January 2015 Director's Status Report
Click on the links below to view sections of the January 2015 Director's Status Report:
- Budget and Appropriations
- Legislative Update
- Staff Changes
- Institute-Sponsored Meetings, Workshops, and Conferences
- General Information/Staff Awards
- New Notices and Initiatives
Budget and Appropriations
Status of FY 2014, 2015, and 2016 Budgets:
FY 2014
In FY 2014, the NIA’s final appropriation was $1,171,717,000. This amount included $99,184,000 for Alzheimer’s Disease funding. An amount of $3,849,000 was transferred to NIA from the National Children’s Study. This amount was offset by $230,000 to fund cybersecurity through the DHHS Secretary’s transfer authority. The NIA obligated $1,171,656,000 in appropriated money, and awarded 1,423 research project grants (RPGs), including 385 competing awards.
Support levels for other key extramural funding mechanisms included 78 research centers for $91,800,000; 538 full-time training positions for $23,600,000; and a total of $59,100,000 for research and development contracts.
FY 2015
Congress passed a series of three FY 2015 Continuing Resolution bills which contained funding authority through December 11, 13, and 17, 2014. The President signed into law a $1.1 trillion Omnibus spending bill on December 16, 2014 to keep most of the federal government funded through September 2015. For NIA, the FY 2015 level is $1,199,468,000, which represents a 2.4 percent increase over the FY 2014 enacted level. This amount includes an additional $25 million for Alzheimer’s Disease funding.
FY 2016
The FY 2016 President’s Budget is being finalized. After review, the President’s budget request for FY 2016 will be presented to Congress in February 2015, at which time it will become available to the public.
Legislative Update
H.R. 83 – On December 16, 2014, the President signed into law the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, providing funding through September 30, 2015, as P.L. 113-235. NIA received an increase in its budget for FY2015, with direction provided in the Report language (below) to use the majority of the funds for Alzheimer’s research.
Alzheimer's Disease – “The agreement includes an increase of $25,000,000 for NIA. In keeping with longstanding practice, the agreement does not recommend a specific amount of NIH funding for this purpose or for any other individual disease. Doing so would establish a dangerous precedent that could politicize the NIH peer review system. Nevertheless, in recognition that Alzheimer's disease poses a serious threat to the Nation's long-term health and economic stability, the agreement expects that a significant portion of the recommended increase for NIA should be directed to research on Alzheimer's. The exact amount should be determined by scientific opportunity of additional research on this disease and the quality of grant applications that are submitted for Alzheimer's relative to those submitted for other diseases.”
The Act itself also included the following language, relevant to the NIA, requesting a bypass budget for Alzheimer’s disease:
“SEC. 230. Hereafter, for each fiscal year through fiscal year 2025, the Director of the National Institutes of Health shall prepare and submit directly to the President for review and transmittal to Congress, after reasonable opportunity for comment, but without change, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services, an annual budget estimate (including an estimate of the number and type of personnel needs for the Institutes) for the initiatives of the National Institutes of Health pursuant to the National Alzheimer’s Plan, as required under section 2(d)(2) of Public Law 111–375.”
The following list provides additional highlights in the Act or Report language that of interest to the NIA:
Strategic Plan. NIH is required to prepare and submit to Congress an NIH-wide 5-year scientific strategic plan (as outlined in sections 402(b)(3) and 402(b)(4) of the PHS Act) within one year after enactment of this Act. (in Act language)
Regarding young investigators (in Report language):
- Success Rates. The report requests that NIH review the grant success rates for early stage investigators in their first two grant submissions to consider whether the grant applications submitted by all early stage investigators, regardless of whether they successfully achieved their first submission, should compete against other early stage investigators instead of all submissions as a whole.
- New and Early Stage Investigators. The report expresses significant concerns about the average age at which an investigator first obtains R01 funding from NIH, which remains around age 42. NIH is directed to develop a new approach with actionable steps to reduce the average age at which an investigator first obtains R01 funding, and produce a report within 120 days.
- Common Fund/Young Investigators. The NIH Director is to ensure that all ICs continue to support the pathways to independence program, which provides new investigators with mentored grants that convert into independent research project grants. In addition, the agreement continues to support new innovator awards, pioneer awards, and the transformative R01 program through the Common Fund.
Research Organisms – This section would permit payments made for research organisms or substances to be retained and credited to the appropriations accounts of the Institutes and Centers of the NIH; such payments would be available for obligation through September 30, 2016. (in Act language)
Conferences – NIH is given some relief from administrative challenges for conferences by moving some approvals from HHS to NIH. (in Act language)
Common Fund/Health Economics – “Funding is not included for research within the Common Fund specifically related to health care financing reform and insurance incentive activities related to the Affordable Care Act. The agreement continues to encourage NIH to consider research related to new treatments, diagnostics, and the impact of widespread adoption of the results of biomedical science done with taxpayer dollars.” (in Report language)
Reproducibility of Research Results – “The agreement expects NIH to stress the importance of experimental rigor and transparency of reporting of research findings in order to enhance the ability of others to replicate them. The agreement concurs in the view that the gold standard of good science is the ability of a lab to reproduce a method and finding and is therefore concerned with reports that so much published biomedical research cannot be easily reproduced. The agreement expects that NIH will develop incentives for scientists to undertake confirmation studies, best practice guidelines that would facilitate the conduct of replicable research and guidelines to encourage research transparency in the reporting of methods and findings. In addition, the agreement expects an NIH-wide policy and trans-NIH oversight to address the replication concerns. The agreement requests an update in the fiscal year 2016 budget request on the activities NIH has on-going toward this effort, the annual measure and amount of resources spent or estimated each year toward this effort.” (in Report language)
Prioritization of Funding – “NIH is expected to prioritize Federal funds for medical research over outreach and education. The agreement expects NIH to distribute grant funding in the spirit of its long-standing reputation as a meritocracy, basing eligibility requirements on the merit of the researchers' ideas and productivity, with no discriminatory review requirements, and supporting both research institutes and team-based research.” (in Report language)
Other legislation of interest (from the last Congress):
H.R. 5790 – On December 3, 2014, Representative Don Young (R-AK) introduced H.R. 5790, the Health Prizes Rewarding Innovation, Savings, and Effectiveness Act. The bill would require NIH to conduct up to five prize competitions that would result in improving health outcomes for diseases and conditions that cost the Federal government $5 billion per year. The goal of the prizes would be to reduce expenditures on these diseases and conditions. H.R. 5790 was jointly referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means.
H.R. 5819 – On December 9, 2014, Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) introduced H.R. 5819, the Funding Scientists at the Peak Age of Discovery Act. The bill would require the NIH Director to ensure that the median age of first time researchers receiving grants in the R series from the ICs is 40 years of age by January 2019, 39 years of age by January 2022, and 38 years of age by January 2025. The bill provides exceptions for SBIR, STTR and Clinical Trial planning grants and defines first time researcher as a researcher who has not previously served as the principal investigator. H.R. 5819 was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
H.R. 5820 – On December 9, 2014, Representative Andy Harris (R-MD), introduced H.R. 5820, the YES to Cures Act. The bill would: (1) require the reservation of funds in the Common Fund for research carried out by one or more emerging scientists (defines emerging scientist as a principal investigator who has never been awarded or who has only been awarded one substantial competing grant by the NIH and is within 15 years of completing the investigators terminal degree or a medical residency); (2) prohibit funds appropriated to the NIH to be subject to a tap for evaluation activities under section 241 and require the NIH to use funds that would have been subject to the tap to be reserved as additional funds in the Common Fund for awards to emerging scientists; (3) require that funds reserved in the Common Fund by the new provision supplement not supplant funds otherwise allocated by the NIH for young investigators; and (4) require the NIH Director to submit a report to Congress on the trends in age of recipients of NIH funded major research grants, specifically explaining why over the 30 years preceding the enactment of this Act. H.R. 5820 was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
H.R. 5580 – On September 18, 2014, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced H.R. 5580, the Accelerating Biomedical Research Act. This is the companion bill to Sen. Tom Harkin’s bill (S. 2658) which would amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to institute a budget cap adjustment to provide additional authority for NIH funding for FYs 2015 – 2021. Under the legislation, the cap would be raised for additional NIH funding by 10 percent in FYs 2015 and 2016 and five percent for FYs 2017 through 2021 if the Appropriations Committee were to maintain NIH funding in excess of $29.9 billion. The bill was referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
H.R. 5451 – On September 1, 2014, Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced H.R. 5451, the Next Generation Research Act. The bill would amend Part A of Title IV of the PHS Act by adding Sec. 404M Next Generation of Research. Specifically, the bill would establish within the Office of the Director of NIH, the “Next Generation Research Initiative,” through which the Director would coordinate all policies and programs within the NIH aimed at promoting and providing opportunities for new researchers. The bill would also expand workforce diversity and mentorship efforts and require a study on the best ways to invest in the next generation of research. S. 1552, a similar bill was introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) on September 26, 2013. H.R. 5451 was referred to the House Energy and Commerce.
Submitted by: Melinda Kelley, Ph.D., Senior Health Policy Analyst, National Institute on Aging
Staff Changes
On January11, 2015, Dr. Lisa Onken joined the Division of Behavioral and Social Research as Program Director of the Behavior Change and Behavioral Interventions Program in the Individual Behavioral Processes Branch. Dr. Onken brings 27 years of experience at NIH, most recently as Chief of the Behavioral and Integrative Treatment Branch at NIDA, where she established herself as a leader in the development, design and implementation of behavioral interventions for health. Dr. Onken developed the NIH Stage Model which focuses on the pipeline of translational basic research to clinical research, and on the integration of basic science throughout the intervention development process. She played a pivotal role in defining the goals and objectives of the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program. At NIA, Dr. Onken will play a leading role in the implementation of a research agenda to advance the next generation of interventions for healthy aging, with a particular focus on translating recent advances in use-inspired basic behavioral science.
Dr. Colin Baker left NIA BSR on September 20, 2014, to take a position with the DHHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Science and Data Policy, in the area of health policy and economics.
On October 1, 2014, Dr. Rafael de Cabo, Senior Investigator, was designated Lab Chief of the Translational Geronolgy Branch (TGB), he had served as Acting Chief of TGB since February, 2014. In addition, Dr. Myriam Gorospe, Senior Investigator, was designated Chief of the Laboratory of Genetics (LG). Dr. Schlessinger, Distinguished Investigator, previously served in this role. Although he is stepping down as Chief, he will maintain his exceptional research here at the NIA.
Institute-Sponsored Meetings, Workshops, and Conferences
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Past Meetings
Planning Meeting on Valuing the Contributions of Behavioral and Social Science Research to Improved Health – September 19, 2014 – Washington, DC
The purpose of this meeting is to develop an NRC study on valuing contributions of the behavioral and social sciences to improve health. The ultimate purpose of such a panel will contribute to the process of measuring the impact of federal funding of research done in behavioral and social sciences. The planning meeting will consist of four segments: (1) Highlight the contribution of Behavioral and Social Science (BSS) Research to health by providing an overview of the considerable development and specialization in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and how these sciences have made important contributions to understanding health and illness and improving health; (2) Measurement Issues – Valuation of BSS Research: The planning meeting should not just focus on economic value, but also the social value of Behavioral and Social Science research. For assessing the value of research one needs to measure the associated costs and returns. The health returns (health benefits) of research are not restricted to an individual but have impacts on workforce and society as a whole; (3) Focus on Attribution: How much of health improvement can be attributed to health care, as opposed to improved hygiene, diet, and other behaviors? How much of behavior changes to improve health can be attributed to behavioral and social science research? How can the contributions of behavioral and social science research to improved health be distinguished from those of medical research on therapeutics? (4) Data opportunities, needs, and development. For additional information, please contact Dr. John Phillips at BSR (301-496-3138).
NAS Meeting on Researcher Access to Death Records – September 30, 2014 – Washington DC
The NAS Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) organized a meeting to (1) better understand how the health research community uses death records and how the loss of access to the full DMF has affected health research, (2) better understand the issue from the perspective of the states as represented by the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS), and (3) discuss promising ideas that could facilitate timely, comprehensive, cost-beneficial, and user-friendly means of research access to death records that are consistent with state interests and compliant with state and federal laws. A meeting summary is now in draft form and will be finalized in early 2015. We will work with NAPHSIS and NCHS on potential fixes that will provide rapid access to death data. For additional information please contact Dr. John Phillips at BSR (301-496-3138).
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Future Meetings
GSIG Seminars (February 5 & May 7 & August 6, 2015)
This seminar series is sponsored by the trans-NIH GeroScience Interest Group (GSIG). The GeroScience Interest Group (GSIG) was formed to enhance opportunities for discussion of the intersection between the biology of aging and the biology of disease and conditions that are of interest across ICs. It is focused on basic biology, but with a longer view towards translation. These four seminars will focus on the areas of aging and diverse aging-related diseases, with emphasis on the intersections between the basic biology of aging and the basic biology of the disease. Such topics are important to further the goals of the GSIG.
The three seminars are scheduled for Feb 5, 2015; May 7, 2015 and Aug 6, 2015.
(Contact(s): Drs. Felipe Sierra/Ronald Kohanski, DAB, 301/496-6402).
Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summit 2015: Path to Treatment and Prevention
February 9-10, 2015- Bethesda, MD
The central goal of the Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Research Summit 2015, convened by the National Institute on Aging at NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with private support through the Foundation for the NIH, is to continue the development of an integrated multidisciplinary research agenda necessary to address critical knowledge gaps and accelerate the discovery and delivery of efficacious treatments for AD patients at all stages of disease. Key to achieving this goal is the identification of resources/infrastructure and multi-stakeholder partnerships necessary to successfully implement this research agenda and strategies to empower patients and engage citizens. The program will build on the foundation laid by the 2012 NIH AD Research Summit, the US National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA)/National Plan to Address AD, and the 2013 G8 Global Dementia Summit. The agenda will be organized around six major themes presented in consecutive sessions which will evaluate issues of critical importance for identification and implementation of successful therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer’s disease. The program will begin with an overview of progress achieved in response to the recommendations of the 2012 NIH AD Research Summit, followed by three plenary lectures. Each of the six sessions will feature up to three brief presentations that will highlight key issues followed by a moderated panel discussion that will include the session speakers and 5-8 panelists with relevant expertise. The general program will be followed by a writing session during which a select group of experts together with NIA/NIH staff and representatives from other US AD-funding agencies will formulate recommendations which will inform research priorities and serve as the basis for updating and refining the NAPA research milestones for measuring progress towards the goal to prevent or treat AD by 2025.
NIA Sponsored Symposium on Aging at 56th Annual Drosophila Research Conference at Genetics Society of America (GSA) (March 4-8, 2015)
Genetic model systems are very important for understanding the mechanisms of aging process. For invertebrate models, majority of aging research has been carried out in C. elegans. Compared to C. elegans, Drosophila has been under-utilized for aging research. Drosophila has many advantages over C. elegans, including more complex organ systems, sophisticated behavior, and more distinctive aging phenotypes. The Drosophila Research Conferences, organized by Genetics Society of America, has been held every year for 55 years. We plan to sponsor a session (symposium) on the topic of aging at this annual fly meeting. The objectives are: (1) to improve the representation of aging research at the meeting; (2) to showcase some NIA-funded research; (3) to attract fly researchers to the study of aging. The meeting will be on March 4-8, 2015 in Chicago, IL.
(Contact: Dr. Max Guo, DAB, 301/496-6402).
NIA Sponsored Symposium “Rejuvenating the Aging Immune System” at the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Annual Meeting (May 9, 2015)
This NIA sponsored symposium will be held at the American Association of Immunologists annual meeting on May 9, 2015 in New Orleans. LA. The NIA sponsors a symposium each year to highlight recent findings in the area of Rejuvenating the Aging Immune System.
The purpose of this symposium is to have speakers present state of the science findings on this research topic.
(Contact: Dr. Rebecca Fuldner, DAB, 301/496-6402).
Metrics for the Rate of Aging (Summer, 2015)
Metrics for the rate of aging can be useful in several contexts, but the primary value is to evaluate human health as we age. If health is good we can anticipate more active life, less disability, less disease and lower health care costs. If health is poor, we anticipate the converse for each of these. The “rate of aging” should be informative of improving, steady or declining health over time. To make such assessments requires some metrics to describe quantitatively the rate of aging. These metrics can also be used to determine whether interventions are effective in ‘slowing’ this rate of aging.
The objective of this workshop would be to evaluate potential metrics for the rate of aging. An initial assessment suggests the following six areas should be considered in this workshop, where these can be clustered in three groups by their similarities: X. Multiple Chronic Conditions, Multiple Chronic Diseases; Y. Frailty, Resilience; Z. Allostatic Load, Molecular Markers. Using these three groups, is it possible to define three axes for metrics that together reveal a rate of aging, but which also can define a “health space” for adults.
Some specific discussions would be appropriate. In Group X: Evaluate the independence or inter-relatedness of chronic conditions and diseases. In Group Y: Evaluate the predictive value of frailty and resilience (and in the case of resilience, what parameters would be appropriate measures, since this may not be sufficiently well-defined). In Group Z: Evaluate the diagnostic versus predictive value for health of parameters at the molecular level.
We propose a workshop to be held in Summer, 2015 in Bethesda, MD.
(Contact: Dr. Ronald Kohanski, DAB, 301/496-6402).
Assessment of Resilience in Clinical Populations (Summer, 2015)
The concept of physiological resilience was originally discussed in a workshop convened by DAB in August 2014. The focus of DAB’s meeting was on the development of measures of resilience which could be used in intervention testing studies in rodent models. DGCG’s proposed meeting is intended as a follow up and will focus on the application of the physiological resilience concept in humans. DGCG is proposing a workshop (a day and a half) to discuss the conceptual basis of resilience, how to operationalize resilience, including the methodological issues/challenges of assessing resilience at different ages and in different clinical settings and research designs (e.g., observational vs. interventional studies). DAB has agreed to co-sponsor this meeting if funds are available.
We propose a workshop to be held in Summer, 2015 in Bethesda, MD.
(Contact(s): Dr. Felipe Sierra, DAB, 301/496-6402, Dr. Evan Hadley, DGCG, 301/496-6761).
Ninth Annual Division of Aging Biology New Investigators Forum (DAB NIF) (Summer, 2015)
Purpose: Outreach
The purpose of the forum is to bring together new awardees (i.e. Principal Investigators who can be identified as “new investigators”) in the spring of the year following their award, in order to allow NIA program staff to get acquainted with new PIs as well as allow the participants to network with each other. Each new PI will give a brief talk describing the planned research (or results to date) with an emphasis on how it relates to the area of aging research. The overriding goal of the meeting is to encourage continued success for the new PIs as well as attempt to maintain their focus on the area of aging research. As a result of past meetings we have found that the PIs have indeed set up new collaborations. They also are much more likely to keep us informed of their new publications and progress.
The meeting will start with a keynote address by an eminent aging researcher (tbn).
We propose a workshop to be held in Summer, 2015 in Bethesda, MD.
(Contact: Dr. Nancy Nadon, DAB, 301/496-6402).
Functions of The Genes and Genetic Variants Identified in Aging/Longevity GWAS (Summer, 2015)
Many genes and pathways have now been identified to be associated with longevity in humans. For example, FOXO3A, has been shown to be associated with longevity in more than 11 studies in different ethnic human populations. There are overwhelming interests in the underlying mechanisms and translation of these GWAS discoveries. However, the functions of these genes and their genetic variants in humans still remain largely obscure. This workshop will evaluate the status of the research on these genes and their genetic variants, and discuss the future research directions on understanding the biology and physiology of these genes and their genetic variants in order to translate GWAS discoveries into benefits for human health.
We propose a workshop to be held in Summer, 2015 in Bethesda, MD.
(Contact: Dr. Max Guo, DAB, 301/496-6402).
Renal Pathophysiology (Summer, 2015)
Over the years, NIA has supported renal research (both basic science and clinical aspects) that is applicable to issues that we deal with in the elderly. Recently, there have been significant scientific advances in several areas that are highly relevant to aging and the geriatric population. These areas include animal models, renal biomarkers in acute and chronic kidney disease (CKD, renal fibrosis, autophagy, proteostasis and others. Even though nephrology researchers have begun to apply these advances, they are still not fully exploited by the community. In addition, technologies such as proteomics and proteomics and their utility to understand the renal pathophysiology could be part of this workshop.
We propose a workshop to be held in Summer, 2015 in Bethesda, MD.
(Contact: Dr. Mahadev Murthy, DAB, 301/496-6402).
General Information/Staff Awards
The 6th Annual NIA Postbac Poster Day was held on Friday, April 25, 2014 in the BRC Atrium. Dr. Juan C. Troncoso from John Hopkins presented a seminar entitled, “Pif1 Helicases Promote Replication Fork Progression Through Natural Replication Barriers.”
Winners of “The Scientific Directors Award” at the Postbac Poster Day:
Irfan S. Khan (B.S. 2013)
University of Maryland College Park ‑ College Park , MD
Impact of Age‑Associated Cyclopurine Lesions on Human DNA Repair Helicases
Mentor: Robert Brosh, Ph.D.
Christopher T. Primiani (B.S. 2013)
University of Florida ‑ Gainesville, FL
Functional connectivity behind neuroinflammation and cell signaling markers: Coordinated gene expression in human brain development and aging
Mentor: Stanley Rapoport, M.D.
Lisa R. Taxier (B.A. 2013)
Carleton College ‑ Northfield, MN
The default mode network in a rat model of neurocognitive aging
Mentors: Jessica Ash, Ph.D., and Peter Rapp, Ph.D.
The NIH Annual Postbac Poster Day was held on Wednesday, May 1st on the NIH main campus where 300 NIH Postbacs presented their work. Of the 84 fellows that were ranked as outstanding, 5 were from the NIA:
Michael Matt (B.A. 2013)
Dartmouth College ‑ Hanover, NH
Heart rate variability in AC8 overexpression and PLN knockout mice: Links to the coupled clock theory of cardiac pacemaking
Mentor: Ismayil Ahmet, M.D., Ph.D.
Fatmata Timbo (B.A. 2013)
McDaniel College ‑ Westminster, MD
Association of Perceived Neighborhood Violence and Obesity among African Americans and Whites
Mentor: Alan Zonderman, Ph.D.
Christopher T. Primiani (B.S. 2013)
University of Florida ‑ Gainesville, FL
Functional connectivity behind neuroinflammation and cell signaling markers: Coordinated gene expression in human brain development and aging
Mentor: Stanley Rapoport, M.D.
James B. Haran (B.A. 2012)
Colorado College ‑ Colorado Springs, CO
miR‑181 Modulates the Inflammatory Response of Glioblastoma Multiforme
Mentors: Mark Mattson, Ph.D., and Emmette Hutchison, Ph.D.
Gelareh A. Abulwerdi (B.S. 2011)
University of Michigan ‑ Ann Arbor, MI
Decreased INDY Expression Mimics Calorie Restriction Effects on Longevity and Metabolism
Mentors: Rafael deCabo, Ph.D.
The NIA Intramural Research Program (IRP) held its 22nd Annual NIA/NIDA Summer Student Poster Day on Tuesday, August 5th, from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.at the Biomedical Research Center (BRC). We introduced the “NIA Alumni Summer Student Seminar Series”. Our first speaker was, Dr. Patrice Moss, alumni from the NIA Summer Class of 2002 and 2003, currently an Assistant Professor at Trinity College in Washington, DC. The seminar entitled, “Aging to Academia”. Thirty nine students participated in the competition sponsored by the NIA Office of the Scientific Director. The competition was designed to recognize the scientific achievements of our summer students. A team of NIA PIs, Staff Scientists, and Postdoctoral Fellows reviewed the posters and assigned scores were awarded the “Barbara A. Hughes Award.”
The winners of the 2014 Barbara A. Hughes Award are:
The high school winner is:
Eric D. Sun (Sophomore)
Pueblo West High School ‑ Pueblo West, CO
Measuring Aging Rates in the SardiNIA Population Using Pattern Recognition
Mentor: Ilya Goldberg, Ph.D.
The winners in undergraduates, graduate, and medical are:
Rajiv S. Desphande (Freshman)
Johns Hopkins University ‑ Baltimore, MD
Changes in Skeletal Muscle Composition with Aging and Their relationship with Mobility
Mentor: David Reiter, Ph.D. and Richard Spencer, M.D., Ph.D.
Abraham D. Killanin (Junior)
Yale University ‑ New Haven, CT
Is Personality Associated with Cognitive Change Across the Life Span?
Mentor: Alan Zonderman, Ph.D. and Michelle Evans, M.D.
Annie Yang (Freshman)
Dartmouth College ‑ Hanover, NH
Inflamed with RAGE: Decoding AGE Signal Generated NF‑κB RelA/p65 Barcode that Directs Collagen‑1 Expression
Mentor: Li Lin, Ph.D. and Yunqian Peng, Ph.D.
The 2014 NIH Fellows’ Award for Research Excellence (FARE) winners were recently announced. The FARE awards provide recognition for the outstanding scientific research performed by intramural postdoctoral fellows.
2014 FARE Winners are as follows:
1. Susan Walker, Ph.D. (LCI), Mentor: Josephine Egan, M.D.
2. Taraswi Banerjee, Ph.D. (LMG) Mentor: Robert Brosh
3. Evandro Fang, Ph.D. (LMG) Mentor: Vilhelm Bohr, M.D., Ph.D.
4. Huiming Lu, Ph.D. (LMG) Mentor: Vilhelm Bohr, M.D., Ph.D.
5. Magdalena Misiak, Ph.D. (LMG and LNS) Mentors: Vilhelm Bohr, M.D., Ph.D. and Mark Mattson, Ph.D.
6. Chinmoyee Mahrana, Ph.D. (LNS) Mentor: Mark Mattson, Ph.D.
7. Emmette Hutchinson, Ph.D (LNS) Mentor: Mark Mattson, Ph.D.
8. Krisztina Marosi, Ph.D (LNS) Mentor: Mark Mattson, Ph.D.
9. Jessica Curtis, Ph.D (TGB) Mentor: Rafa de Cabo, Ph.D.
10. Sarah Mitchell, (TGB) Mentor: Rafa de Cabo, Ph.D
11. Jie Ding, Ph.D. (LEPS) Mentor: Lenore Launer, Ph.D.
12. Salman Tajuddin, Ph.D. (LEPS) Mentor: Michele Evans, M.D.
13. Ji Heon Noh, Ph.D. (LG) Mentor: Myriam Gorospe, Ph.D.
14. Guobing Chen, Ph.D. (LMBI) Mentor: Nan Ping Weng, Ph.D.
Lauren Nicholas’s article (with Justin Dimick), “Bariatric Surgery Complications Before vs. After Implementation of a National Policy Restricting Coverage to Centers of Excellence,” was one of two papers selected for the 2014 HCUP Outstanding Article of the Year Award sponsored by AHRQ and AcademyHealth. CMS reversed its decision on restricting bariatric surgery after the article was published in JAMA.
Publications & Online Resource
65+ in the United States: 2010, June 2014, US Census Bureau
The social and economic implications of the aging of the Baby Boomers will be of significant interest to policy makers, the private sector, and individuals. This report examines a range of topics concerning the population aged 65 and older: Growth of the Older Population; Longevity and Health; Economic Characteristics; Geographic Distribution; and Social and Other Characteristics, such as marital status, education, living arrangements and veterans status.
Publications, Outreach, & Online Resources
The following publications, online resources, and other products were developed, updated, or reprinted:
Booklets:
- “Frontotemporal Dementias: Information for Patients, Families, and Caregivers” (updated and reprinted)
- “Participating in Alzheimer’s Research: For yourself and future generations” (new booklet, based on previous fact sheet)
- “Talking With Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People” (redesigned and reprinted)
- “Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease” (new eBook)
- “Understanding Memory Loss” (new eBook)
Toolkits:
- Created and made available online a presentation toolkit for community organizations based on the NIA booklet, “Talking with Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People”. The toolkitconsists of a PowerPoint presentation, speaker script and notes, handouts, and tips for preparing for the presentation.
- In partnership with the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developed and have begun to disseminate brain health resource, “Brain Health as You Age: You Can Make a Difference.” The presentation toolkit consists of a PowerPoint presentation, an educators’ guide for presenters, a health resource guide for older adults, and a tip sheet summarizing key information.
You Tube:
- 12 videos added to the NIA YouTube channel
NIHSeniorHealth:
- New topic, “Quitting Smoking for Adults”
- April through July, 16 blog posts on variety of topics ranging from health disparities research to resubmission policies. The blog introducing readers to the Women of Color Network generated 80 new members.
E-newsletters:
- Connections (Spring 2014)
- Spotlight on Aging Research (June 2014)
Report:
- 2013-2014 Alzheimer’s Disease Progress Report (new, online only)
Tip Sheets and Fact Sheets:
- Long-Distance Caregiving—A Family Affair (new, online only)
- Long-Distance Caregiving—Getting Started (new, online only)
Social Media:
- ADEAR Twitter (@Alzheimers_NIH) participated in an event sponsored by the journal Health Affairs focused on Alzheimer’s disease. ADEAR has nearly 1,700 followers.
- Go4Life (@NIAGo4Life) has over 3,700 twitter followers.
Press releases:
- NIH scientists find six new genetic risk factors for Parkinson's
- NIH funds next step of cutting-edge research into Alzheimer’s disease genome
- Hyperthermia: Too hot for your health
- NIH-commissioned Census Bureau report highlights effect of aging boomers
- NIHSeniorHealth.gov offers info on quitting smoking for older adults
- NIH, PCORI announce major award to prevent falls injuries in older people
- Structured physical activity program can help maintain mobility in vulnerable older people
- Longevity gene may boost brain power
(For more information about NIA’s publications, products, media, and outreach activities, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, Ph: 301-496-1752.)
Meetings & Exhibits
- AARP Life@50+ conference, Boston, MA
- American Geriatrics Society conference, Orlando, FL
- National Baptist Conference, Dallas, TX , sent materials in support of outreach efforts by African Americans Against Alzheimer’s organization
- National Women’s Health week, send materials
- NIA leadership and staff met with leadership of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) to discuss data on junior faculty support and career trajectories, a collaborative AGS/NIA U13 project, and joint NIA/AGS meeting efforts, among other topics.
- NIA leadership and staff met with representatives of the Alzheimer’s Association to discuss the 2015 AD Research Summit, NIH reporting on AD research milestones, budgeting for AD research, and the 2014 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, among other topics.
(For more information about NIA’s conferences or exhibits, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, Ph. 301-496-1752. For more information about NIA’s professional meetings, contact Dr. Melinda Kelley, Legislative Officer, Ph. 301-451-8835.)
Awards
- Hermes Creative Award for the video Healthy Aging: Lessons from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging—Gold Award, Video/ Government. Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition.
- 2012-2013 Progress Report on Alzheimer’s Disease received an APEX Awards “Grand Award” in the Electronic Media – Electronic Publications category. APEX Awards are based on excellence in editorial content, graphic design.
(For more information about NIA’s awards, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, Ph. 301-496-1752.)
Press Release:
June 30, 2014. NIH-commissioned Census Bureau report highlights effect of aging boomers.
Relevant Notices and Initiatives Published in the NIH Guide
For ‘Notices’ and ‘Research Initiatives’ with NIA’s participation or interest please visit these two websites: http://www.nia.nih.gov/research/funding and http://www.nia.nih.gov/research/grants-funding/nih-funding-policies (Please look for ‘Recent Changes in NIH Policy’ on this web link).