Announcements

Considering Health Where It Starts—In Childhood

Director's Message from Helene M. Langevin, M.D.  February 6, 2023 An existing and growing body of research underscores the imperative to better understand how exposures starting at fetal development through infancy and childhood impact the health we experience into adulthood. At our annual Straus Lecture in December, we had the opportunity to hear from Laura Stroud, Ph.D. of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and The Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island. During her virtual presentation, she provided a thoughtful overview of the available body of evidence on the long-term implications of stress and adversity experienced during early development on our physiology, brain, and health across the lifespan.

NCCIH Interest in Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research

Lanay Mudd, Ph.D. February 16, 2023 Firearm and related violence, injury, and mortality remain urgent and significant public health crises in the United States. In 2021, more Americans died due to firearm-related injuries than motor vehicle accidents. Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately impacted, and firearm and related violence is a significant concern for other populations including women, sexual and gender minorities, and children. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to supporting research to develop, evaluate, and implement effective public health interventions to better understand and prevent violence, including firearm violence, and the resulting trauma, injuries, and mortality. Over the last several years, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has been part of an NIH-wide effort related to violence research initiatives. Research on firearm and related violence aligns with several aspects of NCCIH’s strategic plan, including objectives focused on whole person health and health disparities.

Hot Topic Webinar Series on Emerging Trends in Natural Products Research: March 6 and April 28

D. Craig Hopp, Ph.D.
Patrick Still, Ph.D.
February 9, 2023

We hope you can join us on March 6 and April 28 for a two-part Hot Topic Webinar Series on emerging trends in natural products research.

This webinar series, Expanding Translationally Relevant Chemical Space: Insights Into Natural Product Resources, Technologies, and Mechanisms, will be hosted by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), in collaboration with other National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutes and Centers (ICs). 

Leading researchers will discuss current work on the discovery and characterization of natural products, including the use of state-of-the-art tools and techniques. During the webinars, experts in the natural products field will touch on topics in organic structure analysis, metabologenomics, venomics, high-throughput phenotypic screening, electron microscopy techniques, host-microbe interactions, and structural biology. 

Dietary Supplements Marketed for Weight Loss, Bodybuilding, and Sexual Enhancement

January 2023 Clinical Digest Your patients may ask you about dietary supplements for losing weight, bodybuilding, or sexual enhancement. Although patients may be tempted by the “quick fix” claims of these products, which are available in supermarkets, pharmacies, health food stores, and on the internet, most of these products haven’t been proven safe or effective. Safety concerns about natural products include the possibility of drug interactions, direct toxicities, and contamination of supplements with active pharmaceutical agents. Although there is a widespread public perception that the botanical and traditional agents included in dietary supplements can be viewed as safe, it is abundantly clear that these products carry the same dangers as other pharmacologically active compounds.

NCCIH Accepting Applications for Clinical Director Position 

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) seeks to identify an outstanding clinical director to plan and lead NCCIH’s clinical research activities in the Division of Intramural Research (DIR). NCCIH is dedicated to exploring complementary and integrative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, educating and training NCCIH researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. The Center studies the integration of complementary treatment, diagnostic, and prevention systems, modalities, and disciplines with the practice of conventional medicine as a complement to such medicine, and the integration of such practices into health care delivery systems within the United States.  Applications will be accepted beginning February 6, 2023 and must be received by 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on April 7, 2023 for consideration in the initial review period. Review of applications will begin on or about April 7, 2023, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled. This position is subject to a background check.

Resources for Researchers

New Funding Opportunities

• Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Support the Exploration of Cloud in NIH-supported Research
• Notice of Early Expiration of NINDS BRAIN Initiative Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) RFA-NS-21-026 and RFA-NS-21-027
• Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for BRAIN Initiative: Optimization of Instrumentation and Device Technologies for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (U01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
• Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for BRAIN Initiative: New Technologies and Novel Approaches for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Highlighted Funding Opportunities

• Request for Information (RFI): Re-envisioning U.S. Postdoctoral Research Training and Career Progression within the Biomedical Research Enterprise
  

  NIH is seeking input from the community, particularly trainees, early-stage faculty, and others invested in the biomedical workforce, about challenges faced by the postdoctoral trainee community. An NIH Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group has posted a Request for Information where you can share your insights on issues affecting and possible solutions to the recent decline in postdoctoral trainees. Your responses will be used to help develop recommendations to address this problem which impacts U.S. competitiveness in biomedical research and innovation. Please consider responding to the RFI, which closes on April 14, 2023. 

Upcoming Events

Hot Topic Webinar Series on Emerging Trends in Natural Products Research: March 6 and April 28

March 6, 2023 webinar, Expanding Translationally Relevant Chemical Space: Insights Into Natural Product Resources, Technologies, and Mechanisms

This two-part Hot Topic Webinar Series will highlight emerging trends in natural products research. Leading experts in the natural products field will touch on topics in organic structure analysis, metabologenomics, venomics, high-throughput phenotypic screening, electron microscopy techniques, host-microbe interactions, and structural biology.

Part One will take place on March 6, 2023, and will cover natural product research resources enabling discovery and development of natural products as lead compounds and research tools.

Part Two will take place on April 28, 2023. This webinar will focus on applications of emerging research technologies to elucidate the mechanism of action of bioactive natural products. 

Food Politics 2023: Supplements, Diet, Food Systems (Office of Dietary Supplements Seminar Series)

March 1, 2023, 11 a.m.-12 noon ET; Virtual

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health presents lecturer Marion Nestle, Ph.D., Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University. Her research and writing examine the scientific and socioeconomic influences on food choice and its consequences, emphasizing the role of the food industry.

The presentation will cover evaluating the quality of information given to the public about diet, nutrition, and health has become a major challenge for food and nutrition scientists, educators, and regulators.