As shared with staff in an NLM Broadcast email, Milton Corn, M.D., FACP, FACMI, Deputy Director for Research and Education passed away last month. Dr. Corn worked at NLM for more than 30 years, touching countless lives and making an incredible impact on the success of our institution. The outpouring of love and memories has been tremendous. Below are just some of the comments from his colleagues and friends illustrating his influence on all who knew him.
Dr. Corn left an indelible mark at NLM and touched so many of us with his wry humor and keen insight. His presence at NLM will be greatly missed.
– Patricia Flatley Brennan, RN, PhD, FACMI
Director, National Library of MedicineWhen you were talking with Milt, he made you feel more intelligent and interesting. That is a great gift.
– Betsy Humphreys
Former Acting-Director, National Library of MedicineTwenty-one years ago, Milton Corn hired me into the Extramural Programs Office as a grant program officer. His intelligence, expertise and sense of humor made him an excellent ‘boss.’ In particular, I valued his willingness to consider different approaches and new directions. In meetings, he would often listen and then, at the end of the discussion, share cogent observations about the proposed directions. He understood how to build a team and encouraged informal interactions to foster the sense of having a shared goal. We shared a love of music. He once loaned me audiotapes that explained Richard Wagner’s music, introducing me to a new genre. A kind, thoughtful man who helped move our scientific field forward.
– Valerie Florance, PhD, FACMI
Acting-Scientific Director, Intramural Research Program
National Library of MedicineWe both worked with Dr. Corn when he was the Director of NLM’s Extramural Programs division for approximately 10 years. He always made it a real pleasure to come to work. It didn’t matter how busy we all were, he always took the time to talk to anyone, give advice, and it was clear that he really cared about everyone around him. We always remember that at the beginning of our staff meetings, he would show his humorous side to make everyone feel comfortable and very much like a team. His intelligence, kindness, and humor were his best qualities that really shined through. There are only a few rare individuals like Dr. Corn that are able to give of himself to everyone and have that wealth of knowledge to guide and mentor others. We will truly miss him and consider ourselves lucky to have known such a wonderful person.
– Christine Ireland and Mindy Nicolas
Chief Committee Management Officer and Review Program Specialist,
Grants and Funding: Extramural Programs, National Library of MedicineI had the honor of working with Dr. Corn for 14 years from 1995 – 2009 and always knew I would be greeted with a smile. Dr. Corn came to work each day with positive energy and an uplifting word. He motivated staff by always looking at the bright side, even when things were tough, and his sense of humor elevated us all.
– Dwight Mowery
Former Grants Management Officer, National Library of Medicine
In addition to NLM colleagues, many friends from other professional institutions and organizations shared their memories and condolences, which follow.
I was very lucky to meet him during previous BLIRC meetings. He was very encouraging and very gentle to junior researchers like me. His paper on archiving clinical phenome has been and will continue to be a source of inspiration for me. I will miss him.
I had many wonderful times with Milt as we made site visits for AMIA. Our discussions were long, fun, and exciting.
I have often imagined how great it must have been to have someone like Milt as one's med school dean! He was a great role model. And also a great friend. Like many of you, I will miss our vibrant (and often challenging) conversations.
Many have expressed fond memories of Milt – I will do the same. He was an inspiring gent, always interested in what one was up to, and had a broad and deep understanding of healthcare, and the role of informatics in it. He made whomever he was speaking with feel special.
We will plan for the ACMI Committee of Historians to honor his memory at the 2021 AMIA Meeting so that the wider biomedical and healthcare informatics community that he influenced so greatly through the NLM, ACMI, and AMIA can learn about him and his contributions to our field. He continued his Directorship of Research at the NLM to the end with cheerful stoicism – a shining example to us all!
He was a hugely supportive friend to us all, a wise evaluator of ideas and possibilities, and a combination of deep thinker and man of action. I will very much miss his presence.
Dr. Corn will be remembered for his lifelong commitment to education, research, and his many contributions to the National Library of Medicine and the broader biomedical informatics community.
Thank you for participating in the Name the Newsletter poll. We received over 115 responses, with the majority voting for our new name, NLM Insider!
NIH recently launched an effort to end structural racism in biomedical research through a new initiative called UNITE.
NIH Director Francis Collins issued a statement committing NIH to institute new approaches to support diversity, equity, and inclusion, in addition to identifying and dismantling any policies and practices that may harm our workforce and our science.
NIH issued a Request for Information seeking input on practical and effective approaches to improve and strengthen racial equity, diversity, and inclusion across all facets of the biomedical research enterprise, both within NIH and the external community, and expand research to eliminate or lessen health disparities and inequities.
You are encouraged to share your perspective and recommendations to guide the entire NIH community as we devise proactive approaches to address racial and health inequities in biomedical research. Comments can be submitted through the submission website and must be received by April 9, 2021.
Stay tuned for opportunities to get involved as NLM formulates its own plan to support UNITE.
Building 38 has installed new shelving in B2 and started demolition and abatement containment in the Reading Room and Mezzanine area. This work is expected to be finished by mid-April.
Building 38A’s Director’s conference room, the relocation of the Mezzanine, and the 9th floor walls and ceilings are nearing completion. In B1N30, final touches on the AV have been completed.
Bldg 38 - B2 high-density shelving.
Blg 38 - Reading Room demolition and abatement containment.
Mezzanine demolition and abatement containment.
Bldg 38A - 4th floor Mezzanine relocation is nearing completion.
Bldg 38A - 4th floor Director's office conference room is nearly completed.
Bldg 38A - 9th floor, ceilings, and walls near completion.
B1N30 - Entry foyer and conference room space AV installed and activated.
B1N30 - Entry foyer and conference room space AV installed and activated.
Each month, over 2,000 people subscribe to the NLM YouTube channel. Our videos are viewed approximately 302K times a month with viewers watching more than 21K hours of content. To date, the NLM YouTube channel has more than 42K subscribers, 800+ videos, and has logged more than 5 million video views. This may not sound impressive compared to popular YouTube influencers, but our channel metrics tell us that people are eager to view what NLM has to offer!
One of NLM’s three goals, as stated in the Strategic Plan, is to reach more people in more ways through enhanced dissemination and engagement. This channel provides a unique platform to help NLM disseminate our important, trusted, and evidence-based information to the public. It also allows us to engage audiences and present a diverse collection of ‘playlists’ from across NLM.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, NLM recognizes a trailblazer for women scientists, Dr. Florence Sabin (1871-1953). Watch Now!
04/09 at 10:30 am – Fundamentals Lightning Talks
04/15 at 1:15 pm – Mentorship Project Showcase Session 1
04/21 at 2:00 pm – Mentorship Project Showcase Session 2
NLM Brown Bag - RSVP to NLMTownHall@mail.nlm.nih.gov
03/18 at 11:00 am – Guests: Mitzi Diley and Teresa Zayas Cabán, PhD
NLM Intramural Research Program (IRP) Seminars
03/16 at 11:00 am – Lakshminarayan Iyer
03/18 at 11:00 am – Gurmeet Kaur
03/23 at 11:00 am – Damian Wojtowicz
03/30 at 11:00 am – Nataliya Yutin
04/01 at 3:00 pm – Asher Moldwin
04/06 at 11:00 am – Ghadh Adnan
03/25 at 2:00 pm – Annmarie Adams, PhD presents “Placing Women in Medicine: Maude Abbott and the Archaeology of Friendships.”
04/20 at 1:45 pm – Save the Date
Welcome to Mitzi Diley, who joined NLM in February as the Deputy Executive Officer.
Mitzi is a 29-year NIH veteran who has held a variety of intramural and extramural administrative positions. According to Mitzi, NLM employees’ enthusiasm is what convinced her to take the position. A self-described “eternal optimist,” Mitzi is most looking forward to “delivering the highest quality of administrative services so our stakeholders can devote their energy to supporting scientific research.
Congratulations to NLM Intramural Research Program Predoctoral Trainee, Benjamin Lee, for his second-place win for his elevator pitch at the NIH Graduate Research Symposium Spring 2021. As a doctoral student in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, Benjamin works in Dr. Eugene Koonin’s Evolutionary Genomics Research Group in NLM’s NCBI.
Congratulations to NLM Senior Investigator, Teresa Przytycka, PhD, for being selected as one of 13 Fellows for the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Class of 2021! Dr. Przytycka leads the Algorithms for Computational and Systems Biology (AlgoCSB) research team, which develops computational methods that advance systems-level understanding of cancer and other complex diseases, and the principles of gene regulation. Read more about her work at NLM Research.
The Data Science @NLM Training Program invites you to attend several upcoming celebrations of NLM staff’s data science training accomplishments!
On April 9, Data Science @NLM Fundamentals Course Lightning Talks will feature four capstone projects completed by graduates of NLM’s second offering of Data Science Fundamentals — a 10 week-intensive course providing 20 NLM staff with technical skills in computational statistics, data visualization, data modeling, and machine learning. Join your colleagues for a rapid-fire presentation of a variety of NLM data science projects!
On April 15 and 21, two Data Science @NLM Mentorship Program Project Showcase sessions will feature presentations from the Program’s four mentees. The structured cohort-style mentorship program pairs NLM staff with NLM staff member volunteer mentors. This program provides mentees with experience learning and applying data science skills and techniques by working with mentors with established expertise. The Showcase sessions will feature presentations of the mentees’ capstone projects, the culmination of a year of learning, development, and hard work guided by their mentors.
Both Data Science @NLM training opportunities continue to develop the data science capabilities of our workforce and foster an engaged, connected network of staff from across NLM. These efforts contribute to NLM’s Strategic Plan Goal 3: Build a workforce for data-driven research and health. Mark your calendars now to celebrate and find inspiration in the data science opportunities around you!
Check out this video featuring NLM's Lisa Federer, PhD, MSLI from the Office of Strategic Initiatives talking about Data Science @NLM. This video was developed in 2020 to highlight the work being done at NLM in support of the Strategic Plan.
In addition to being the world’s largest biomedical library and a major funder of predoctoral and postdoctoral training in biomedical informatics and data science, NLM has a vibrant and growing research and training program! NLM’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) consists of 14 research groups spread across NCBI’s Computational Biology Branch and LHNCBC’s Computational Health Research Branch. Trainees come to NLM to grow their research expertise in biomedical informatics, computational biology, and health data science.
The NLM IRP trains researchers at all levels, from high school to post-doctoral fellows. Currently, NLM has five post-baccalaureate (post-bac) fellows, one graduate student, and 38 postdoctoral fellows. These numbers will increase as the program grows.
In addition, the NLM IRP trains 20-30 summer interns each year. We are excited to share that NIH has started accepting applications for the virtual 2021 Summer Internship Program and is looking forward to welcoming some of them to the NLM IRP family. Summer interns will spend 8-12 weeks conducting research, culminating in a virtual poster session that will be open to the public at the end of the summer.
NLM trainees make significant contributions to the research initiatives of the NIH IRP, including furthering our scientific understanding of COVID-19. We will share their stories in future issues of the NLM Insider.
The NLM Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) has a detail opportunity available for a self-starter with excellent organizational and communication skills who wants to play an important role in helping OSI advance NLM's strategic initiatives across NLM, NIH, and beyond. The detailee will work on projects that support all of OSI’s functions through tasks such as:
- Gathering, organizing, analyzing, and synthesizing information from across NLM about new and ongoing activities and accomplishments related to all aspects of NLM’s mission.
- Participating in trans-NLM and trans-NIH committees to provide support with analysis, note-taking, and logistics.
- Support efforts to monitor implementation of the NLM Strategic Plan.
- Support the development and implementation of the NLM strategic evaluation framework.
Applications will be accepted and reviewed until filled; to apply, please send your resume and last completed PMAP to Mike Huerta mike.huerta@nih.gov.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the trans-NIH Mental Health Task Force has been working to compile resources around coping and stress management, which may be relevant and helpful to NLM staff. The list is now available on the OCPL wiki page. The Task Force will continue to develop and organize mental health resources and make them available for all.
