Dr. William H. Goldwater died on Feb. 23.

Dr. William H. Goldwater, who retired in 1993 after serving 40 years at NIH, died Feb. 23 at his home in Bethesda after a long illness. He was 89.

Goldwater and his family moved to Bethesda in 1959 when he began his career at NIH as an executive secretary of the metabolism study section in the Division of Research Grants. He held positions in the extramural programs of the National Heart Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences before moving to the Office of the Director in 1970 as special assistant, Office of Extramural Research and Training.

From 1974 to 1984, he was extramural programs policy officer, OERT. In 1985, he was appointed to his final NIH position as director, Extramural Programs Management Office, Office of Extramural Research.

During his federal career, Goldwater received numerous honors including the NIH Director’s Award (1978) and the Public Health Service Superior Service Award from the Department of Health and Human Services (1989).

Goldwater was also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Heart Association and a member of the American Chemical Society.

He attended Columbia University, where he earned his B.A. degree in 1941 and Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1947. After graduation, he spent several years in various academic positions in New York, then became assistant professor of medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine.

He joined the federal government in 1952 as a radiological biologist at the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco.

Following retirement, Goldwater remained active in the community with a number of organizations including the National Association for Retired Federal Employees and the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington.

Goldwater’s wife of 62 years, the Hon. Marilyn Goldwater, was a long-time legislator in the Maryland House of Delegates before she retired in 2007. Survivors also include two children, Charles and Diane, both of Los Angeles; one granddaughter, Marissa Skye; and a brother, Robert, of Hartsdale, N.Y.

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NIDDK Mourns Death of Ameen

Dr. Vanessa Z. Ameen, who joined NIDDK’s Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition as a senior scientific advisor in January 2010, died 13 months later on Feb. 21 at age 57. She suffered a ruptured aneurysm in early February and never regained consciousness.

Specializing in pediatrics and gastroenterology, Ameen was recruited to NIH from private industry, where she had been medical director to several large pharmaceutical manufacturers.

She also brought an academic perspective to NIH. She had been an assistant professor of pediatrics at Temple University, where she was responsible for patient care, teaching, research and administration in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. She also had taught at Indiana University and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Ameen had impressed her soon-to-be bosses at NIDDK with her extensive experience in research administration and her expertise in both pediatric and adult gastroenterology. Once hired, she was appointed science officer for the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), a network of NIH-funded facilities working to develop better measures for care. Despite her short tenure at NIDDK, Ameen had earned widespread admiration, both personally and professionally, from her new colleagues.

She “understood the critical need for the development of patient-reported outcomes for diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome,” said Dr. James Witter, medical officer in the Division of Skin and Rheumatic Diseases at NIAMS, who worked with Ameen on PROMIS. “She worked diligently and tirelessly to support and promote this important research.”

“Vanessa was much more than an expert in her field,” said Dr. Jill Carrington, director of gastrointestinal development and epithelial biology and inflammation at NIDDK. “She was a wonderful person who just loved being with people, eating Caribbean food and watching American football.”

Ameen is survived by her husband and two children, her mother, two sisters and a brother.

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CSR Names New Ethics Coordinator

MonaLisa Lynch is the new ethics coordinator at the Center for Scientific Review. She comes to CSR from the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, where she served as ethics officer. She was the agency’s top technical expert for ethics matters within its nationwide organization of over 2,200 employees. She also led an ad hoc team responsible for reviewing and certifying more than 1,800 confidential financial disclosure reports, resulting in a higher percentage of covered staff than any other agency at the DOL.

 

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R&W Touted as ‘Good Neighbor’

At the annual Red Cross Awards Ceremony, the NIH Recreation & Welfare Association was recognized with the “Good Neighbor” Award. It was given in appreciation to R&W for obtaining, on a weekly basis, the latest DVDs and providing meals for wounded soldiers at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Shown are (from l) Sherrie Brown, senior vice president, Service to the Armed Forces, American Red Cross; Randy Schools, R&W president; David Browne, director of operations and employee services, R&W; and RDML Thomas E. Beeman, deputy commander, National Intrepid Center of Excellence.

 

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McMahon Advises NEI on Translational Research

Dr. Matthew McMahon has joined the National Eye Institute as senior advisor for translational research. He has a broad neuroscience background in academic and industry-sponsored vision research.

After graduate studies in retinal structure, function and visual perception, he served as senior principal scientist for Second Sight, Inc., for 5 years. Second Sight is a medical device company that is developing a retinal prosthesis for the blind. McMahon learned first-hand about the regulatory and financial challenges facing biotechnology companies in translating novel interventions. His team worked with biomedical engineers, ophthalmologists and patients to improve the retinal implant system and to acquire international marketing approvals.

In 2009, McMahon moved to Capitol Hill as a AAAS science and technology policy fellow for the Senate committee on commerce, science and transportation. He helped draft legislation that authorized funding for science education and research and NASA. Most recently, he served on the House science and technology committee, where he oversaw innovation, manufacturing, technology transfer and bioscience policy.

In the newly created NEI position, McMahon will facilitate existing translational research activities and participate in trans-NIH initiatives. He is also responsible for identifying emerging opportunities to advance small molecules, gene- and cell-based therapies, medical devices and other novel therapeutics through public- private partnering with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Said NEI director Dr. Paul Sieving, “Eye and vision research has matured to a point where an increased understanding of disease mechanisms has led to new and novel treatment insights. Such proof-of-concept studies are the lifeblood of translational research and form the basis for pre-clinical studies and subsequent clinical trials. Dr. McMahon is uniquely suited to furthering the NEI’s pursuit of the vision translational research enterprise.

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Eight NIH’ers Elected to AAM

Dr. Bruce Chesebro	Dr. Robert Heinzen	Dr. Kuan-Teh Jeang	Dr. Michael J. Lichten

Dr. Abner Notkins	Dr. Susan Pierce	Dr. Xin-zhuan Su	Dr. Kanta Subbarao

Eight NIH scientists, including six from NIAID, are among 78microbiologists recently elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology.Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.

The NIAID inductees are as follows:

Dr. Susan Pierce, chief of the Laboratory of Immunogenetics; Dr. Kuan-Teh Jeang, chief of the molecular virology section in the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology; Dr. Bruce Chesebro, chief of the Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases; Dr. Xin-zhuan Su, chief of the malaria functional genomics section in the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research; Dr. Robert Heinzen, chief of the Coxiella pathogenesis section in the Laboratory of Intracellular Parasites; Dr. Kanta Subbarao, chief of the emerging respiratory viruses section in the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases.

Also named were Dr. Michael J. Lichten, a research microbiologist in the microbial genetics and biochemistry section of NCI’s Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Dr. Abner Notkins, chief, experimental medicine section, Oral Infection and Immunity Branch, NIDCR.

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