Digestive Diseases News
Fall 2006
NIDDK News
NIDDK Chiefs Receive Public Recognition
Four leaders at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
have been publicly recognized for their professional achievements:
William A. Eaton, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the laboratory of chemical physics in the NIDDK Division of Intramural Research, was named to the National Academy of Sciences for his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research, which focuses on fundamental aspects of the protein folding mechanism. Van S. Hubbard, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nutrition Research Coordination and the NIDDK’s associate director for nutritional sciences, was promoted to rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service. Captain David M. Harlan, M.D., chief of the NIDDK’s diabetes branch, received the Public Health Service’s Research Physician of the Year Award for his research into the
pathogenesis and treatment of diabetes. Robert Star, M.D., a senior scientific adviser for translational biology and acting director of the Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, was recognized for his leadership in developing and overseeing programs to enhance the clinical research workforce for the National Institutes of Health.
NIDDK Receives Funding for Bench-to-Bedside Initiative
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) received National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for projects designed to speed translation of promising laboratory discoveries into new medical treatments.
Applications for the bench-to-bedside research projects were open to research teams made up of NIH intramural and extramural collaborators from medical schools, health care organizations, and private industry for the first time since 1999, when the awards began.
This is the first year the NIH funded projects specifically in women’s health, and in minority health and health disparities.
NIDDK investigators will work on teams that received funding for
investigations on rare diseases AIDS-related studies minority health and health disparities studies women’s health research co-funding a project with the Washington Hospital Center
The NIH Clinical Center houses the bench-to-bedside research program, which aims to encourage collaboration among basic laboratory scientists and clinical investigators who work with patients. This is the first year the NIH funded projects specifically in women’s health, and in minority health and health disparities.
For names of specific projects, investigators, and extramural partners, please visit
www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/btb/2006proposals.shtml.
Coming Soon: NIDDK Image Library
 Need a good picture of the digestive tract for your next PowerPoint presentation?
Soon you will be able to easily find and access illustrations featured in publications from the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
Health care professionals, the general public— anyone—will be able to download illustrations
from the NIDDK Image Library directly from the NIDDK website. The images are free but the NIDDK should be acknowledged as the source.
From the NIDDK Reference Collection
Looking for a hard-to-find resource on Whipple’s disease? Try using the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Reference Collection.
Visit http://catalog.niddk.nih.gov/resources to access
the Reference Collection.
This free, online, searchable database helps health care professionals, health educators, patients, and the general public find educational materials not typically referenced in most other databases. The NIDDK Reference Collection currently houses more than 8,000 summaries that include a resource’s title, author(s), publisher, abstract, and keywords. Also included is information about how to get full-text copies of nonjournal resources such as foreign-language materials, books and book chapters, brochures, pamphlets, fact sheets, CD-ROMs, coloring books, bibliographies, audiovisual materials, posters, computer programs, government documents, product descriptions, newsletters, and manuals.
Collection Spotlight
A recent addition to the Reference Collection is a children’s book about celiac disease. A
Celiac Disease Survival Guide features a spunky 11-year-old with celiac disease and describes
what happens to her when she eats foods containing gluten, how she explains the condition to friends, and how she copes with avoiding gluten in her diet. The guide also includes information about where to buy gluten-free food and how to read food labels.
NDDIC Publication Receives National Awards
To order, please call 1–800–891–5389 or visit www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov.The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) received two national awards for its consumer publication What I need to know about Diarrhea.
The publication received an “Award of Excellence” in the brochures and booklets category from the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). The publication also received a
bronze National Health Information Award from the Health Information Resource Center.
The NAGC’s annual “Blue Pencil Awards” recognize outstanding government communications
products including magazines, books, brochures and booklets, newsletters, annual reports, media
kits, displays, and public service announcements. Dozens of communications professionals volunteered
to judge more than 600 entries in the latest competition.
The annual National Health Information Awards is a competition designed to establish a seal of quality
for consumer health information. The awards are organized by the Health Information Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for consumer health programs and materials. Judges considered more than 1,000 entries from hundreds of organizations for this year’s awards.
The NDDIC booklet includes a dozen illustrations and provides the latest information about the
symptoms, causes, and treatment of diarrhea. The easy-to-read publication, which complies with
guidelines of the National Institutes of Health Plain Language Initiative, teaches readers how to
recognize when to seek professional treatment and includes a special section about avoiding and treating
traveler’s diarrhea.
What I need to know about Diarrhea has been praised by health care providers at medical meetings who say the language is ideal for patient education.
NIDDK Ranks Seventh Among Postdocs in ‘Top Places to Work’ Survey
 The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) ranked seventh among the top places for postdocs to work in North America, according to a survey published in the March issue of The Scientist. The Institute climbed the list from last year, when it ranked 15th.
Comments submitted with this year’s survey indicated that postdocs want knowledgeable, engaged mentors and principal investigators, clearly defined goals and feedback, career development training, adequate pay and benefits, and job security. The NIDDK’s proximity to the nation’s capital—and the potential career opportunities that presents—is a definite advantage, according to The Scientist.
The top-ranking postdoc choice in North America this year is the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. Survey respondents chose the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland, as the top employer outside North America.
Respondents identified themselves as nontenured life scientists working in academia or other noncommercial research centers. More than 2,900 scientists from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe responded to the web-based questionnaire.
Digestive Diseases NEWS
Digestive Diseases News is published four times a year by the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). The newsletter features news about digestive diseases, special events, patient and professional meetings, and new publications available from the NDDIC and other related organizations.
Subscriptions are free but available only to health professionals. Send subscription inquiries to: National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, 2 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892–3570. This publication is also available online at www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov/about/newsletter.htm.
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NIH Publication No. 07–4552
November 2006
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