STEP Forum on Humor, Healing

The staff training in extramural programs (STEP) committee will present a Science for All forum on the topic “Humor and Healing: Laughing for Health and Well-Being,” on Tuesday, Apr. 5, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Natcher Bldg., Rms. E1/E2.

Everyone has heard “laughter is the best medicine” and now there is scientific evidence to support it. For example, mirthful laughter can improve blood flow, acting like “internal jogging.” This reduces stress, boosts human growth hormone and the immune system. In addition, cancer patients whose treatments include laughter therapy report reduced pain and more rapid return to regular activities at home. Come out of your office and laugh out loud with us. We’ll teach you the physiology of laughter and how it can work in medical treatment and everyday life. You’ll experience your own laughter therapy and still call it “work.” LOL.

Lasker Scholars Symposium, Mar. 31

The NIH-Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Symposium will be held Thursday, Mar. 31 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. 10. The symposium celebrates a new partnership between NIH and the Lasker Foundation: the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars program, an intramural-extramural partnership to nurture the next generation of clinical researchers (www.nih.gov/science/ laskerscholar/). The presenters at the symposium include several physician-scientists who will discuss their own clinical research successes: Daniel Kastner (NHGRI), W. Marston Linehan (NCI), Charles Sawyers (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) and Christine Seidman (Harvard Medical School).

OppNet Hosts Symposium on Amygdala, Emotion, Mar. 25 in Lipsett

NIH’s Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet) announces its second symposium in a series highlighting human and model animal research in the basic behavioral and social sciences. “The Amygdala and Emotion in Human and Nonhuman Primates” is scheduled for Friday, Mar. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10. The symposium will feature Dr. Elisabeth Murray, chief of the section on the neurobiology of learning & memory in the Laboratory of Neuropsychology, NIMH, and Dr. Ellen Leibenluft, chief of the section on bipolar spectrum disorders in the Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH. Dr. Richard Nakamura, NIMH scientific director, will moderate the symposium. Videocasting and sign language will be provided. Individuals who need reasonable accommodation to attend should contact Angela Farris (301) 402-1146 or the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877- 8339. For more information about OppNet, visit www.oppnet.nih.gov .

NCI Group Holds Retreat, Apr. 11

The 7th annual Center for Cancer Research and Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics staff scientist/staff clinician retreat will be held on Monday, Apr. 11, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Natcher Bldg. The event offers opportunities to network, exchange ideas, present research and learn. Two keynote speakers will be featured: Dr. Ron Evans of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Dr. Christopher Loffredo of Georgetown University. The agenda also includes career development topics, poster sessions, “topic” lunches and workshops. Attendees should register by Apr. 1 at http://websandbox.ncifcrf.gov/events/clinicianretreat/2011/ default.asp.

‘Safety by Design’ Symposium Set, Apr. 4-6

The Division of Occupational Health and Safety, ORS, will present a “Safety by Design” symposium Apr. 4-6 in the Natcher Conference Center with the purpose of promoting a culture of safe and responsible science in the conduct of research involving high-risk pathogens. The symposium, titled “A 33- Year Legacy: The NIH Laboratory Safety Monograph Revisited,” will focus on advances in the discipline of biosafety occurring since the 1978 NCI publication of the monograph as a supplement to the NIH Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Research.

Symposium sessions will address laboratory practices, containment equipment and laboratory design and highlight emerging national issues such as biosecurity, dual-use research and changing roles and responsibilities.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Carol Linden, principal deputy director, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HHS; Dr. Rita Colwell, chairman of Canon U.S. Life Sciences and distinguished university professor, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Dr. Arturo Casadevall, professor and chair of the department of microbiology and immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

For more information and to register, visit www.provenpractices.com/symposium.html.

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Only Dogs & Cats Make Great Pets? Hogwash!

Since she was 14 years old and became a vegetarian, NIAID’s Julie Marquardt had been threatening to save a pig from the county fair. Last summer, she made the dream a reality when she entered a 4-H bidding war at the Calvert County fair and won. This particular 215-pound prize—whom she named Hay-Seus—won her over instantly with his big personality and wagging tail. “He obviously loved life—he needed to keep living it,” she explains. Now over 250 pounds, Hay-Seus recently celebrated his first birthday. He lives on a farm outside of Annapolis, where his three best friends are cows (and Marquardt, of course).

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