The NIH Record

U.S. Department September 28 National of Health 1982 Institutes and Vol. XXXIV of Human Services No. 20 Health Dr. Bruce Chabner Named Two New Director Appointments Announced NCI Division Director Dr Bruce A. Chabner has been appoint ed By NIH Director Dr. James B. Wyngaarden director of the Division of Cancer T reatment, Dr. Harald Loe Dr. Betty H. Pickett National Cancer Institute. He has been act­ Dr. Harald L6e has been appointed Direc­ Dr. Betty H. Pickett has been appointed ing director of the d ivision since 1981 . tor of the National Institute of Dental Director of the Division of Research Resour­ The Division of Cancer Treatment plans, Research pending approval of the Office of ces. Dr. Pickett, who is currently deputy directs and coordinates integrated research Personnel Management. director of the National Institute of Child nationwide to improve treatment of cancer Dr. Loe, who is currently dean of the Uni­ Health and Human Development, will patients. Among DCT's major programs are versity of Connecticut School of Dental Med­ assume her new position Oct. 1. research efforts in surgery, radiotherapy, icine, will assume his new oosition Jan. 1 The ORR is responsible for creating, chemotherapy, patient nutrition, and biolog­ NIDR, established as an NIH Institute in developing and making available a broad ical response modifiers. substances that may 1948, conducts and supports research into base of centers, resources, and institutional be used to boost the body's natural defenses the causes, prevention, d iagnosis and treat­ support required by the biomedical research against cancer. ment of oral and dental d iseases and condi­ activities of N IH and other research compo­ Dr. Chabner began his career in the phar­ tions. nents of the Public Health Service. macology of anticancer drugs (their mecha­ nisms of action) as a clinical associate at NCI from 1967 to 1969. He then became a research associate at Yale University School of Medicine in 1970. The following year he joined NCI as senior staff fellow and senior investigator in the Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology and Solid Tumor Service. He became senior investigator in that laboratory from 1972 to 1975, and head of its biochemical pharma­ cology section from 1973 to 1975. From 1972 to 1975 he also served as senior investigator

Dr. L6e. a native of Norway, received both Dr. Pickett has been deputy d irector of the doctor of dental surgery and doctor of NICHD since 1979. She was Acting Director odontology degrees from the University of of the Institute from July 1981 to July 1982. Oslo. Universities in four countries­ Prior to joining the NICHD, Dr. Pickett Sweden, Denmark. Greece. and Belgium­ served for 2 years as associate director for have awarded Dr. Loe honorary degrees. extramural and collaborative research of the Widely recognized for his contribution in National Institute on Aging. the field of periodontology, Dr. L6e is also Her previous experience includes a known for his service in dental education. In number of senior positions in the National his distinguished professional career, he has Institute of Mental Health and service as been in clinical practice, and held teaching executive secretary of two study sections in positions in dental colleges at Oslo Univer­ the NIH Division of Research Grants follow­ sity, Hebrew University (Israel), the Royal ing her appointment to the PHS in 1958. Dr. Chabner has a long research background Dental College (Aarhus, Denmark), the Uni­ A native of Rhode Island, Dr. Pickett centering on the biochemistry and clinical phar­ versity of Michigan, and the University of received her academic training at Brown macology of antlmetabollles, a class of anti­ Connecticut. cancer drugs that Interferes with the use of University earning an A.B. degree in 1945 He was elected dean of the Royal Dental normal nutrients by cancer cells, thus preventing and a Ph.D. in psychology in 1949. their continued growth. College of Aarhus, Denmark, and also She has received numerous honors and in \he Medicine Branch of OCT. served as director of the University of Michi­ awards, including the HEW Distinguished His career at NCI has spanned basic gan's Dental Research Institute. Service Award in 1975, the Harold M. Hil­ research on the biochemistry and pharma­ Dr. L6e has published extensively in his dreth Award from the American Psychologi­ cology of anticancer drugs, their clinical research field and is the founding editor of cal Association in 1979 for distinguished application, and the direct clinical manage­ the Journal of Periodontal Research. He has contributions to psychology in the public ment of cancer patients. lectured throughout the world and is past service, and the Senior Executive Service president of the International Association for (See Dr. CHABNER. Page 5) Outstanding Performance Award in 1981.0 Dental Research. D The NIH Record Reservation Toured by HHS Officials

Published biweekly at Bethesda, Md., by the Editorial Operations Branch, Division of Public Information, for the information of employees of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, and clrculated by request to writers and to researchers In biomedical and related fields. The content Is reprintable without permission. Pictures may be available on request.

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NIH Record Office Bldg 31 Room 28-03, Phone 496-2125

Editor Jerry Gordon

Slaff Wrller Edllorial Aulstanl Joyce F. McCarthy Marilyn Berman

Slaff Correspondent• CC, Barbara Smakula; OCRT. William Hall; OPM. Judy Fouche; DAG. Sue Meadows: ORA, Barbara Menick; DAS, Jim Doherty; F IC, Susan P. Stark; NCI. Patricia A. Newman; NEI, Marsha Corbell; NHLBI, 8 111 Sanders; NIA, Ann Dieffenbach: NIAID, Jeanne Wlnnick: NIADDK, Barbara Weldon; NICHO, James Hadley; NIDA, Sally Wilberding; NIEHS, Hugh J. Lee; NIGMS. Wanda Warddell; NIMH. Harry Bell; NINCDS. Diane Stnar; NLM, Roger L. G1lkeson, A number of HHS regional directors and them to the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical intergovernmental and congressional affairs Center. and press officers recently visited the cam­ While at the CC, the visitors briefly toured Training Tips pus for the express purpose of becoming the ACRF with stops in the Nuclear Medicine The following courses, sponsored by the more familiar w ith the facilities and opera­ and Clinical Pathology departments, the Division of Personnel Management, are tions of NIH. 13th floor c linic, laboratory and material given in Bldg. 31 unless otherwise The tour of the campus was conducted by handling areas and the Visitors Center. indicated. Huly Bray, NIH Special Projects Officer and A regional d irector is the personal repre­ Assistant to the Director for Protocol. sentative of the HHS Secretary responsible Communication Course Deadline Storm Whaley, NIH Associate Director for for carrying out the Secretary's departmental Skills Starts Communications, welcomed the group on policies in each of the 10 HHS regions Freedom of Information 11/10 10/ 25 behalf of the NIH Director. Dr. Jay Shapiro, throughout the United States. D Acting Clinical Center Director, welcomed Workshop for Grants Staff 11 / 17 Office Skills Science Writers' Seminar 'Operation Backfill' in Motion Proofreading 10/13 9/ 29 Effective English Workshop 10/ 18 9/ 29 On Oncogenes Is Oct. 14 When the construction of the Ambulatory Care Research Facility building commenced Supervisory and The NIH Science Writers' Seminar on in the spring of 1977, it was necessary to re­ Management Oncogenes-the genes in tumors which locate several BID organizational compo­ Planning for Prevention 10/ 20 10/8 when transferred to normal cells can make nents to Bldg. 31 in order to vacate areas of and Results them cancerous-will be held on Oct. 14, Bldg. 1O that would become an integral part from 1:30 to 4 p.m., in the ACRF Behavioral Strategies for 10/ 27 10/ 15 of the new structure. Supervisors and Managers Amphitheater. With the completion of the ACRF and the Dr. George Khoury, chief, Laboratory of earlier phases of the Bldg. 10 modernization • These courses are offered in Westwood Bldg. Molecular Virology, NCI, will open the pro­ program, these components are now in the To learn more about these and other gram with a discussion on the control of the process of returning to Bldg. 10. The space courses in office and communication skills, level of gene expression. being vacated in Bldg. 31 has recently been contact the Training Assistance Branch, Oncogenic transformation by viral and cel­ reassigned by NIH Director Dr. James B. DPM, 496-2146. lular genes w ill be the subject of a talk by Dr. Wyngaarden and will result in an extensive For further information on supervisory George Vande Woude, chief, Laboratory of backfill operation. and management courses, contact the Molecular Oncology, NCI. Included in this reassig nment are provi­ Executive and Management Development The moderator of the seminar, Dr. Douglas sions for the NIH Federal Credit Union to Branch, DPM, 496-6371. A. Lowy, deputy chief of NCl's Dermatology return to the NIH reservation from their Branch, will describe the progress that has present accommodations on O ld George­ been made in research on a family of closely town Road. related human and animal oncogenes. Plans to facilitate "Operation Backfill" are Karate Classes The presentation by Dr. Mariano Barbacid, presently being developed by Space Man­ Now Forming a visiting scientist in NC l's Laboratory of agement, NIH. It is expected that the project Cellular and Molecular Biology, will cover N IH Karate Club's beginner, intermediate, will extend over a period of from 6 to 10 studies of oncogenes in human tumors. and advanced Tae Kwon Do (Karate) classes months . □ Dr. Robert C. Gallo, chief, Laboratory of are now forming. All classes begin Monday, Tumor Cell Biology, NCI, w ill discuss human Oct. 18, at the Stone A idge School gymna­ leukemia virus infection and gene activation. Attention: Disabled Veterans sium, corner of Cedar Lane and Wisconsin Science Writers' Seminars, sponsored by Ave. the intramural scientists of NIH and the Div­ A recruitment plan is being organized for Beginners class is from 6-7 p.m.; interme­ ision of Public Information. OD, are disabled American veterans to form a diates 7-7:45 p.m.; advanced intermediates, designed to provide members of the press national organization to pursue a matter of 7:45-8:30 p.m.; and advanced 8:30-9:30 p.m. with background information on the various interest to them as well as their dependents The fee for beginners is $35, and $15 for areas of research conducted here at NIH. and survivors. NIH veterans can contact Bob intermediates and advanced. To register, For additional information, call Bobbi Mc Devitt at 496-1956 for further detai l s. □ contact Dr. W. French Anderson, Bennett, 496-1766 . □ 496-5844. □

Page 2 The NIH Record September 28, 1982 Health Resources, Services Career Day Program To Be Held Oct. 14 Administration Consolidated Career Day, sponsored by the Women's To Form New PHS Agency Advisory Committee and the NIH Federal Women's Program, will be held Thursday, Dr. Edward N. Brandt, Jr., Assistant Secre­ Oct. 14, in Wilson Hall, Bldg. 1, from 1 O a.m. tary for Health, recently announced the for­ to 2 p.m. mation of a new PHS agency, the Health Information on career change and devel­ Resources and Services Administration, opment, career paths, continuing education, effective Sept. 1. and various personnel topics will be provided "The new agency will provide leadership at information exchange resource areas. and direction for programs to provide direct Employees will also have an opportunity to health services for certain population discuss with representatives from various groups, and to develop the resources neces­ occupations the duties and responsibilities sary for the health care system of the involved in those occupations. future," Dr. Brandt said. Experts will be available to answer ques­ Dr. Robert Graham, who has been serving tions about many topics including career as acting administrator of the Health paths- what kinds of jobs are included and Resources Administration, will be adminis­ work req uired; career change and trator of the new agency. John H. Kelso w ill development-what opportunities and pro­ be deputy administrator. He is currently act­ grams are available at NIH, and what the eligibility requirements are; personnel ing administrator of the Health Services tinue to be highly competitive. Career Day is Administration. information- how the new employee per­ formance management system works, and a forum for all NIH employees to obtain The Health Resources and Services information about career options and issues Administration consolidates the following what rights employees have under this system. affecting those options. PHS programs into four bureaus: Linda Bremmerman, vice chairperson of Indian Health Service. Transfers from HSA Career change and advancement will con- the WAC and delegat e from the National with no change in organization and func­ Cancer Institute, is chairing the Career Day tions. T he IHS will continue to ensure a committee. comprehensive health services delivery sys­ Claire McCullough, the delegate from the tem for American Indians and A laska National Institute of A rthritis, Diabetes, and Natives. Dr. Everett R. Rhodes will continue Digestive and Kidney Diseases, c hairs the as director. WAC; and Barbara Iba is the acting Federal Bureau of Health Maintenance Organiza­ Women's Program manager in the Division tions and Resource Development. Consoli­ of Equal Opportunity. dates the Office of Health Maintenance Dr. Ursula Lohmann, employee develop­ Organizations from the Office of the Assist­ ment specialist, Training and Development, ant Secretary for Health, and HRA's Bureau Division of Personnel Management, is pro­ of Health Planning and Bureau of Health viding career development expertise and Facilities. Dr. Daniel F. Whiteside has been technical guidance. appointed director. Sign language interpretation wi ll be avail­ Bureau of Health Professions. Will provide able. Assistance with physical access will leadership in coordinating, evaluating and also be available on request. For more supporting the development and utilization information and assistance, call the NIH of the nation's health personnel. Dr. Thomas FWP office, 496-21 12. □ Hatch will continue as director. Bureau of Health Care Delivery and Assistance. Combines programs from HSA's National Aquarium Visit Planned Bureau of Community Health Services, A Message From Mrs. Thompson Bureau of Medical Services, and the National R&W plans a visit to the National Aqua­ The following is a message of appreciation Health Service Corps (including scholar­ rium and Harbor Place in Baltimore on Sat­ from Elizabeth Kay Thompson, wife of Lloyd ships). now adrninstered by the Bureau of urday, Nov. 6. The aquarium contains over Thompson who died Aug. 30 of injuries Health Personnel Development and Service. 8,000 types of water life. received in an explosion. Dr. John Marshall will serve as acting Buses will leave Bldg. 31 Cat 1O a.m., and The family of Lloyd Thompson wishes to d_irector. will depart from Baltimore at 4 p.m. The cost, express a sincere appreciation for the deep T he bureau w ill act as a national focus for $10.50 for adults and $8.50 for children concern shown by friends and coworkers in efforts ensuring the availability and delivery under 12, includes transportation and the matter of Lloyd's mishap and demise. of health care services in medically under­ admission. "We extend special thanks to friends who served areas and to special services Interested persons may sign up at the generously donated blood and offered con­ populations. R&W Activities Desk, Bldg. 31, Rm. 1A18. □ tributions to the Washington Hospital Burn Headquarters for the new agency will be Unit. The cash donations received from the Rm. 14-05 of the Parklawn Bldg., 5600 Watch Them T oss Baskets Clinical Center section, the elevator section Fishers Lane, Rockville, Md. 20857: (301) and the power plant section of the Mainte­ 443-2216. □ The NIH R&W basketball league will open nance Engineering Branch, along with the the season on Tuesday, Oct. 5, in the Clinical other donations, were given to the burn unit. Music for Your Ears Center's gymnasium. Games will be played We would also like to acknowledge the every Tuesday and Thursday evening, start­ members of the NIH Fire Department and Scandinavia Today, featuring new music ing at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., until the c ham­ the Paramedic Team and the gallant efforts from the Northern countries, is the theme of pionship in March. Eight teams will be trying taken to keep Lloyd alive at the accident site the Contemporary Music Forum's free noon­ to upset last year's champs, the " Blades," and in transport to the hospital. time lecture and opening concert on Mon­ who had a record of 13 and one. All NIH Although it is impossible for us to thank day, Oct. 4, in the Masur Auditorium. employees are invited to watch the games. □ each and everyone personally, there is one Tickets to the concert will be available at man whose kindness touched us all-Mr. the door or through R&W, sponsors of the A lie has no legs and cannot stand, but it Andrew W. Klassett, his foreman. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts." new series of six monthly evening concerts has wings and can fly far and wide. of 20th century music. □ -Unkno wn □ The Thompson Family

September 28, 1982 The NIH Record Page 3 Automatic Teller Machine Multicenter Study Will Evaluate To Open in Bldg. 10 Plasmapheresis for Lupus Patients "24-Hour BOB" is the name of the new automatic teller machine recently installed in A new nationwide multicenter study to patients' blood plasma. Bldg. 10 by the Bank of Bethesda. The AT M determine the value of using plasmaphere­ Approximately 10 treatments at about will be operating from the first teller window sis, a blood-separating process, to treat $1,000 each, are used for each patient's on the left, adjacent to the Automatic Post patients with severe lupus nephritis is being course of therapy. Reports of the success of Office, on the B1 level. supported by the National Institute of Arthri­ plasmapheresis have prompted more wide­ The ATM is expected to be operating by tis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney spread use of this therapy combined with early October, with 24-hour-service offered Diseases. drug treatment, even though it has not yet for various banking transactions. Nine other Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus) is a been proved scientifically effective. serious chronic inflammatory disease of the In April 1981, NIADDK awarded a grant to connective tissue, estimated to affect Dr. Lewis to conduct a controlled prospec­ approximately 500,000 people in the United tive study on the effects of plasmapheresis States, primarily young women. Lupus neph­ on the short- and long-term courses of ritis refers to the form of the disease that patients with severe forms of lupus nephritis. includes inflammation of the kidneys. As principal investigator for the study, Dr. Plasmapheresis is a technique of removing Lewis will direct scientists at 16 centers who plasma from a patient's blood, and replacing will study a total of 200 patients for up to 5 it with plasma or a plasma substitute that years. does not contain the destructive antibodies Patients enrolled in the study will be ran­ found in lupus. domly assigned to a group receiving either According to Dr. Nancy B. Cummings, (a) prednisone and cyclophosphamide, or NIADDK's associate director for Kidney, (b) plasmapheresis plus prednisone and Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, the cyclophosphamide. purpose of this study is to determine Prednisone is a steroid drug usually used whether or not plasmapheresis has a benefi­ to treat lupus nephritis. Cyclophosphamide, cial effect on patients with lupus nephritis, a drug that has a toxic effect on body cells, and to provide a mechanism for developing a is often used in an effort to preserve func­ standardized definition of lupus nephritis, tioning of the kidneys by immunosup­ and guidelines for managing the renal invol­ pression. 24-hour BOB machines are being installed at vement in the disease. Scientists hope that this carefully con­ other bank locations in Montgomery County. After a pilot study, N IADDK grantee Dr. trolled study will provide valuable informa­ The Bank of Bethesda has joined the Edmund J . Lewis, director of the section of tion about the effectiveness and feasibility of "'MOST system," a group of financial institu­ nephrology, and his associates at Rush­ plasmapheresis as a treatment for lupus tions in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in nephritis; the relationships between various Virginia, who will share use of their ATM's. Chicago, reported that plasmapheresis tissue abnormalities and responses of Any member of the N IH staff having an removed a large amount of damaging patients to therapy, and the mechanism of account with one of these financial institu­ " immune complexes" (abnormal compo­ action of plasmapheresis in lupus nephritis, tions can make cash withdrawals and bal­ nents) from the blood of patients. if the treatment is found to be beneficial. ance inquiries at NIH and any other ATM Scientists think that kidney failure and For more information, contact the location of the Bank of Bethesda. other manifestations of lupus may be NIADDK Office of Health Research Reports, Currently, the MOST system has more directly related to injury caused by the pres­ 496-3583. D than 70 financial institutions as members. A ence of these abnormal components in complete list of the participants in the net­ work can be obtained from the Bank of New Literature Searches Awards Index Published Bethesda. In order to improve communication and Available From NLM The 21st edition of the Research Awards ensure optimum service for NIH employees, Index, containing scientific data on more Five new Literature Searches are available Calvin B. Baldwin, Jr., NIH Associate Direc­ than 20,000 Public Health Service grants and from the National Library of Medicine's Ref­ tor for Administration. and Dr. Edwin D. contracts active during FY 1981, is now erence Section: Becker, NIH Associate Director for Research available. LS 82-15 Cisplatin. January 1980- J uly 1982, Services, have been meeting with Bank of The Index is published in two volumes. 255 citations. The first volume contains about 7,000 sub­ Bethesda officials. LS 82-16 Failure to thrive. August 1977- July Suggestions for any improvements in ser­ 1982. 184 citations. ject headings under which appear the identi­ vices are welcomed by the bank's branch LS 82-17 Total hip replacement. January 1979- fication numbers and titles of pertinent manager, Joyce Grimm. In addition, com­ August 1982, 173 citations in English. projects. ments or suggestions may be sent to Mr. LS 82-18 Drugs and pharmacy in developing Volume II contains project indentification Baldwin or Dr. Becker through the space countries. January 1977- August 1982, 172 data including the names of investigators, management staff of the Office of Research citations. their addresses and project titles; a separate LS 82-19 Drug therapy for leprosy patients. Services, 496-3172. □ section on research contracts: and an alpha­ January 1980- August 1982, 135 citations. betical list of grantee investigators. These Literature Searches, part of a series CLEP Exam Offered Copies of Research Awards Index, (NIH of printed bibliographies on subjects of cur­ Publication No. 82-200) may be obtained by NIH employees can participate in the rent interest, were produced through NLM's college-level examination program (CLEP) writing to the Superintendent of Documents, computer-based system, MEDLARS. They U.S. Government Printing Office, Washing­ when it is conducted on Thursday, Oct. 28. are available without charge. ton, D.C. 20402. The price is $26 domestic CLEP is a nationally recognized testing pro­ A complete list of available titles appears prepaid, or $32.50 foreign postpaid. The gram where individuals can receive college in each issue of Index Medicus and Abridged stock number is 017-041 -00134-3. D credit for knowledge they have obtained Index Medicus. outside of school. Deadline for test registra­ When requesting searches, please include tion is Oct. 7. title and number, enclose self-addressed The saddest failures in life are those that Information about CLEP can be obtained gummed label, and mail to: Literature Search come from not putting forth the power and from Carol Daniels, Career Education Cen­ Program, Reference Section, National will to succeed.-E. P. Whipple □ ter, Bldg. 31, Rm. 4803, or by calling library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md 20209. □ 496-5025. □

Page 4 The NIH Record September 28, 1982 New Book Depicts History of NLM Three Win Award for Collaborative Paper A new book, A History of the National developed the largest and most diversified Library of Medicine by Dr. Wyndham D. medical collection in A merica, perhaps the Miles, is now available from the Government world. Printing Office. The Library has seen many homes before Published by the National Library of Med i­ becoming part of the NIH campus in 1962. It cine, this 469 page volume, including an was originally housed in the Surgeon Gen­ extensive index and over 100 illustrations, eral's Office, Wash., D.C., and then trans­ traces the evolution of "our nation's treasury ferred to Ford's Theate r in 1866. In 1887, it of medical knowledge." was moved into the Library-Museum Build­ From its birth in 1818 with only a few med- ing, which was located o n the south side of the Mall. The author, Dr. Miles, is a well- known wri­ ter on the history of c hemistry and has been an historian at NIH since 1962. He is pres­ ently on the staff of NL M's History of Medi­ cine Division. T his first comprehensive histo ry of the NLM is available for $1 4 from the Superin­ tendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C , 20402. Stock The authors (I to r): Mr. Flori, Ms. Swyt, BEIB, and Mr. Gorlen, CSL, surround their award-winning No., 017-052-00224-4. Image, which depicts background-corrected dis­ tribution of two elements, Illustrating the applica­ tion ot their techniques. From 1862 to 1866 the Library's collection Charles E. Fiori and Carol R. Swyt, physi­ remained part of the Surgeon General's office. cists in the Biomedical Engineering and The office was located on the second floor of the Instrumentation Branch, DRS, and Keith E. Riggs Bank building on the right. The collection Gorlen of the Computer Sciences Labora­ which consisted of works on anatomy, physiol­ ogy, levers, diseases of children, dentistry, epi­ tory of DCRT, have won the McRaes Memor­ demics, pharmacy, midwifery, medical ial Award for a paper presented at this year's jurisprudence, and military surgery were shelved joint national meeting of the Electron In the front parlor of the house on the left. Microscopy Society of American and the ical books, the Library's collection has Microbeam Analysis Society. grown to over 2'/, million items today. T he award is given for a significant contri­ One figure prominent in the transforma­ bution to the physics and engineering of tion and development of this world famous electron optical instrumentation. medical research institution was Army Sur­ Describes Image Moving to the Library- Museum building provided geon Col. John Shaw Billings. The winning paper, entitled "Continuum relief from the Inadequate facilities In the library Dr. Billings was appointed librarian in 1865 at Ford's Theatre In 1887. Working at a table Correction of X-ray Area Scans," describes a to what was then known as the Library of the (right) is Or. John Shaw Billings. The Hirshhorn mathematical algorithm and electronic modi­ Army Surgeon General's Office. Before his Museum now stands on the site the library fication of an electron microscope that per­ retirement from the Army in 1895, he had occupied. mit the formation of X-ray images with the contribution from continuum X-rays removed. opment of a comprehensive description of The image p roduced is a true representa­ DR.CHABNER the cl inical patterns of non-Hodgkin's tion of the concentration of a particular atomic species with none of the potentially (Continued from Page 1) lymphoma. misleading artifacts arising from courses From 1976 to 1980, he was chief of the A native of Shelbyvi lie, 11 1. , he graduated from Yale University in 1961, and received such as irregularities in specimen thickness. Clinical Pharmacology Branch in the Clinical The research that resulted in this award Oncology Program of OCT, and the follow­ his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1965. Dr. Chabner has received was done at the new SEIB analytical elec­ ing year became associate d irector of the tron microscope facility in Bldg. 13. The 200 Clinical Oncology Program and deputy clin­ many honors including Pfizer lectureships in clinical pharmacology at the University of keV computerized microscope was devel­ ical director of NCI. In 1981 , he was also oped jointly with the Computer Systems named acting d irector of OCT. Vermont in 1980 and Yale University in 1981. D Laboratory of DCRT and is available to the While studying antimetabolites, Dr. NIH scientific community for collaborative Chabner and colleagues at NC I developed research. Contact C. E. Fiori, 496-2599 for methods for measuring drug levels in human Women on the Run! info r ma t ion. □ plasma. Women on the Run, an organization During the mid-1970's in their research on promoting women's fitness, offers two levels Evening Speechcraft Offered methotrexate, an important anticancer drug, of running classes at N IH. Level 1 is for Ors. C habner and Robert Young, of NCl's beginners with emphasis on pulse-taking, An 8-week evening speechcraft course w ill Medicine Branch, described for the first time correct form, stretc hing exercises, diet. be conducted by the Kensington Toastmas­ the relationship between drug concentra­ injury prevention and setting up a personal ters Club, an affiliate of the NIH Toastmas­ tions in plasma and the drug's toxic effects running schedule. ters Club, starting Oct. 6. on cells. This work established a prototype Classes are being held on T uesdays and Speechcraft participants will learn for cancer pharmacology. Thursdays, beginning Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. impromptu speaking , various styles of speak­ T he research provided a means of predict­ Cost is $30 for the 3-week class. ing, and how to listen and evaluate. ing toxicity and a tool to design more effec­ Level II is a program designed to help The cost for the course, which takes place tive and safer treatment plans. Dr. Chabner endurance, speed and strength. Classes will on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at is the editor of the first textbook in this field meet on M onday and Wednesday evenings the Kensington Fire Station, is $10. For of cancer pharmacology, Pharmacologic at 5:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 4. Cost is $40 fo r further i nformation, call Dr. Kent Bailey, 496- Principles of Cancer Treatment, which was the 4-week program. The first c lass f or both 5905 or Raji Sarma, 949-5775. C:J recently published. sessions will meet in Cont. Rm. 4, Bldg. 31. Another special research interest of Dr. To register, call 251-0043 or 279-9393 or Chabner and colleagues has been the devel- R&W Activities Desk.□

September 28, 1982 The NIH Record Page 5 Chemical, Drug Exposure Linked to Cleft Palate Dr. Stephen Marx Approximately 1 in every 500 births in the Wins F. Albright Award U.S.-10,000 infants each year, suffer from cranial or facial malformations-usually cleft Dr. Stephen Marx, senior investigator, lip or palate. Metabolic Diseases Branch, NIADDK, is a Dr. Robert M. Pratt, research chemist at 1982 recipient of the Fuller Albright Award of the National Institute of Environmental the American Society for Bone and Mineral Health Sciences, is among the nation's lead­ Research. ing researchers on the biochemical mecha­ The award, given at the society's annual nisms of birth malformations, especially meeting in June, honors an outstanding cranial-facial defects. He points out that young investigator under the age of 40. Dr. these malformations most often occur when Marx shares the honor with Dr. Gregory the mother and embryo have a genetic pre­ Mundy, Veterans Administration Hospital, disposition, and when certai n environmental San Antonio, Tex. factors such as chemical or drug exposure Dr. Marx's research has focused on the are present. hereditary abnormalities in mineral metabo- He began his research on cleft palate at the National Institute of Dental Research in 1970. Since 1980 he has headed the experi­ mental teratogenesis section within the Laboratory of Reproductive and Develop­ In the facial and palatal clefting study, to observe mental Toxicology at NIEHS. Teratology is the development of the embryo Inside lhe mother, the study of birth defects. mouse embryos are grown In glassware, In a spe­ Various drugs and environmental chemi­ cial nutrient "broth" called media. The embryos cals are administered to pregnant mice by grow for a limited time (about 48 hours).and show Dr. Pratt and his research team to ascertain normal patterns of development as well as the Impact of exposures to envlromental chemicals. coworkers have shown that many developing cells are highly dependent on the presence of EGF and that an embryonic type of EGF is likely produced by a number of embryonic tissues including the palate. Another exciting direction in the lab's research uses vitamins to reduce clefting. Pregnant mice treated with vitamin B8 show a markedly lower incidence of cortisone­ induced clefting in thetr offspring. "This research and its possible clinical Dr. Marx has authored more than 90 sclenlillc implications must be interpreted with great papers, is a member of several societies, and Is care," Dr. Pratt cautioned. "because too on the editorial boards of two professional much of any chemical, even a vitamin or Journals. growth factor, may harm the development of !ism, particularly in familial hypocalciuric the embryo or fetus." hypercalcemia, and also on receptors for The NIEHS researcher is in frequent con­ calcitropic hormones. tact with scientists in the National Toxicol­ He has described a new radioimmunoas­ ogy Program, HHS, to keep them updated on say for the middle region of human parathy­ progress in the development of methods for roid hormone, a technique that is an Dr. Pratt works with Eugenia F. Goulding, a biolo­ culturing human cells and its potential use in improvement over previous methods. gist, in their laboratory Investigating the normal birth defect and toxicity testing. D development of animal embryos and the mecha­ Dr. Marx received his M.D. degree from nism of facial and palatal clefting. Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1968 and a B.A. degree from Yale College in 1964. He came the types of induced birth defects. For direct to NfADDK in 1970 as a clinical associate. observation, early mouse embryos are grown With the exception of a 1-year residency at in culture for 2 days where their develop­ Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Marx ment can be closely studied. has been with the Institute since. D In addition, human cell cultures grown from tissues obtained from abortuses (fetuses with no chance of survival) or dur­ Healthy Volunteers Needed ing corrective surgery of cranial-facial mal­ For Light Effects Study formations, supply an invaluable approach to understanding basic mechanisms of Healthy volunteers, both male and female, growth control and how defects are ages 20-55, are needed for a light effect triggered. study by the National Institute of Mental "Hormones, specifically glucocorticoids Health. (cortisone for example) are essential in the Participants are required to follow certain normal development of the embryo and dietary practices, give urine samples, and fill fetus," Dr. Pratt said. "A certain level of glu­ out forms at intervals for a period of 1 year. cocorticoid and its receptor is required, yet Compensation will be provided. more than that level will cause cleft palate to A summary of the proceedings from the Interna­ For further information, contact Connie occur." tional Symposium on Measles Immunization held Carpenter, 496-2141 . □ Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a small In March 1982 has been written by Dr. Samuel L. protein that influences certain aspects of Katz of Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Katz the developing embryo and fetus, and was the senior rapporteur for the symposium A fanatic is one who can·t change his mind which was coordinated by the Fogarty Interna­ and won't change the subject-Sir Winston apparently disappears at birth. He and tional Center. Reprints of the complete sympo­ Churchill□ sium can be obtained from Dr. Earl C. Chamberleyne, FIC.

Page 6 The NIH Record September 28, 1982 Dr. Donald Jerina Receives Brodie Award Short-Term Toxicity Tests Dr. Donald Jerina, chief of the section on Key Goal of NIEHS Studies oxidation mechanisms, N IADDK, received Development of inexpensive, accurate, the Bernard B. Brodie Award in drug metab­ and rapid testing to determine whether or olism on Aug. 16 at the annual meeting of not environmental agents have potential for the American Society of Pharmacology and causing heritable mutations, other kinds of Experimental Therapeutics in Kentucky. toxicity, or cancer, is a key goal of the The award was established by the Ciba­ National Institute of Environmental Health Geigy Corporation to honor the fundamental Sciences. contributions of Dr. Bernard B. Brodie in the This research area falls under the National field of drug metabolism and disposition. Dr. T oxicology Program of HHS. Dr. Raymond Brodie served as chief, Laboratory of Chem­ W. Tennant, chief, Cellular and Genetic Tox­ ical Pharmacology, NHLBI, from 1950 to icology Branch, is responsible for develop­ 1970. ing these short-term test systems. The award-$2,000 honorarium, com­ The NIEHS scientists quickly emphasize memorative medal, and certificate-is pres­ that cancer causation is not an either/or ented every 2 years. p roposition and not a single disease but a Dr. Jerina is the third recipient of the prize. group of d iseases. Two alternative concepts Contributions for which he was cited include of cancer causation fundamental to develop­ the discovery of intramolecular migration of ing model tests are to be evaluated; the first tritium and deuterium during the hydroxyla­ involves gene mutation, the second, other tion of aromatic compounds, commonly Dr. Jerlna also was the 1979 recipient of the genetic damage including aneuploidy (mis­ termed the "NIH shift." Hillebrand Prize from the American Chemical Society and has published nearly 300 papers matched number of chromosomes), and He and his colleagues were the first to trap during his research career. recombination of gene translocations. epoxides as metabolites of aromatic hydro­ "Perhaps the most dominant and univer­ carbons. thereby providing unequivocal evi­ Current work in the laboratory is aimed at sally acceptable theory of cancer causation," dence that the liver microsomes contain the identification of compounds capable of Dr. Tennant said, "centers on the mutation enzymes that catalyze the formation of blocking the tumorigenic activity of polycyc­ tneory that an outside agent induces a epoxides. lic aromatic hydrocarbons. Ellagic acid, a change in genes. and given certain other fac­ Ors. Jerina and John W. Daly also discov­ naturally occurring plant phenol found in tors, a tumor arises." ered epoxide hydrolase, an enzyme which such common foods as grapes, tea, and cof­ This theory has been used in developing catalyzes the conversion of arene oxides into fee, is one of those compounds. bacterial tests for mutagenicity, as a screen­ trans-di hydrodiols. It has been found to be very effective in ing tool for predicting carcinogenicity, and Dr. Jerina is also known for his work on inhibiting mutagenic activity of the carcino­ for selecting agents for further study. The the Bay-Region Theory, performed with col­ genic bay-region diol epoxide of benzo(a)p­ most commonly employed test uses Salmo­ leagues at N IH and in collaboration with yrene in vitro. nella bacteria and was developed by Dr. others at Hoffman-La-Roche. Dr. Jerina received his B.A. in chemistry Bruce Ames of the University of California at This theory predicts the sites responsible from Knox College in 1962 and his Ph.D. in Berkeley, whose work is supported in part by for mutagenicity of the various polycyclic organic c hemistry from Northwestern Uni­ NIEHS. hydrocarbon oxides and is important in versity in 1966. He joined the NIH as a staff At NIEHS, Dr. Errol Zeiger has further forecasting the carcinogenic potential of fellow the same year, and assumed his cur­ developed the Salmonella test for screening hydrocarbon metabolites. rent position as section chief in 1973. □ environmental substances for mutagenicity. Dr. Henrich V. Malling, Laboratory of Genetics, has been investigating mutagene­ Dr. David Cohen Wins Leukemia Society Fellowship sis in mammalian organ systems f or nearly 20 years. His laboratory has developed a Dr. David I. Cohen of the National Institute based on his ability to conduct scientific method of detecting mutant cells using fluo­ of A llergy and Infectious Diseases was research into leukemia and related rescent molecules to flag antibodies. recently awarded a 2-year. $30,000 fellow­ disorders. Dr. Malling is o ne of the founders of the ship by the Leukemia Society of America. During the grant period, which began in Environmental Mutagen Information Center Dr. Cohen, of NIAi D's Laboratory of July, he w ill concentrate on immunology sponsored by NIEHS at the Oak Ridge Immunology, was c hosen for this honor research- the study of the body's immune National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. defense system against d isease in order to "The second theory proposes that some bolster its own natural ability to fight cancers arise through alteration of gene leukemia. regulation," Dr. Tennant said. "There is par­ Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Dr. Cohen ticularly good evidence of this for skin received his M.D. degree in 1977 from Har­ cancer and for leukemias which arise from vard Medical School. He graduated in 1972 formative or stem cells. This proposes that from Harvard University with an .6-. B. degree the cell has an innate tendency that may be in biochemistry. triggered by time alone." Before joining N IAID, he served his intern­ Interest in short-term testing and valida­ ship and residenty in internal medicine at tion is worldwide. A recent major interna­ Washington University/ Barnes Hospital, St. tional effort in short-term testing evaluated Lo u is. □ 25 tests involving 42 substances, both known carcinogens and noncarcinogens. The U.S. Free Meditation Lectures Offered representative on the study's coordinating Two introductory lectures on transcenden­ committee was Dr. Frederick de Serres, tal meditation will be presented by the R&W NIEHS associate director for genetics. TM club on Thursday, Sept. 30, at noon, and Various test systems based on alternate 4:30 p.m. in Bldg. 31, C-wing, sixth floor, theories of carci nogenesis will be further Conf. Rm. 9. For further information, call developed by NIEHS as a test battery for Dr. Cohen was one of 33 highly skilled John Knight, 496-5361 . □ screening substances to determine whic h researchers selected to receive the fellowship this chemicals should be selected for long-term year, all of whom are at the Intermediate or (2-year) tests using laborato ry animals. D advanced stages of their medical careers. I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say.- Calvin Coolidge □

September 28, 1982 The NIH Record Page 7 Metabolism Study on Chinese People New Sequencing Data Bank Suggests Genetic Processing Difference Will Start in Los Alamos A 5-year, $3.2 million contract, coordi­ nated by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, has been awarded for the purposes of creating and maintaining a new data bank on base molecules in nucleic acids. In recent years, modern techniques for analyzing nucleic acids have led to an explo­ sion of data concerning the composition of DNA and RNA molecules. These data are crucial to understanding the complex genetic information held by DNA and transmitted by RNA to cell struc­ tures where life processes are carried out. The sequences (or order) of some 750,000 base molecules in several hundred nucleic acids have been determined-a number that may grow at an exponential rate in the near future. Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., of Cam­ bridge, Mass., prime contractor, will collect, organize and supply data in this rapidly growing area. The company is collaborating with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where a pilot project to collect nucleic acid sequences has been active over the past 3 L to r: Ors. Chang, Rudorfer, Potter, Lane and Zhang compared the metabolic rates of visiting Chinese years. scientists with American Caucasians to evaluate hydroxylation of trlcycllc antidepressant drugs. BBN will distribute information to sub­ A genetic difference in metabolism appar­ Or. Potter added that the finding will per­ scribing institutions and scientists via mag­ ently accounts for the use of lower doses of mit development of predictive tests for tailor­ netic tape, an annual printed compendium, lricyclic antidepressant drugs in China than ing drugs to the requirements of different and limited computer- based online access. in the West, according to National Institute populations. Use of tricyclics as neuroendo­ Researchers at Los A lamos will gather, of Mental Health scientists. crine probes may also help resolve a ques­ annotate, and organize the data. Readily An intramural study has confirmed earlier tion about the prevalence of depression in available sequence information will help suspicions that the breakdown of such drugs China. scientists, particularly geneticists and by enzymes in the liver- a process called Refinement of such knowledge into pre­ molecular biologists, build a foundation for hydroxylation-tends to be slower among dictive tests of drug response promises a further advances in biomedical research. Chinese than among Caucasians, suggest­ shortcut to determining dosages for the Cosponsors ot the new data bank project ing probable hereditary differences. large and growing array of cardiovascular are NIGMS, the National Institute of Allergy One of the first substantive outgrowths of and psychoactive drugs that are metabolized and Infectious Diseases, the National Cancer the U.S.-China Cooperative Agreement on by hydroxylation, noted Dr. Potter. Institute, the Division of Research Resour­ Health, the study at NIMH employed visiting Without such a theory or model, proper ces, the National Science Foundation, the scientists from China as both investigators dosages for each new drug could be deter­ Department of Energy, and the Department and subjects, and was conducted on mined only by painstaking and sometimes of Defense. campus. risky trial and error over times in each Coprinc ipal investigators are Dr. Howard In collaboration with Ors. Mingdao Zhang population. Bilofsky of BBN and Or. Walter Goad of the and Wen-Ho Chang, visiting scientists at Research psychiatrists are also intrigued Los Alamos National Laboratory. □ NIMH under the 1980 agreement, Ors. Wil­ by the prospect of using desipramine liam Potter and Mathew Rudorfer of NIM H's response as a biological marker for depres­ Clinical Psychobiology Branch, and Dr. Eli­ sion in China. Americans diagnosed as zabeth Lane, a visiting fellow from Australia, depressed show a characteristic biochemical compared the metabolism of a single dose of abnormality, blunted growth hormone levels, desipramine in a sample of 16 Americans after a single dose of the d rug. and 14 Chinese. Most of the latter were NIH Ors. Zhang and Chang now will be able to visiting scientists. train other Chinese investigators in how to Traces of the drug and by-products of its perform the growth hormone assay and to breakdown were measured daily in blood carry out the clinical protocol. They plan to and urine samples over a 5-day period. The screen Chinese patient populations tor the substances took longer to c lear the body abnormal desipramine response upon their among the Chinese. return to China. This suggests that genes determining Dr. Potter hopes the studies will eventually rates of hydroxylation for the large class of help determine the prevalence of depression drugs represented by desipramine are in China. Chinese psychiatrists, particularly expressed according to a "trimodal" in the northern province, report surprisingly distribution. few cases of depression, perhaps due to dif­ "Some Chinese are slow and some are ferent diagnostic schemes or social stigma intermediate. Some Caucasions are rapid surrounding the illness. The National Eye Institute recently presented special achievement awards to publlc Information and some intermediate. But very rarely are "We need to compare populations across specialist Claudia S. Feldman (r) and editorial Caucasians slow or Chinese rapid in symptoms, taking a neutral view, free of lan­ assistant Margaret W. Strock. The two Office of hydroxylation rates," explained Dr. Lane. guage issues, and simply ask: Are biological Scientific R eporllng staff members were recog­ The slower metabolic activity results in markers which are abnormal in Caucasian nized for their vital role In planning and carrying relatively higher levels of the drugs remain­ depressives also abnormal in Chinese?" said out an NEI Information project to disseminate ing in the body, and hence requires a lower Dr. Potter. findings from the Senile Macular Degeneration dosage, said Dr. Rudorfer. - Jules Asher D Study.

Page 8 The NIH Record September 28, 1982 Rimantadine Found 'Drug of Choice' For Preventing Influenza A Infection Two related drugs, amantadine and influenza-like illnesses were not caused by rimantadine, effectively protect against influenza A viruses. but by other organisms influenza A infection, but rimantadine pro­ not receptive to these medications. duces significantly fewer side effects, CNS side effects developed in 13.1 per­ according to a recent study. cent of the volunteers receiving amantadine, These results suggest that rimantadine is 6.1 percent of rimantadine recipients, and the d rug of choice for prevention from 4.1 percent of placebo recipients. The influenza A. Until now, the effectiveness of frequency of other side effects, such as rimantadine had not been documented in a gastrointestinal problems, was the same for strictly controlled, large clinical trial. all groups. Amantadine has been approved for pre­ CNS side effects were responsible for a vention and treatment of influenza A since higher rate of withdrawal by amantadine 1976, but has not been widely used. Riman­ recipients from the study. (Of amantadine tadine is approved only for experimental recipients, 22.1 percent withdrew, compared use although it is used abroad, particularly with 10.8 percent of placebo recipients, and in the Soviet Union. 9.5 percent of rimantadine recipients.) In this study with young, healthy volun­ Time-Life Books recently expressed appreciation No Symptoms Evident teers. both drugs were effective. but aman­ to the various NIH information offices for assist­ tadine produced more central nervous Laboratory tests on all volunteers ance provided during 1981 In the preparation of their Library of Health series. The Parents of system side effects, mainly insomnia, jitteri- revealed that several had evidence of influenza A infection even though they had Preschoolers, Inc., daycare centers for children of had no symptoms of illness. Both drugs NIH employees, received a $1,000 gift, which NIH Deputy Director Dr. Thomas E. Malone (r), seemed less effective in preventing infection presented to Sherrie Ruddick, NIH Preschool with influenza A virus than in preventing Developmental Program director. infection-associated illness. Compared with placebo, rimantadine reduced the rate of infection 65.7 percent. Amantadine reduced this rate 74.4 percent. Dr. Donald Whedon This phenomenon may be desirable, how­ Honored at Farewell Party ever, If these subclinical (inapparent) Infec­ tions provide immunity to subsequent Dr. G. Donald Whedon. senior scientific infections with the same or related influenza advisor, NIADDK, and former Director of the A viruses. Institute was recently honored at a farewell The scientists recommend that additional party given in his honor by former staff studies be done to determine whether members. results, including the low rate of side At the party, Dr. Whedon announced that effects, would be similar in elderly or other on Oct. 4, he will be going to the Kroc Foun­ high risk persons. dation in Santa Barbara, Calif., as a senior The influenza A virus examined by the Centers This study was supported by contract associate and director of their conference for Disease Control in 1977 is magnified 118,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and program. In addition to his duties at the times in this photo. Infectious Diseases.The investigators. Ors. foundation, Dr. Whedon will have an ness, and difficulty in concentrating. The Raphael Dolin, Richard C. Reichman, H. appointment as adjunct professor of medi­ side effects diappeared however. within 48 Paul Madore, Raina Maynard, R.N., Pamela cine at UCLA. hours alter medication was discontinued. M. Linton, R.N., and Joan Webber-Jones, Dr. Whedon said that he has mixed feel­ Scientists at the University of Vermont R.N., reported their findings i n the Sept. 2, ings about moving on since the Institute has College of Medicine began their study 1982, issue of the New England Journal of been like a family to him. during the early stages of a 1981 influenza Medicine. □ " I really appreciate the show of affection I outbreak in Burlington, Vt. Four hundred have received over the past years and I hope and fifty volunteers, aged 18 to 45 years. your new Director. Dr. Lester B. Salans, will were enrolled in a controlled double-blind Flu Virus Vaccine receive the same." trial. Available to Employees Study participants were given tablets twice a day for 6 weeks. One-third received The Occupational Medical Service, Div­ amantadine; one-third received rimantadine; ision of Safety, will offer influenza virus vac­ and one-third received a placebo, an inac­ cine to employees who, because of preexist­ tive substance. ing conditions, are more susceptible to the Both rimantadine and amantadine were disease and to secondary infections. effective in preventing influenza-like illness, These conditions include heart disease; defined as a cough and/or fever, and at chronic lung disease such as bronchitis, least two of the following symptoms-sore emphysema and severe asthma; chronic kid­ throat, headache, or muscle aches. ney disease: and diabetes mellitus. When compared with placebo, rimanta­ Vaccination is also recommended for per­ dine reduced the rate of illness 65 percent, sons aged 65 and over because of the high and amantadine reduced the rate 78.2 mortality rate of influenza victims in that age percent. group. The vaccine is also available for all The ~fleets were even more striking when employees who have direct patient care. the investigators analyzed the reduced rates For more information about the influenza of laboratory-confirmed influenza A illness. virus vaccine, call your OMS Health Unit or Ri mantadine decreased this rate by 85.4 private physician. The vaccine w ill be given Sally L. Nichols, former secretary to Dr.Whedon, percent. and amantadine lowered the rate from Oct. 18 to Nov. 30 in Bldg. 31, Rm. presented him with a certificate during the by 91.2 percent, when compared with B2B47 and the Westwood Building Health farewell party proclaiming their former Director placebo. Unit. as well as the OMS Evening Clinic. "number one" in their opinion. These findings also indicate that some

September 28, 1982 The NIH Record Page 9 Medical, Dental Students Complete l First CC Summer Research Fellow Program Fifty-two medical and dental students from various parts of the country recently ended their participation in the first NIH Summer Research Fellowship program. Sponsored by the Clinical Center, the students conducted research in selected areas of laboratory investigation and attended lectures and seminars to enhance their education and develop investigative skills. The program is designed to make medical students aware of NIH research programs and provide them with quality laboratory training. It is hoped that the program will boost the number of medical professionals who choose research as a career. "To develop Mr. Krause was sponsored by NIAID and worked scientific leadership, it is vitally important to on the hybridization of viruses In an effort to introduce outstanding medical students to develop techniques to detect viral intectlon. research programs early in their medical brain tumor cells taken from surgical speci­ training," said Dr. Jay R. Shapiro, Acting mens and grown in tissue culture. CC Director. She then used a computer to determine This may prove of exceptional value in results of a given treatment. Results of this Mr. Mallard worked with NIDA testing basophilic study are part of a project to determine if terms of helping NIH to maintain an appli­ leukemia cells. cant pool of quality physicians who aspire tissue cultures can be used to determine to careers in academic medicine," he added. efflux of calcium from the cells. optimal patient treatment. The fellows were chosen from more than Mr. Millard completed his undergraduate "Research and dentistry are entirely dif­ 300 applicants to work in one of seven work at Montana State University in Boze­ ferent disciplines." Mr. Millard said, "and it's man. He fulfilled his fellowship with the Institutes participating in the program. They to.., early for me to decide between the two. were each assigned preceptors who National Institute of Dental Research. As his "But this experience has opened my eyes first experience in Washington, he has directed their research projects. to the fact that research is available as an enjoyed many of the cultural and recrea­ James Alexander, CC EEO coordinator, alternative career. A career of 60 percent organized the program and arranged a tional aspects of the area along with his practice and 40 percent research seems like scientific training. publicity effort that included sending noti­ a nice combination." D Neither the Washington area nor NIH are ces about the program and brochures to students, as well as personal visits to new to Lisa Battle, a summer research fellow with the National Institute of Neuro­ Swedish Pediatrician medical and dental schools. Starts Fellowship Philip Krause, a third-year medical stu­ logical and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, who is a third-year medical student dent at Yale University from Urbana, Ill., Dr. Steffan Cullheim. a pediatrician at the became aware of the program when he at Howard University. From Lothian, Md., Ms. Battle previously Huddinge Hospital, Karolinska Institute!, received a brochure in the mail. Stockholm, Sweden, began a Fogarty Inter­ "I wanted to go into research, but I'd worked in the Baltimore Cancer Research program in microbiology and neurology. national Center research fellowship on Sept. never worked in a lab," he said. "I thought 3. this would be a good opportunity." Mr. This summer she conducted both clinical and laboratory research. He will be under the preceptorship of Dr. Krause completed his undergraduate work Robert Burke in the Laboratory of Neural and received a master's degree in computer "The program has been designed so that we're not just another pair of hands, we're Control, NINCDS. The title of his research science from the University of Chicago. He project is Studies on Excitatory Synaptic has found the program beneficial. actually getting research under our belts," Inputs to A- Motoneutons. □ " It has been an excellent experience," he she said. " It has been excellent- the lab said. " It has given me the basis for the type experience has been very positive, " Ms. of thinking needed to be a research scien­ Battle said. tist and a good background into NIH." Her work this summer involved determin­ Sponsored by the National Institute of ing chemotherapy sensitivity on patient Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Mr. Krause worked on hybridization of viruses, which involves combining strands of DNA from different virus particles in the hope of developing rapid diagnostic techniques for virus infections. Garry Millard, a first-year dental student at the University of Minnesota from Great Falls, Mont., found the program a positive experience. He considers it well organized and func­ tional and particularly enjoyed the Wednes­ day aftenoon seminar speakers-such as Dr. Julius Axelrod, an NIMH Nobel Prize winner. Mr. Millard's research project centered on testing basophilic leukemia cells for histam­ Trudy Axllrod, former technical lnlomation spe­ ine release, and the role of calcium flux ,. cialist in the Division of Research Grants, retired which is required for histamine release in Aug. 27 after 20'1, years of service at NIH. She the cells. He developed an experiment that Ms. Battle did both cllnlcal and laboratory receives congratulations and best wishes from uses radioactive calcium to monitor the research with NINCDS during her 1ellowship William Holliman, chief, Research Documentation program. Section, Statistics and Analysis Branch, DAG.

Page 10 The NIH Record September 28, 1982 Aluminum: An Insidious Contibution to Alzheimer's Disease? A major new finding reported in the Sept. 10 issue of Science has linked the results of two separate avenues of research on Alz­ heimer's d isease-research that suggests that aluminum may contribute to the dis­ ease's development, and research that probes the excess incidence of dementia in three separate populations. Alzheimer's dis­ ease is the most common form of "senility" among the elderly. In a decade marked by major advances in the fields of neuroscience and aging research, scientists have employed a variety of methods to investigate the possible cause(s) of A lzheimer's d isease. T heir studies have looked at the roles of heredity, trace metals, deleterious c hanges in brain c hemistry, and slow-acting viruses, as well as the effect of changes in the aging immune system. This latest finding focuses on the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, the presence of tangled fibers in the brain cells of victims. With grant support from the National Insti­ tute on Aging, Dr. Daniel P. Perl of the Uni­ versity of Vermont has extended his earlier findings of accumulations of aluminum within the affected nerve cells of subjects Aluminum Is one of the most abundant of the Earth's elements. It Is In the air, In the soll In which loods are grown, as well as In certain commercial products. It may be that high Intake of aluminum showing the c lassic neurofibrillary tangles of over a long period of time, coupled with chronic low Intake of vllal minerals, such as calcium and Alzbeimer's dementia. magnesium, ultimately leads lo Alzheimer's disease, particularly among the elderly. Dr. Perl and Ors. D. Carleton Gajdusek, Ralph M. Garruto, Richard T . Yanagihara, ilarities between the parkinsonism-dementia the environment provokes an accumulation and Clarence J. Gibbs, J r., of the NINCDS syndrome and the presenile form of Alzhei­ of metal ions within brain tissue. report the new finding of high accumulations mer's dementia. In both disorders, there is Samples of garden soil and drinking water of aluminum, iron and calcium in the brains an excessive accumulation of neurofibrillary in Guam, as well as in parts of Japan and of Chamorro natives of Guam who have died tangles in the brains of victims that is asso­ New Guinea that are similarly plagued by of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or c iated with severe dementia and death. high incidences of ALS and dementia, indi­ parkinsonism-dementia. T hese latest findings reconfirm Dr. Perl's cate low levels of calcium and magnesium This population is adversely affected by earlier work in support of studies linking and unusually high levels of aluminum. these two chronic disorders, both of which high concentrations of aluminum in the Scientists have never been able to prove were previously suspected to be transmitted brain t o the development of neurofibrillary that aluminum alone predisposes a person by a slow-acting virus. tangles, as well as work of Japanese investi­ to, or causes, Alzheimer's disease. For several years, Dr. Gajdusek and his gators in both Guam and Japan. Future studies will determine whether NINCDS colleagues have been studying the They also lend support to a developing accumulations of metals in the brain are a possi ble implications of Guam's environ­ hypothesis that environmental factors may primary cause of Alzheimer's disease. or if mental deficiency in calcium and magne­ be an underlying cause of the ALS and other factors o r circumstances might com­ sium and excess of aluminum and other dementia so prevalent in Guam. bine w ith environmental factors to trigger metals. NIN CDS scientists are exploring the pos­ the onset of chronic, but ultimately fatal, Aging researchers have kept a watchful sibility that secondary hyperparathyroidism d iseases of the nervous system. □ eye on studies in Guam because of the sim- caused by lack of calcium and magnesium in

Roger B. Mack Made CC Program Coordinator for NIH Nursing Unit Roger B. Mack, former chief of the respi­ up the area considerably. II now has 12 res­ ratory therapy section of the Critical Care piratory therapists, compared with o nly three Medicine Department of the Clinical Center, when he first came to the CC. was recently selected as a program As a nursing student, Mr. Mack became coordinator. interested in the mechanics of respiratory CC program coordinators work closely therapy. He was certified as a respiratory with the medical and nursing staff on the therapist by the National Board of Respira­ patient care units. They have assumed many tory Therapy and has been a member of the administrative duties previously taken care American Association for Respiratory Ther­ of by the nursing staff, allowing nurses more apists since 1963. □ time for direct patient care. These duties include monitoring the unit's safety and environment, and planning unit design and OMS Presents Program on Friendship renovation. The Employee Assistance Program of the They were also responsible for the unit's supply levels and equipment. Mr. Mack will Occupational Medical Service, Division of be responsible for coordinating all the nurs­ Safety, will present a program called Friend­ ing units for the National Institute of Mental ship: The First Relationship o n Mo nday, Oct. Health. 4, in Bldg. 31, Rm. 83C02C from noon to 1 He came to the CC as a respiratory thera­ After a 2-week training period, Mr. Mack began his p.m. For further information, call Mo rris pist in 1966. He was appointed chief of that new job as nursing program coordinator for NIMH Schapiro, 496-3164. D Sept. 7. section a year later and since then has built

September 28, 1982 The NIH Record Page 11 Pigeon Breeders' Disease Study May Create Lung Disorders Model The triggers of allergic lung diseases are in the home and in white collar businesses, in grain silos and in freight cars, even in pigeon cot es. Regardless of the source, the effects are -uo OJOJZ-U I c, (1) - ~0::!!?_C always the same- impaired breathing, ::) :::, :;co - · 2:: WO (l) • 0 - · ~~ ;:; iii. 0 I"'" )> coughing, fever, and chills-the symptoms enw=> -I ::0 '< - g-~~I I -I of a broad class of disorders called hyper­ - OJ Q~ - :0 - (l) Ro s:: sensitivity pneumonitis. ~8~~ Some people exposed to these allergens ....,-0 ::)-· 11>3~-:T I~ -·(1) C: -I develop symptoms and others do not. The < en -< c (/) !!?. en - N - ('I) S:: o (1) reason, according to researchers at the ~OJ~ < ~ "T1 C a. 6 o o· Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, en NW-(1) (1) 0 en is that some people maintain a natural I\) I m defense, cells that specifically suppress the EA 0 (1) JJ w u, ~ < effects of allergens. 8 g 0 When these cells- suppressor T­ men lymphocytes-fail to suppress the immune response, antibodies and sensitized cells Carl C. Gill, MIiwaukee pigeon breeder, has been very cooperative recruiting 1ellow breeders to attack and damage lung tissue, leading to ln participate In allergy tests at the Division of the symptoms of hypersensitivity pneumoni­ Research Resources-supported General Clinical tis, says Dr. Jordan Fink, c hief of the allergy Research Center. and immunology section in the MCW blood of asymptomatic subjects than in the department of medicine. blood of patients with the clinical signs of In studying pigeon breeders' disease, a the disease lung allergy caused by inhaled pigeon Dr. Fink believes this heightened activity matter, Dr. Fink and his colleagues discov­ in asymptomatic subjects occurs through­ ered that a population of suppressor cells out the body. If his hypothesis proves to be is active in the blood of healthy pigeon correct, the research may lead to an breeders, but not in the blood of patients effective treatment or c ure for hypersensitiv­ with symptoms of the allergy. ity pneumonitis. Although pigeon breeders' disease affects The study of pigeon breeders' disease is only a small number of people. it may be a being funded primarily by the National model for all forms of hypersensitivity Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the pneumonitis. T he symptoms are identical National Institute of Allergy and Infectious for all types of this disorder, Dr. Fink has Diseases, the Division of Research Resour­ found. A variety of bacteria, fungi, and ces. and the Veterans Administration. protozoa can cause it The only effective treatment currently available for the disease is the use of corticosteroids, which can cause hyperten­ sion, decalcification of bone and numerous other adverse effects when used for a long time. To make management even more difficult, neither avoidance nor treatment with corti­ costeroids is always enough. Symptoms may persist in some patients, leading to chronic lung disease, which reduces the patient to a "pulmonary c ripple," says Dr. Fink. With pigeon breeders' disease as a model, the Milwaukee researchers hope to under­ stand the defect that inactivates suppressor cells and makes people susceptible to Dr. Fink reports that preliminary evidence sug­ gests that the activity of suppressor T-cells In the allergens. lungs of symptomatic pigeon breeders is nol Patients with pigeon breeders' disease adequate to control the immune response to show clear-cut signs of the disease, thereby pigeon antigens. simplifying the diagnosis. Willing pigeon These microorganisms can invade virtu­ breeders participate in the research. provid­ ally every segment of society. They live in ing financial support through their national the heating and cooling systems of homes organization and traveling across the nation or businesses, contaminating the air to the ORR-supported General Clinical Re­ breathed by residents or employees. search Center in Milwaukee. They may be present in foodstuffs such In continuing their study of the disease, as grain and malt, exposing farmers and the first priority of Dr. Fink and his handlers on loading docks and in breweries colleagues is to design a screening method to airborne allergens. for identifying susceptible individuals. At present, the hypothesis that the activity Their next priority is to design a therapy, of suppressor cells is the major determinant one that will reactivate the protective mech­ of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in pigeon anism that is dormant in patients with the breeders is primarily supported by tests disease. □ indicating greater suppressor activity in the U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1982- 341-134/2

Page 12 The NIH Record September 28, 1982