NIMH Web Site Award: Child and Teen Mental Health Information

A special section about child and adolescent mental health on the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) web site has been awarded a top five-star rating by the Tufts University Child & Family WebGuide, a not-for-profit resource which identifies, describes and evaluates web sites that contain the most credible child development information available. The pages about children and teens are at www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/childmenu.cfm, part of the main NIMH site at www.nimh.nih.gov. The award honored NIMH "for making a significant amount of material accessible to child development experts, parents and others who work with children", and for "providing a substantial amount of applied research information on mental health issues, covering learning disabilities, brain functioning, ADHD, medication, diagnosis, and causes". More information is available at www.nimh.nih.gov/events/tufts.cfm.

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NIAMS Community Health Center Featured in Special Edition Newsletter
Spring 2002

In a special edition of the IRPartners newsletter, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) highlights its Community Health Center in the Upper Cardozo neighborhood of Washington, DC. This special publication features the history of the Center, which opened in July 2001; its benefits to both the NIH and Upper Cardozo; and interviews with the Center's bilingual staff. If you want to learn more about the Center's activities and operations, visit IRPartners on the NIAMS Web site at www.niams.nih.gov/ne/highlights/irpartners/index.htm, or contact Rachel Moore at (301) 451-4822 or by e-mail at moorer1@mail.nih.gov for a printed copy.

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Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee Meeting
May 24, 2002
NIH Campus

NIH will sponsor an Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) meeting on May 24, 2002, organized by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The Committee membership includes representatives from several institutes at the National Institutes of Health, other Federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and families of individuals with autism or other pervasive developmental disorders. The mission of the IACC is to facilitate the effective and efficient exchange of information on autism activities among the member agencies; to assist in increasing public understanding of the member agencies' activities, programs, policies, and research; and to serve as a forum for bringing important matters of interest forward for discussion.

The May meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. in Building 31 (Conference Room 10, 6th Floor) on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The session will be open to the public, with attendance limited to space available. Further information about the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, including a membership roster, reports of previous meetings, and contact information, can be found at www.nimh.nih.gov/events/interagencyautism.cfm.

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NIMH Constituency Outreach and Education Program Annual Meeting
April 28–30, 2002
Washington, DC

The third annual meeting of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Constituency Outreach and Education Program (COEP) took place in Washington, DC, on April 28–30, 2002. Participants included representatives from Outreach Partner non-profit organizations in all 50 states and DC, as well as Education Network (EdNet) representatives. The EdNet component of the program includes national organizations involved in mental health, general health, medicine, education, business, and academia, as well as organizations that represent specific populations such as minorities, children and youth, and older adults. Key NIMH staff and other experts presented scientific updates on the Institute's research progress; child and adolescent mental health, with a focus on bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder; understanding the epidemiology of mental illness; and schizophrenia. Outreach topics included combating stigma, increasing cultural awareness among professionals, and reaching specific populations such as minorities, primary care providers, pediatricians, school personnel, and parents.

The COEP has its own web site at www.outreach.nimh.nih.gov, including a listing of Outreach Partners across the country and other information about the program.

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NIAID Receives Awards for Publication and Video
April 4, 2002

NIAID recently won two awards for a video and publication from the National Association of Government Communicators Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards. The employment recruitment video, NIAID: Come Join Us, placed first in the sales/marketing category. The video gives an overview of NIAID, especially the Division of Intramural Research (DIR). Leslie Fink, director of communications for NIAID's Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL), and Thomas Kindt, Ph.D., Director of DIR, served as executive producers. Joy Jackson of the NIH Medical Arts and Photography Branch produced the video, and Steven R. Richardson of Roland House directed it. For more information about the video, call James Hadley at (301) 496-5717.

Microbes in Sickness and in Health, a brochure by Ann London of OCPL, tied for second place with The Structure of Life by Alisa Machalek of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Microbes in Sickness and in Health focuses on organisms that are essential for a healthy life and those that can cause infection and disease. View the brochure on-line at www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/microbes.htm or order a copy at www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/orderforms/order.htm.

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NICHD Conducts Primer on How NIH Works for Outside Organizations
April 4, 2002

NIH Campus

The Program and Public Liaison Office of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) conducted its second annual NICHD/NIH 101 symposium for new staff members of organizations that have a special interest in the research conducted by the Institute. Included during the daylong meeting were presentations on the history of NIH and NICHD and the different funding mechanisms for research. Also included were "Building a Budget" and "From Research to Practice to Health," presentations that explained how research findings are ultimately translated into practice and healthier behaviors. A tour of one of the Institute's laboratories followed. For further information, contact Lisa Kaeser at (301) 496-0536.

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Biodefense Research and Support: Job Opportunities
April 2002
NIH Campus

Consider joining the national effort to build a new research program aimed at the global problem of bioterrorism and emerging infections. Dynamic and committed individuals are invited to join the scientific and medical forces at NIAID. Numerous positions are immediately available. For more information, visit www.niaid.nih.gov/ohrm/biodefensejobs.htm or call James Hadley at (301) 496-5717.

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NIDA Takes Part in National Inhalants and Poison Awareness Week
March 13–17, 2002

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) participated in a press conference to kick off the 10th Annual National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week (NIPAW). To coincide with NIPAW, NIDA has produced two informational postcards targeted toward young teens. NIDA will distribute 12,500 free copies of these cards in surf, ski, and skate shops nationwide.

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Institutes Commemorate Brain Awareness Week
March 11–15, 2002

NIH celebrated Brain Awareness Week with a series of public lectures and other activities. Brain Awareness Week was started in 1995 by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, a non-profit organization committed to advancing the public benefits of brain research. Participating Institutes included the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Eye Institute (NEI), The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIDA, and the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Among the many highlights:

NIA Takes the Lead at Brain Awareness Symposium
March 11 and 15, 2002
Rockville, MD

NIA was the lead Institute at a symposium during Brain Awareness Week on March 11 and March 15. Adults of all ages learned how the aging brain handles memory loss, depression, drugs, alcohol, and more. Lectures, which followed the theme "The Brain, the Body, and Aging," were held at the University of Maryland, Shady Grove Center, in Rockville. Six other NIH institutes participated. Molly Wagster, Ph. D., and Neil Buckholtz, Ph. D., served as moderators and presented talks on memory and aging and on Alzheimer's disease research." Other titles included:

• "Depression in Later Life," by NIMH
• "Drug Abuse and Addiction," by NIDA
• "Alcohol and the Elderly," by NIAAA
• "Worried About Senior Moments?" by NINDS
• "Age-Related Macular Degeneration," by NEI
• "How and What Your Nose Knows," by NIDCD

NIA also conducted hands-on computer workshops, led by Stephanie Dailey of NIA and Dr. Roger Morrell of Gerotech Corporation, to show seniors how to find on-line health information.

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NIAAA Exhibit Hits the Road for Brain Awareness Week
March 13 and 14, 2002
Washington, DC

On March 13 and 14, NIAAA sponsored a hands-on exhibit for more than 400 middle and high school students as part of the 2002 Brain Awareness Week activities at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Dennis Twombly, Ph.D., Program Director for Neurophysiology and Pharmacology at NIAAA, displayed his novel "Drunken Brain" exhibit, which uses a 4-foot brain model constructed from chicken wire and flashing Christmas lights. Dr. Twombly explained how alcohol can alter brain communication, motor performance, sensory perception, and cognition, leading to dependence. He also demonstrated how severe alcohol exposure suppresses brain cell activity, leading to central nervous system depression. Students visiting the exhibit attempted to navigate an obstacle course while wearing Fatal Vision prism goggles designed to simulate the diminished motor skills performance experienced during intoxication. Student volunteers dribbled a basketball with and without prism goggles, so they could observe first-hand the effects of alcohol on their motor capabilities. The Brain Exhibit will go on tour in San Francisco to accompany a talk on science education. The exhibit also will appear during the NIH Share the Health community health fair in October. For more information, contact Dr. Twombly at (301) 443-9334 or by e-mail at dtwombly@mail.nih.gov, or contact Diane Miller at (301) 443-3861 or by e-mail at dmiller1@mail nih.gov.

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Research Supports NIAID's HIV Vaccine Communication Efforts
March 2002
Nationwide

NIAID's National HIV Vaccine Communications Campaign aims to increase awareness of and support for HIV vaccine research among the general public as well as those affected by and at risk for HIV infection. Toward that end, NIAID is examining perceptions about HIV vaccine research among at-risk men who have sex with men (all races/ethnicities), as well as among at-risk groups of African Americans, Latinos/Latinas, injecting drug users, and local opinion leaders. NIAID hopes to learn about perceived barriers to participation in HIV vaccine research in various communities and the kind of assistance these communities need to support HIV vaccine research education. For more information, call James Hadley at (301) 496-5717.

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NIAAA Honors Emergency Nurses CARE Co-Founder
February 25, 2002
Washington, DC

At the 2002 Public Policy Conference on Alcohol and Other Drugs, NIAAA Acting Director Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D., named Ms. Barbara Foley, R.N., as the fourth recipient of the NIAAA annual Senator Harold Hughes Memorial Award. Ms. Foley is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Emergency Nurses CARE (EN CARE) of Alexandria, VA. The award honored her efforts to train over 6,000 registered nurses, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics who volunteer their time to educate communities about the dangers of underage alcohol use, drinking and driving, and safety belt non-compliance.

The Senator Harold Hughes Memorial Award honors the memory of former U.S. Senator and Iowa Governor Harold Hughes. Known as the "father of the NIAAA," Senator Hughes was the force behind the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Prevention Act of 1970 that established the NIAAA. This award was created in 1998 to recognize a non-researcher who advances the practical application of research in preventing and treating alcohol abuse. The awardee must have demonstrated a commitment to linking the research community with the prevention, treatment, and policymaking communities. Ms. Foley was chosen from a field of prevention professionals, policymakers, and advocates nominated by national, state, and local alcohol field organizations. To find out more about Ms. Foley, call the NIAAA Press Office at (301) 443-0595. For more information about the Senator Harold Hughes Memorial Award, visit www.rowsciences.com/haroldhughes.

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NHLBI Promotes Public Involvement
February 6, 2002
Bethesda, MD

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) held its third annual public interest organization (PIO) meeting to encourage public input and involvement in NHLBI activities.

The meeting also provided a forum for PIOs to interact and share information among themselves. Attendees heard four perspectives on "communicating your message," then attended breakout sessions on research funding and getting involved in clinical research. They also heard about translating genetic research into practice and starting up a PIO. Meeting participants included representatives of 45 PIOs with interests in heart, lung, blood, and sleep research. The American Heart Association and the American Thoracic Society were also represented.

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