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Forum on Patients' Privacy Protection

The staff training in extramural programs will hold a Current Controversies in Medicine Forum on Tuesday, Apr. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Neurosciences Center's Rm. C. The title is "Patients, Privacy and Protection: How Are Your Data Used?"

Valuable biological information can be acquired from the tissues, cells and DNA of patients and their families to improve their health. Advances in biomedical research enable scientists to use this information to improve diagnosis of disease and develop therapeutic treatments to promote health. But who will have access to this information and how will it be used? The forum will explore the rights and responsibilities of the patient, the practitioner and the researcher to protect individual privacy while ensuring that individually identifiable research data can be used for scientific discoveries. Controversies and approaches related to patient privacy and confidentiality will be explored. Stress will be placed on current legislation and HHS guidance, especially the "Privacy Rule." Attendees earn ESA credit.

Take Your Child to Work Day, Apr. 25

Let your child experience the exciting world of science and medical research. Take Your Child to Work Day is an opportunity to have your children (ages 8-15) observe and participate in some of the exciting careers offered at NIH. On Thursday, Apr. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., NIH will again sponsor an educational, fun event. Information on activities and registration requirements can be found on the web site http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/nihkids/. There are many activities that do not require registration and provide children with important information about some of the services and occupations here at NIH. Remember that adults are expected to accompany their children throughout the day.

For more information, contact Joyce Starks, 402-6068, StarksJ@od1em1.od.nih.gov or Ana Kennedy, 496-4547, KennedyA@od.nih.gov. For reasonable accommodation, contact Gary Morin by Apr. 19 at 496-4628 or 496-9755 TTY.

Copenhagen Symposium, Production Open

Dr. Vilhelm Bohr, a grandson of Nobel laureate Dr. Niels Bohr, presented recollections of his grandparents on Mar. 2 at Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian Institution. The occasion was a daylong symposium, "Copenhagen Interpretation: Science and History on Stage" which coincided with the production of Copenhagen at the Kennedy Center. The symposium explored the science and history surrounding the play and its protagonists. In the play, Niels Bohr, his wife Margrethe and Werner Heisenberg, once a colleague of Bohr's but now on opposite sides of a world war, meet again in 1941 in Copenhagen. In the photo above, Dr. Vilhelm Bohr (r), chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, poses with Dr. Jochen Heisenberg (l), son of Werner Heisenberg, and (from l) actors Hank Statton portraying Werner Heisenberg, Mariette Hartley portraying Margrethe Bohr, and Len Cariou playing Niels Bohr.

Chamber Music Concert, Apr. 28

The Rock Creek Chamber Players will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 28 in the Clinical Center's 14th floor assembly hall. The free public concert, sponsored by the recreation therapy section, will include short works performed by the string ensemble of the Montgomery County Youth Orchestras; Haydn's Quartet, Op. 76, No. 2, performed by the Envoy Quartet; Frank Bridge's Lament for two violas; and Moszkowski's suite for two violins and piano. For more information call (202) 337-8710.

FARE Abstract Competition for Fellows

The ninth annual Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE) 2003 competition will again provide recognition for outstanding scientific research performed by intramural postdoctoral fellows. Winners of FARE will each receive a $1,000 travel award to use for attending and presenting their work at a scientific meeting. One-quarter of the fellows who apply will win an award.

Fellows who apply to FARE submit an abstract of their research, which will be evaluated anonymously on scientific merit, originality, experimental design and overall quality/presentation. The travel award must be used between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2003.

The FARE 2003 competition is open to postdoctoral IRTAs, visiting fellows and other fellows with less than 5 years total postdoctoral experience in the NIH intramural research program. In addition, pre-IRTAs performing their doctoral dissertation research at NIH are also eligible to compete. Visiting fellows/scientists must not have been tenured at their home institute. Questions about eligibility should be addressed to your institute's scientific director. Fellows are asked to submit their application, including abstract, electronically, from May 1-31 via http://felcom.nih.gov/FARE. Winners will be announced by the end of September 2002. More information is available on the web site above. Questions may be addressed to your institute's fellows committee representative.

National Day Of Prayer Set, May 2

Congress has called on U.S. citizens to reaffirm the role of prayer in society and to honor the religious diversity our freedom permits by recognizing annually a National Day of Prayer. On Thursday, May 2, the Noontime Christian Fellowship will hold a prayer vigil near the front steps of Bldg. 1. Anyone desiring to pray for our nation and its leaders is encouraged to come to the ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Guest speaker will be Minister Kevin Williams, senior pastor of Love and Faith World Outreach Church, Fort Washington, Md. .

Addition Planned for Children's Inn

Ground will be broken this month on a new 18-room addition to the Children's Inn at NIH, which now has 37 rooms for pediatric patients being treated at the Clinical Center, and their families. The site for the addition, which will also include expanded office space and a new common kitchen area, is the playground shown above, which is just south of the inn. Workmen have been dismantling the playground recently in anticipation of the new construction. Ceremonial groundbreaking will take place Apr. 24 at 10:30 a.m.

Fellows Hold 'Survival Skills' Workshop

The NIH fellows committee, in conjunction with the Office of Education and the Office of Research on Women's Health, is holding a series of Survival Skills Workshops. The next one is titled "Negotiating a Job Offer" and will be held twice on Monday, Apr. 22; from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10, and again from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Lipsett. Guest speaker is Dr. Laurie Weingart of Carnegie Mellon University's graduate school of industrial administration.

In the workshop, fellows will learn to identify and discuss such key issues as salary and start-up funds with potential employers. They will also learn how to obtain a desirable employment package and the resources needed for successful careers.

For more information, contact Debbie Cohen (dec@helix.nih.gov) or Margaret Mentink-Kane (mmentink@niaid.nih.gov), 594-2345.

CIT Hosts Groundhog Job Shadow Day

Woodrow Wilson High School junior Jason Kamosi (r) participated in CIT Groundhog Job Shadow Day 2002 by following two CIT staff members, Peter Munson, computer specialist, and Jennifer Barb (l), student trainee systems analyst, during their work day on Feb. 4. First instituted in 1998, this popular program usually takes place on Groundhog Day and encourages qualified students to spend the day "shadowing" computer scientist staff members. Several ICs, including CIT and NLM, participate in the program. Its purpose is to help high school students gain new perspective on how their course work relates to possible careers in the sciences. During a working lunch over pizza and soda, Kamosi said he found the experience, "very informative and enjoyable."

Wednesday Afternoon Lectures

The Wednesday Afternoon Lecture series — held on its namesake day at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10 — features Dr. A. James Hudspeth on Apr. 24, speaking on "How the Ear's Works Work: Transduction and Amplification by Hair Cells." He is HHMI investigator, F.M. Kirby professor and director, Kirby Center for Sensory Neuroscience, Rockefeller University.

For more information or for reasonable accommodation, call Hilda Madine, 594-5595.

Porter Center Excavation Continues

Excavation continues on the site of the new John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center, which is being built near the corner of Lincoln Drive and Old Georgetown Rd. The new laboratory facility will occupy 560,000 gross square feet, or roughly the same space as three Bldg. 36s, when it is completed in 2007. The giant hole in the ground is just across Old Georgetown Rd. from Suburban Hospital (upper l), and has been the scene of much dump truck traffic in recent months. Employees in Bldg. 36 can view not only the excavation, but also an exhibit on the Porter Center, on the first floor of the building's west side, overlooking the site of all the recent digging.