one of three hundred semi-finalists in the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition.
Miller hands over the reins at the NIEHS Clinical Research Program
CRU Medical Director Stavros Garantziotis, M.D., who will now serve as acting clinical director, said Miller’s efforts to help integrate the program were invaluable.
NTP postdoc wins top award at SOT
Yuanyuan (Laura) Xu, Ph.D., of the NTP Laboratory, will be honored with the Best Postdoctoral Publication Award at the group’s annual meeting this month.
NIEHS fellow transitions into private-sector translational research
NIEHS trainee Jennifer Sims, Ph.D., left her lab last month for a translational research and development research associate position at Expression Analysis.
SOT goes to San Antonio
NIEHS and NTP staff will be donning their cowboy boots, hats, data, and science posters for the Society of Toxicology’s 52nd Annual Meeting, March 10–14.
NTP fellow lands toxicologist position at EPA
NTP fellow Minerva Mercado-Feliciano, Ph.D., began her new position Jan. 27 as a toxicologist in the Health Effects Division of the Office of Pesticides Programs.
Midwest legislators convene at Environmental Health Summit
The purpose of the Midwest Environmental Health Summit was to inform state legislators about environmental health issues in the region.
FDA program marks next step for NIEHS research fellow
Trainee Javier Revollo, Ph.D., said he hadn’t even started his job search when opportunity came knocking in the form of an email announcement.
Tribal college program engages Native American students in STEM
Salish Kootenai College professor Douglas Stevens, Ph.D., described efforts to engage Native Americans students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers.
LMC fellow enters the field of regulatory affairs
Bhargavi Rao, Ph.D., an intramural research training award fellow in the Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis, left NIEHS in February for a career in regulatory affairs.
Outreach program begins second year at local school
The NIEHS Citizen Schools project kicked off its second year of service Feb. 4 with an orientation for students at Lowes Grove Middle School in Durham, N.C.
Inside the Institute
Institute achievements honored at annual awards ceremony
NIEHS staff from across the institute gathered in Rodbell Auditorium on Feb. 13 for the annual ceremony, hosted by NIEHS/NTP Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
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Mar 05, NIEHS Executive Dining Room 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. — Receptor Mechanisms Discussion Group Seminar Series with Christopher Wingard, Ph.D., exploring “Metabolic Syndrome: Rho-Kinase Signaling and Erectile Dysfunction”
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Mar 08 (Offsite event), Levine Science Research Center, Room A247, at Duke University 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. — Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program Seminar Series with Ilona Jaspers, Ph.D., addressing “Inhaled Pollutants and Host Defense: Studies From Right Under Your Nose”
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Mar 10–14 (Offsite event), Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio — Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting and ToxExpo
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Mar 15, Rodbell A 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. — Keystone Science Lecture Series, featuring Rusty Thomas, Ph.D., discussing “Incorporating New Technologies into Toxicity Testing and Chemical Risk Assessment: Moving From 21st Century Vision to a Data-Driven Framework.
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Mar 19, Rodbell Auditorium 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. — 2013 Hans L. Falk Memorial Lecture with Julie Parsonnet, M.D., giving a presentation titled “Spirits in the Microbial World (or Who is Steering This Ship)?”
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Mar 20, Keystone 1003AB 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. — NTP Toxicology Branch presentation on “Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Attributable to Complex Mixtures of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Can We Assume Response Additivity?” by Paul White, Ph.D.
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Mar 21–22, Keystone 1003AB March 21 1:00-5:00 p.m.–March 22 8:30 a.m.-adjournment — NTP Peer Review of Draft Report on Carcinogens Monographs for 1-Bromopropane and Cumene
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Mar 22, Rodbell Auditorium 1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. — Spirit Lecture, featuring Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D., discussing “A Life in Science: From Cloning to Cell Therapies”
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Mar 27–28, Rodbell Auditorium 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. — Training Directors’ Meeting
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Mar 29, Keystone 1003AB 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. — NTP Tox21 Review conference
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Mar 29 (Offsite event), Levine Science Research Center, Room A247, at Duke University 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. — Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program Seminar Series with John Groopman, Ph.D., speaking on “Biomarkers for Etiology and Prevention of Liver Cancer: Third Leading Cause of Global Cancer Mortality”
View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar
Science Notebook
BPA grantees share findings
Nearly 100 researchers studying the health effects of the chemical bisphenol A gathered at NIEHS Jan. 28-29 to provide an update on their findings.
Council enjoys epigenetics and bioinformatics talks
The two scientific presentations scheduled into most Council meetings provided members with some relief from making the tough decisions about grants.
Translating women’s environmental reproductive health research into practice
NIEHS was host to leading scientists and physicians for the 2nd annual meeting Jan. 30 of the Women’s Environmental Reproductive Health Consortium.
Expert meeting ponders chemical testing in the 21st century
Experts gathered to address lingering questions about predictive toxicology at a meeting Jan 24-25 in Washington, DC., organized by the Environmental Defense Fund.
Birnbaum discusses low dose at Tox Forum
NIEHS/NTP Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., presented a talk on non-monotonic dose response Jan. 30 at the 38th Annual Winter Meeting of The Toxicology Forum.
Diaz edits special issue of the journal Autoimmunity
NIEHS researcher Marilyn Diaz, Ph.D., wrote the introduction and contributed a review article on the role of activation-induced deaminase in lupus nephritis.
Speaker calls for crowdsourcing to advance predictive toxicology
Guest lecturer Maurice Whelan, Ph.D., discussed the impact of a European ban on animal testing of cosmetics on chemical risk assessment, in a Jan. 29 talk at NIEHS.
Wetterhahn awardee discusses community project on arsenic in vegetables
Monica Ramirez-Andreotta, Ph.D., created a community-based program to evaluate the risk of arsenic in homegrown vegetables near Superfund sites.
Study links prenatal exposure to PM with low birth weight 
A global team of researchers has reinforced concerns that exposure to increased levels of particulate matter during pregnancy may lead to low birth weight.
Validating hair as a biomarker of manganese exposure
A new NIEHS-funded study describes a process for reliable and non-invasively determining levels of manganese exposure in children and adults.
Grantees discuss Superfund pollutants and reproductive health
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment-sponsored Reproductive Health Working Group call Feb. 7 featured presentations by NIEHS-funded scientists.
This month in EHP
This month’s feature stories in Environmental Health Perspectives examine radiation from power plant accidents and newly generated polychlorinated biphenyls.
Parsonnet to give Falk distinguished lecture
Infectious disease specialist Julie Parsonnet, M.D., will present the 2013 Falk lecture on “Spirits in the Microbial World (or Who is Steering this Ship)?”
Stem cell biology symposium to be hosted by NIEHS in April
A two-day symposium April 11-12 will bring to NIEHS prominent experts in stem cell research, an area identified as one of NIEHS strategic interests.
Extramural Research
Extramural papers of the month/news/newsletter/2013/3/dert/index.htm
- Cost of mercury pollution
- Reducing air pollution continues to increase life expectancy
- Tributyltin linked to transgenerational obesity
- Early pregnancy inflammation could increase autism risk
