August 7, 2020 Vol. LXXII, No. 16

have the team assembled. It’s been difficult for us to keep our projects advancing in the laboratory. No one knows when we’re going PROGRESS PAUSED to come back full speed and that really affects our ability to get our science to the top of Scientists Describe Research Mount Everest. The covid pause has intro- Reboot After Covid Shutdown duced a major, major setback.” BY CARLA GARNETT Shutting Down Beginning Mar. 20, to reduce the risk of Imagine laboring many months toward a Shown BC (before covid), NCI’s Laboratory rare goal. All the planning, all the prep work of Cell Biology, led by NIH deputy director for coronavirus transmission, NIH shut down intramural research Dr. Michael Gottesman all but mission-critical functions in all its and your team finally finds itself poised, with (front), returned to campus as part of Group A. the objective within reach, when suddenly laboratories and facilities nationwide. More the journey is halted in its tracks. That’s how you get there, the team has to coordinate to than 3 months later, on June 22, the first one longtime intramural scientist describes go for the summit. The summit is the sort of labs—those with specific functions that could NIH’s recent 13-week lab shutdown due to major accomplishment we try to achieve for a not be performed elsewhere and designated the global coronavirus pandemic. scientific program. Usually, it’s a manuscript “Group A”—began returning to physical “It’s like climbing Mount Everest,” said or a set of experiments that are going to make worksites under strict safety guidelines and senior investigator Dr. Charles Venditti, a major advance…Well, a lot of us were at base with significant restrictions. who heads NHGRI’s organic acid research camp. Then came covid, and we had to just Days later, several scientists in Group A section. “It’s just a long, long struggle, just stop everything. Now we’re just dwindling; described the unprecedented period from a researcher’s perspective. trying to get to base camp. And then when we can’t have everybody come in and we can’t SEE REBOOT, PAGE 6

CORONAVIRUS AVALANCHE ‘A HUGE SANDBOX’ Covid-19 Lessons from the How Computational Tools Can Austrian Alps Guide Us Through a Pandemic BY RICH MCMANUS BY DANA TALESNIK

Two or 3 years There’s a flood ago—at least of epidemi- it feels like ological data that—the town pouring in daily of Ischgl in the on Covid-19. Austrian Alps The challenge was hosting a is figuring out lively après- how to integrate Dr. Fauci tosses first pitch at Nats Park, p. 12. ski nightlife. this deluge of It was early data with all ALSO THIS ISSUE March 2020, its variables Briefs...... 2 and busloads into a useable Trainee Writes Children’s Book on Viruses. . .3 of vacationers format. That’s from nearby Dr. John Holmes where statistical NINDS, Nonprofits Gather Virtually . . . . . 5 Dr. Dorothee von Laer slopes were modeling and Digest...... 9 flocking to the machine learning come in. Milestones...... 11 town’s bars, boosting a normal population “There’s a huge sandbox with regard to of 1,867 residents into something north of how much data we’ve got and how much is Seen...... 12 SEE VON LAER, PAGE 4 SEE HOLMES, PAGE 10 BRIEFS

Webinar on Dietary Assessment Methodology for Risk of Chronic Disease The Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) will hold a Methods: Mind the Gap webinar with Dr. Katherine L. Tucker on the issues in dietary assessment meth- odology for determining risk of chronic disease. It will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 11 a.m. The current epidemic of chronic disease, which is growing globally, is clearly associated with adequacy of dietary intake. However, limitations in dietary assessment mean that uncertainty remains for many aspects of diet and health. Improving dietary assessment methods is, therefore, a major priority. Tucker is a professor of nutritional epidemiology

Collins Participates in Motorcycle Ride for Charity NIH director Dr. Francis Collins recently “had a great time meeting up on my Harley with more than a dozen motorcycle riders as part of a recent charity event that raised more than $5,000 for the Federal Employees Education and Assistance Fund and Friends of Patients at the NIH. The fundraising drive, held on June 26, started in Fairfax, Va., rolled into Montgomery County and made its way to Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park for lunch and ceremonies.” At left, Collins says hello to Narisu Narisu (l), a bioinformatics scientist with the National Human Genome Research Institute, and Darryl Leja (r), NHGRI’s visual information specialist. The photo at right shows the group out for a ride. For more on the event, visit https://federalnewsnetwork.com/tom-temin-federal-drive/2020/07/the-nih- director-an-inside-the-beltway-superstar-with-an-m-d-ph-d-and-a-harley/.

Dr. Katherine L. Tucker NIDDK, Dr. Robert D. Shamburek of NHLBI and Dr. Although HTS is used in labs across the country, Lee Weinstein of NIDDK. little has been done to decrease its material waste, partly because the number of plastic products used in the department of biomedical and nutritional Registration is required and can be found at in each HTS experiment could not be reduced. The sciences and director of the Center for Population https://faes.org/events/ENDO-2020. best way to cut the overall use of plastic products Health at UMass Lowell’s Zuckerberg College of was to develop a way to reuse them. Carleen Health Sciences, with an adjunct appointment at NCATS’s ‘Green Champion’ Reduces Klumpp-Thomas, research services core (RSC) and University of Massachusetts Medical School. Her Plastic Waste in Labs automation lead for NCATS’s intramural program, research focuses on dietary intake and risk of Even the most routine NIH science experiments can did just that. chronic disease, including osteoporosis, cognitive leave behind a big environmental footprint—from She spent 5 years optimizing and improving decline, obesity, metabolic syndrome and heart high-powered equipment running around the clock disease, with an emphasis on health disparities. protocols for various applications by running to non-reusable lab supplies. This is especially true experiments with the RSC team utilizing different Registration is required at prevention.nih. of experiments happening at NCATS. detergents, instruments and washing processes. gov/education-training/methods-mind-gap/ One of the Once she found the best cleaning protocols, she issues-dietary-assessment-methodology-as- center’s major worked closely with NCATS biologists to ensure sessing-risk-chronic-disease. The webinar will be programs involves the reused HTS products performed just as well as recorded and available on the ODP website within high-throughput new ones. In fact, her results were so impressive about a week. screening (HTS), that the reused plastic products occasionally an approach that outperformed the new ones. An added bonus: FAES Endocrinology Course Set lets scientists The cleaning techniques didn’t require any new equipment. The Foundation for Advanced Education in the test the potential Sciences endocrinology update review course usefulness of “Carleen has essentially turned what were once will be held virtually Oct. 5-9. This fully online thousands of consumables into resources that can be used class will cover the development of efficient and compounds at a multiple times, saving NCATS thousands of dollars cost-effective approaches to the clinical, laboratory time. While HTS that have been reinvested into experimentation and radiologic diagnosis of endocrine diseases, can significantly as opposed to buying more consumables,” said with emphasis on recent advances. The course will speed up the NCATS director Dr. Christopher Austin. search for poten- provide case studies as well as examples of exam For these reasons, Klumpp-Thomas was selected as questions. Carleen Klumpp-Thomas tial new drugs, it produces a lot a Department of Health and Human Services Green The weeklong review will include presentations and of waste. It uses Champion for Operational Efficiency. problem sets from experts in the field. Tentative nearly a billion pieces of single-use plastic plates For more information about her work, emails can speakers include Dr. Beverly Biller of Massachusetts and pipette tips every year, costing money and be sent to [email protected]. General Hospital, Dr Ranganath Muniyappa of producing tons of trash.

2 • NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 wavelength of light, yet they’re responsible for Trainee Writes Children’s everything that keeps our bodies moving and healthy,” she said. “Being able to see them on a Book About Viruses molecular level is very important right now. The BY DANA TALESNIK structures of the SARS-CoV-2 viral protein are being used to help with drug targeting and trying Most of us rarely think about viruses until these to determine how to inactivate the virus.” microscopic nuisances upend our lives. These past few months have been fraught with confusion and Margolis wants her book to convey that viruses can frustration and, as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, be scary, amazing and cool all at the same time. we continue grappling with uncertainties. It’s hard “I want kids to be excited by this stuff,” she said. enough for adults to make sense of it all, let alone Covid-19 “has real implications in the world and explaining it to children. we need to take it seriously. But it’s also okay to For kids won- sit back, enjoy the illustrations and think: virus dering why their structures are really cool-looking.” school shut down, Cover of Margolis’s online children’s book The free online book is available at https:// why everyone is shows the spiky coronavirus. Another digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/cgi/viewcontent. illustration appears below. suddenly wearing cgi?article=1000&context=student_projects. masks and why they can’t hug ages. She wrote it with younger kids in mind but grandma, there’s included informative sidebars—on SARS-CoV-2, a new resource. DNA/RNA, the history of microscopes, the impor- Hannah Margolis, tance of vaccines—for the more inquisitive older a 2020 Dartmouth kids. Parents may learn a few things too. College graduate The information “is not necessarily difficult to who’s now a understand,” said Margolis. “It’s just stuff that you postbaccalaureate might not have heard since high school biology or fellow at NIH, has maybe you didn’t learn it at all. Even as an adult, it written a children’s can be helpful to have a basic refresher on viruses book titled What Is right now.” a Virus?, available for free online. Raised in a small town in Nevada, Margolis writes a regular guest column for her hometown paper, “When the Hannah Margolis the Elko Daily Free Press. She wasn’t sure if people pandemic started, back home would be interested in the science I was very frus- behind the pandemic, but they were. trated because my school shut down and I knew ON THE COVER: Mouse, trachea, scanning electron all these other schools were shutting down as well. “There’s been this incredible public outcry of microscopy. Cilia (turquoise) microvilli on ciliated So, there were all these kids and families stuck at people wanting to understand this information,” cells (yellow) goblet cells (red). home who might not necessarily understand why,” she said. Questions began pouring in, inspiring her IMAGE: DAN SACKETT, NHGRI; JOHN BURKE, NHGRI; said Margolis, who wrote the book as a positive to write a series on Covid-19, with topics ranging PATRICIA ZERFAS, ORS; ERINA HE, ORS outlet for her frustration in between finishing her from wearing masks to herd immunity and her Dartmouth coursework remotely. favorite science field, structural biology. The NIH Record Since 1949, the NIH Record has been published “I think a lot of the problems we’ve had in the U.S. Eager to do some lab work before applying to biweekly by the Editorial Operations Branch, with people not wearing masks or washing their Office of Communications and Public Liaison, hands or following other scientific guidelines are National Institutes of Health, Department of Health partially because people just don’t understand and Human Services. For editorial policies, email where the advice is coming from, and that makes editor or phone (301) 496-2125. [covid] really hard to combat. Because you can’t Editor: Rich McManus see a virus, it’s really difficult to convince people [email protected] it’s there.” Associate Editor: Carla Garnett In the book, illustrated by Dartmouth classmate [email protected] Emily Morin, Margolis explains how a virus makes Staff Writers: us sick and how our bodies can fight back even Eric Bock • [email protected] better if we take care of ourselves. She devoted Dana Talesnik • [email protected] graduate school, Margolis arrived at NIH as an IRTA three pages to proper handwashing. In the colorful Subscribe via email: Follow: fellow and teamed up with Dr. Naoko Mizuno’s lab spread, she explained that soap destroys the [email protected] http://nihrecord.nih.gov/ protein and fat outer layer of the virus so it can no at NHLBI. The lab had moved to NIH from Germany Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps longer infect cells. in January, a few weeks before Covid-19 would The NIH Record suspend lab operations across NIH. Now, they’re is recyclable as “Knowing some basic science can really go a long busy setting up to get experiments underway. mixed paper. way to help reinforce the safety standards we need Although Margolis does not work on SARS-CoV-2, to slow down infection rates and get things back to the tools and methods used in studying proteins normal,” she said. could be applied to viruses. Margolis hopes her book will inform people of all “It’s really incredible. Proteins are smaller than a

NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 • 3 

Von Laer “[Ischgl] is a party hot-spot. People come in buses, hundreds CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 every evening. It’s a very good place for a virus…The music is 10,000. Before the month was out, more very loud, people are shouting, they are in a closed space and than 10,000 people would be infected with they’re there all night.”

SARS-CoV-2 in Ischgl, or by someone who ~DR. DOROTHEE VON LAER had visited there. But astonishingly, only two people in  Ischgl would die of Covid-19, the disease determine the seroprevalence of the virus, contagious as one would have thought,” caused by the virus, even though a subse- the incidence of cases, the number of she said. quent study by researchers at Innsbruck children infected and to trace the history of Out of all seropositive adults in the study, Medical University would show that more the outbreak, using mathematical models. only a few needed hospitalization, von Laer than 42 percent of those living in Ischgl They enrolled 1,536 people, or 82 percent continued; 83 percent did not know that carried coronavirus antibodies, among of all residents in Ischgl, testing blood for they had a previous coronavirus infection. the highest rates of seroprevalence ever viral antibodies with 4 different assays, Children, in general, became less ill detected [Bergamo, in Italy, had rates of using PCR tests on samples from throat than adults. more than 60 percent]. swabs and collecting questionnaires. Testing “The crucial event in the control of As virologist Dr. Dorothee von Laer of positive were 624 people, or 42 percent of super-spreading was closure of the bars,” she the university walked an NIH Covid-19 the study population. Blood samples from concluded. “There was a strong decline in Rt scientific interest group lecture audience the community taken in 2019, pre-pan- [a measure of how fast a virus is growing in a through a virtual reenactment of these demic, served as controls. population] after the bars closed.” events on July 1, the virus was raging The researchers also did a household As routine interventions such as social uncontrolled: more than 10 million cases analysis that included 136 children and 184 distancing and mask-wearing helped control worldwide, another 8 million to 10 million adults from 78 homes, 22 of which experi- virus spread, mathematical models conclude cases not yet diagnosed, half a million enced no infections. that the high seroprevalence significantly confirmed deaths and more than 160,000 “It was absolutely not the case that the contributed to the drastic decline of new daily new infections, as of that date. virus would sweep through the household,” infections during April, said von Laer. Yet “It’s remarkable how this little particle von Laer reported. “We find this very inter- herd immunity has not yet been reached, of around 10 nanometers can have such a esting…This group of people that were highly “despite very good virus control.” devastating effect,” she said, noting that it exposed but not infected is a population of During a Q&A session, she noted that is estimated that 1 infected cell can produce interest to us.” Ischgl’s high infection rate is much higher thousands of new virions in only 12 hours. In couples where only one person was than in the nearby ski resorts, which tend to Europe’s pandemic began in France and infected, Covid-19 was transmitted to the have a quieter nightlife. Italy, then spread to Germany and the rest of other only about half the time. “[Ischgl] is a party hot-spot,” she said. Europe, said von Laer. “Ischgl was a gateway. “That shows us that the virus is not as “People come in buses, hundreds every It set off a coronavirus avalanche.” evening. It’s a very good place for a Early in March, tourists returning from virus…The music is very loud, people are Ischgl (pronounced “ISH-guel”) to Iceland shouting, they are in a closed space and started coming down with Covid-19. On Mar. they’re there all night.” 5, authorities in Tyrol state posted a notice Von Laer was also asked if it is of risk. Five days later, all of the town’s bars worthwhile to achieve herd immunity were closed. without a vaccine, as has been proposed “There was a big exodus—everyone left in Sweden. town in 3 days, Mar. 11-13,” said von Laer. “That is an ethical and political On Mar. 14, the ski resort shut down. “From question, not a question for virologists,” Mar. 13 through the end of April, the whole she said. “But to achieve herd immunity, valley was quarantined. Forty percent of there would be at least 25,000 deaths all Covid-19 cases in Austria were traced to in a country as small as Austria. As a Ischgl.” doctor, I think that preventive measures Cellphone tracking data confirmed that are necessary and important. But if Ischgl was an epicenter of Covid-19, she said. improving the economy is worth it to “We are not very experienced with you, you can let 25,000 people die so we big clinical trials at my medical center,” can go out and buy all sorts of stuff we von Laer admitted, “but we do have a big “It’s remarkable how this little particle of around 10 don’t need.” diagnostic institute.” nanometers can have such a devastating effect,” said Von Laer, who spoke from her lab in Austria. The full lecture is available at https:// She and her colleagues set out to videocast.nih.gov/watch=38084.

4 • NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 PROGRESS VIA PARTNERSHIP in Nonprofit and Research Communities,” which focused on NINDS, Nonprofits Gather results from a survey the committee Virtually launched among the nonprofit community in the weeks leading up BY SHANNON E. GARNETT to the forum. The survey looked at the impact of Covid-19 on research, NINDS recently held its 14th nonprofit forum, patient support and nonprofit “Progress through Partnership,” drawing its largest revenue. crowd, albeit virtually, to date. More than 200 par- ticipants gathered in cyberspace via Zoom on June “Many of our organizations are real- 29-30 for the event that provided an opportunity izing reductions in revenue at this for patient advocacy groups to connect with and NINDS director Dr. Walter Koroshetz gives welcome remarks time and it comes at such a complex learn more about NINDS, NIH and each other. at Nonprofit Forum. Monica Weldon of the nonprofit executive time when researchers need our planning committee moderates a panel discussion. support,” Bliss said. “Their labs have “This is probably the most important meeting of been closed or scaled down, clinical the year for us,” said NINDS director Dr. Walter trials and clinical research studies have been paused and our patients need us more than ever.” Koroshetz. “It’s a meeting where we exchange ideas with nonprofits—the organizations that The meeting also featured two panel discussions on innovative therapeutic developments for rare represent the patients we serve. We go to scientific disorders and ways to develop clinical trials for rare diseases. The sessions, “Challenges in Therapeutic meetings where we hear about the great science, Development” and “Clinical Trials: Precision Approaches to Rare and Not So Rare Disorders,” stressed the but NINDS is not an institute that’s founded to importance of building registries, developing natural history studies, sharing data and engaging industry improve the lot of scientists. It’s an institute that’s and pharmaceutical companies. trying to improve the lot of people who suffer The next morning, NINDS deputy director Dr. Nina Schor provided an overview of NINDS’s current from neurological disorders. So, the scientists, strategic planning process. the NINDS folks and the people on this meeting are really partners in this struggle to bring new “It takes a village to do this,” she said. “The thing about strategic planning is that the process is almost treatments to patients with neurological disorders more important than the outcome. The way people get together and hear each other’s views and get each and also to prevent them.” other’s input and troubleshoot together to work out the problems and the issues and the challenges really changes an organization going forward.” She welcomed input on the plan from the nonprofit community. Koroshetz updated attendees on the current status of NINDS amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “NINDS is Nonprofit representatives got an opportunity to meet informally with NINDS program staff in breakout open for business,” he said. “We are on schedule in sessions on both days. terms of reviewing grants and sending out funds to scientists all over the country to perform research. “We travel this road together,” said Koroshetz. “We are all science advocates. We are all pushing to improve The problem is that research itself is on hold the understanding of the brain and nervous system so we can get new therapies and we do that together.” because of the pandemic. Some labs here at NIH Recordings of both days of the forum are available on NIH Videocast—https://videocast.nih.gov/ are starting to reopen, but in terms of review and watch=38056 and https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=38058. moving the research forward with funding, we are on our usual schedule.” Added Workshop Touts Power of Storytelling The meeting kicked off with a forum favorite—a This year’s nonprofit forum featured an additional workshop titled “The nonprofit’s success story in therapeutic develop- Power of Storytelling,” held on July 16; it emphasized the importance of ment. In her keynote presentation, “How CureSMA personalizing narratives in research, medicine and patient care. has made progress by building community and collaborations,” Dr. Jill Jarecki, chief scientific The virtual session included a presentation by Liz Neely, executive officer of CureSMA, shared the remarkable director of The Story Collider, a nonprofit organization devoted to scientific progress that has been made in SMA telling true, personal stories about science. She described stories as drug development. “powerful framing devices that help humans make sense of the world,” and defined them as Spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, refers to a “believable charac- group of genetic diseases that destroy motor ters experiencing Liz Neely discusses the neurons. Currently there are two FDA-approved meaningful events importance of personal drugs to treat SMA—Spinraza and Zolgensma. who must cope with narratives in science. Jarecki saId a third drug, Risdiplam, should be the consequences.” approved in August. Neely encouraged nonprofit representatives to add “One of the most important roles I think an stories to their strategic communication toolkits. advocacy group can have is encouraging collabo- “Stories are what help humans connect,” she explained. ration and bringing different groups together,” she “We all have stories. I hope you tell them and I hope you said. She provided examples of ways CureSMA has tell them well.” pursued collaboration: having annual SMA confer- ences, creating working groups from academia and A special highlight during the workshop was a story Dr. Sonia Vallabh of the Broad Institute, medicine and working with industry partners. shared by Dr. Sonia Vallabh, an associate scientist at with her husband Dr. Eric Minikel, shares her the Broad Institute, of how a genetic prion disease story during the “The Power of Storytelling” Two members of the forum’s executive planning inspired her and husband Dr. Eric Minikel to switch committee—Geraldine Bliss, president and virtual workshop. The two spoke to an NIH audience in December; see https:// their career paths to become biomedical research co-founder of CureSHANK, and Paul Gross, chair- nihrecord.nih.gov/2020/01/24/couple- scientists focused on developing preventive drugs for man and founder of the Cerebral Palsy Research turns-hand-fate-hand-hope. prion disease. Network—led a session on “Covid Challenges

NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 • 5 Reboot potential thera- frozen, experiments ceased—which we CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 peutics to treat the did for a number of ongoing experiments,” premature aging NHGRI’s Erdos said. “However, not every- Like Venditti, staff scientist Dr. Dave Hutchinson-Gilford thing can be brought to a halt. We have Kupferschmidt of NINDS’s integrative neu- progeria syndrome valuable mouse experiments in our mouse roscience section was at a crucial moment (HGPS).” model for progeria with a very encouraging when the shutdown was announced. Biggest impact DNA-editing treatment that has been going “Our lab had to shut down experiments on for over a year that continued through just as projects were beginning to crest,” he Research chemist the sequester. One HGPS bone development said. “Technical details of many experiments Dr. Rob Robey of cell culture experiment was in the middle of had recently been streamlined and we were NCI’s Laboratory Dr. Mike Erdos a 30-day differentiation [phase], which was about to enter a particularly productive of Cell Biology, able to be completed during the sequester. phase. Our experiments also require where NIH deputy We also had one very detailed collaborative complex breeding of various transgenic director for intramural research Dr. Michael experiment with the New York Stem Cell mice and often last 6-7 months from start Gottesman is chief, also experienced Foundation that we were able to get to a to finish. The “sudden progress interruptus.” stopping point, but then everything required shutdown meant “One of the most frustrating things about freezing down.” that we couldn’t shutting down was lost time on a project “I had to freeze all my cell lines down,” advance these that started getting really interesting just agreed Dr. Darawalee Wangsa Zong, NCI projects enough before Covid-19 hit,” he shared. “We work on research biologist in time to present drug resistance in cancer and we had done in the Genetics meaningful stories RNA sequencing on a cell line that had been Branch. “A few of at [virtual] confer- selected for resistance to a drug we have my colleagues had ences that many of been studying. We had some candidate genes single-cell cultures us were poised to that we were exploring as potential resis- growing and it was attend.” tance mechanisms and one of my colleagues difficult for them to Dr. Dave Kupferschmidt His lab, which sent me a paper that implicated one of the freeze those down. studies the neural genes we had been looking at—a real ‘Aha!’ One of my experi- circuit basis of normal and disordered moment—just about a week before we had ments needed to be cognition, had several initiatives underway to shut down. Even worse, the gene is poorly finished ASAP since when NIH entered lockdown mode. characterized, so there are only a handful of Dr. Darawalee Wangsa my collaborator was Zong “Many of these projects involved long- papers about it on PubMed. So for 3 months waiting on just that term neuronal recordings from mice with I could only dream up experiments and not one result before publishing. I managed to genetic mutations relevant to schizophre- actually do any of them—very frustrating for finish the experiment one day before we shut nia as they performed tests of cognitive a scientist in general, but even more so in down.” function,” Kupferschmidt explained. “Others this instance. I am making progress on this At NIH since 2004, she’s 1 of 19 people in involved monitoring and manipulating the now, but the 3 months lost is just annoying.” that lab; half the staff consists of students. activity of discrete neuronal populations Some research elements can be stored, “Our lab works with different types of in the mouse brain to study how their of course, but the loss of time—particularly cancer, particularly that of colon, breast and connections might be altered to counteract with outside collaborators, and for early-ca- cervix,” Wangsa Zong said. “I was working disordered connectivity seen in our dis- reer trainees and students—is harder to on two projects of my own, but since our lab ease-related models.” quantify and recoup. specializes in spectral karyotyping, we also In-person work stoppage came at an inop- “As we have learned from government have many outside collaborations that were portune time for NHGRI’s Dr. Mike Erdos, shutdowns in the past, everything can be put on hold.” too. He’s a staff scientist in NIH director Dr. brought down to some level—cell lines Senior investigator Dr. Daniel Reich Francis Collins’s lab. of NINDS conducts studies of multiple “I was one of the last people in the lab sclerosis, including neuroimaging, pathology, at the time of closure because I had a new biomarkers and RNA sequencing. instrument, with an engineer on site, being “Fortunately, we had no experiments installed,” Erdos said. “We have not gotten to that were lost,” he said. The major impact use it yet. The install was completed on Mar. of the shutdown was “loss of ability to do 19. Mar. 20 was our first official shutdown our normal clinical studies—mostly natural day. We have two major projects in the history studies in multiple sclerosis—and our lab—understanding the molecular genetics nonhuman primate studies, which require of type 2 diabetes pancreatic function using teams of people working together over a Dr. Daniel Reich single-cell analyses and development of several-month period.”

6 • NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 Creative loss of time and resources as this portion of interactions Safekeeping our work was able to continue and be highly with other Some labs found productive.” curious minds innovative ways to NCI senior associate scientist Dr. that lead to preserve what they Art Shaffer said he “typically does daily innovative and could. experiments to move our lymphoma productive “I am fortunate research forward. We do lots of benchwork developments to work with a experiments that we try to translate quickly in research.” very talented and to the clinic with our associated Clinical Dr. Art Shaffer Venditti creative group Center team…We do a fair amount of cell thought of Dr. Ben Free of scientists, culture experiments that tend to run for people and their families who schedule and when it was weeks. We froze what we could, but some appointments up to a year in advance to clear that a shutdown was imminent, we things in-progress were lost, probably visit NIH, and who couldn’t come during worked hard to ensure a creative continuity about three-fourths of what we were doing. shutdown. of operations even if we couldn’t be on We were also stymied by not being able to “We have two natural history studies that site,” explained NINDS staff scientist Dr. do any mouse work. We need to test drug are very, very active on rare metabolic disor- Ben Free. “We were lucky to have not lost combinations to treat cancer in mice, and ders that affect mainly pediatric patients,” any valuable reagents. We were able to that was not approved to move ahead. Much he explained. “Our laboratory does research transition the synthesis of some analogs to like a budget shutdown, 1 week lost equals 3 to try and develop new treatments for these an overseas contract research organization weeks to restore/revive. That means we’ve children. These are grave conditions and we that remained open as an essential business. got 9 months of work ahead to recover to the are following hundreds of patients from all The company then synthesized compounds point where we were in March, assuming around the world, and for them, visiting NIH under our direction so they would all be everyone can come back every day soon.” for an assessment is almost like an interven- ready for us to test upon return to the lab. Unrecoverable: Time, Experiences tional clinical trial. Most of our patients are “Furthermore,” he explained, “we were being treated with best intentions because Erdos lamented what can’t be recovered. able to contract to another commercial there are no real evidence-based practices, “The biggest impact is losing the day-to- research organization to run some selectivity as is typical for patients with rare disorders. day interaction and discussions with our testing on some lead compounds. This is an Many of the children we take care of are colleagues in the lab. Focusing while working example of how we were able to continue managed with dietary protein restriction, home alone is a good thing, but much some laboratory operations with the help cofactors and supplements. They’re teeter- creativity comes from intangible thought of industry partners. This greatly prevented ing between health and illness. We often provide advice and guidance when they participate in our natural history studies.” SKETCH AMID SHUTDOWN Reich, whose research also involves Research Champion Immortalized patients, agreed. “We aren’t open—we still Dr. Charles Venditti’s NHGRI lab includes a translational research program that can’t do our natural history studies, which conducts natural history studies on rare metabolic disorders. A large part of is frustrating both to us and to the patients. their work involves breeding and treating very sick—and very valuable—mice. It’s We hope to be able to restart our nonhuman a vital research component that is difficult to halt mid-stream—even when a pan- demic unexpectedly comes calling. Fortunately, devoted animal caretakers like primate studies with Group B, but we’re Darwin Romero, a Kelly contractor to NHGRI and Venditti lab mouse technician, nervous about how that will go.” rose to the occasion. Regarding his lab’s work with animals, Venditti saluted the dedication and diligence “Our mouse technician has just been an absolute hero for our research Livia’s portrait of program,” Venditti said. “He’s in there saving our precious mice, even on mouse technician of a technician who cared for the mice while weekends. Helping us with our critical gene therapy experiments. Acting as Darwin Romero everyone else teleworked. [See sidebar.] a missionary for our scientists to help them try to keep the science going “In addition to losing the ability remotely. It’s been amazing to see people to perform physical experiments,” step up and we’ve made real progress, despite the covid crisis, because of his efforts.” Kupferschmidt noted, “we experienced a hit in our work efficiency as a result of the So impressed with Romero’s work ethic was Venditti that his shift to telework. Our data analysis demands enthusiastic praise while teleworking inspired his youngest daugh- ter, Livia, an artist, to render a portrait of the tech. The scientist considerable computational power, and plans to present the portrait to the aptly named science technician equipping ourselves for this capability from Darwin soon. home unfortunately spanned a large chunk “Without the tireless efforts of our animal caretakers/vets and of the shutdown. All lab members and IT Dr. Charles Venditti and his especially mouse technicians—like Darwin in this time of crisis—our staff worked diligently to best facilitate daughter, artist Livia, age 14 precious animal disease models, and eventually the patients they this transition, but the massive scale of this help, would have been utterly decimated,” Venditti concluded. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 • 7 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 bring my story to completion. I also had the opportunity to shutdown created unforeseen hurdles and start writing up the results of my unavoidable backlogs.” work, so going forward I will be Considering next-generation scientists, in a better position to slot results Free observed, “One effect on our program into place more easily.” was the lost opportunity and knowledge NCI research fellow Dr. Sarah transfer for our trainees.” His lab had two Clatterbuck Soper reported, postbaccalaureate IRTA fellows who had to “Our lab is a combination wet/ leave the lab in the last days of the shutdown computational cancer genomics en route to graduate and medical school. lab with a focus on “These outstanding osteosarcoma. I students were at NIH to am mainly on the learn hands-on application of wet side, though science, designing and running I do some com- In calmer times, principal investigator and NIMH director Dr. experiments and contributing Joshua Gordon (back, 2nd from r) and his NINDS lab gather putational work. to overarching research for a photo op. These days, they’re returning to onsite work in I study alterna- stages and shifts, says Kupferschmidt (front, r). projects,” he said. tive telomere Both students worked hard maintenance in restraints necessary for a thoughtful and safe for 2 years, Free noted, only to osteosarcoma. I work in cell return.” have their projects rapidly cut lines, so I was able to freeze Says Shaffer, “Jumping back in is impos- short before they could see Dr. Sarah Clatterbuck Soper down my work. While there sible under the ‘Group A-B-C-D’ plan. We them through. “The [Office has been a ramp-up process on can only be at about one-third strength in of Intramural Training and Education] did return, it has been pretty smooth, basically the lab, which for us means you can’t be a fantastic job of providing resources for just getting my cells going again. I should be here every day. A typical lab week had been these trainees during the last few months able to begin collecting data again [soon]. 6-7 days a week; now it’s only 3. Plus, NCI to continue learning and being engaged, but It was perhaps comparable to taking a long cores—sequencing, cell sorting, etc.—are the cut-off of the projects has been particu- vacation. While shut down, I was not able not running at capacity, which also severely larly tragic for them…We also had to cancel to move my ‘main’ wet lab project forward limits everything we can do.” travel to two scientific conferences. These at all. That’s a big conferences, while extremely important for impact and obviously all scientists, are particularly valuable to frustrating.” w w w trainees for cementing future relationships and furthering their careers. It was a shame Creating a New “Everybody is hyper aware of wearing masks that both conferences were canceled and Normal the trainees who have since left the lab will Free, whose lab and keeping distance, I would say. It’s still a not have the opportunity to make up those studies development little awkward to share data in person...” experiences.” of new medications ~DR. ROB ROBEY Daniel Bronder, for dopamine-related an NCI predoctoral neurological disorders w w w fellow, focuses on such as Parkinson’s taking away the disease and psychosis, “There have been and will continue positive from the said he’s grateful that continuity of opera- to be stages to our safe re-opening,” time away from the tions plans with industry partners allowed Kupferschmidt said of the lab led by bench. the scientists to “have compounds ready to principal investigator and NIMH director “[The forced go as soon as we were allowed back in the Dr. Joshua Gordon. “Currently only a few downtime] offered lab. It will take a few weeks to get our assays lab members are coming on site with any the opportunity back up and running at anything near full significant frequency. Mouse breeding is now to take a step back Daniel Bronder capacity, but we are thankfully able to be pro- being ramped up to re-derive our colonies of from pipetting and ductive right away. Schedule limitations have experimental mice. We hope to soon be able reflecting on all the work I have done up to been a challenge, as we have had to think to restart the extended experimental clock this point,” he said. “It has really provided carefully about what assays we can feasibly on many of our lab’s projects.” me with an opportunity to take a more global get back online with any given personnel. “Since I’m in charge of getting the lab look at the body of my work to scrutinize We keep in very close daily contact and supplies, etc., my first week or so involved what I have got thus far and evaluate which tweak our scheduling as necessary to ensure taking inventory, getting the lab ready for experiments will be the most impactful to maximum workflow under the prescribed everyone to return, [obtaining] masks,

8 • NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 DIGEST

etc.,” Wangsa Zong noted. “We even had an equipment breakdown while we were away, Outdoor Light Linked with Teens’ Sleep, Mental Health so we’re trying to get that solved as well.” Research shows that adolescents who live in areas that have Adjusting to a new covid-conscious high levels of artificial light at night tend to get less sleep and climate, Erdos cautioned that “jumping right are more likely to have a mood disorder relative to teens who back in has the same caveats as shutting live in areas with low levels of night-time light. The research was funded by NIMH and was published in JAMA Psychiatry. things down. Thawing cells and getting them to be conditioned for experiments again “These findings illustrate the importance of joint consider- takes a little time. But it is necessary and also ation of both broader environmental-level and individual-level exposures in mental health and sleep research,” says study author Dr. Diana Paksarian, a postdoctoral research fellow at NIMH. allows for us to get accustomed to the new regulations for distancing and safety. Being Daily rhythms, including the circadian rhythms that drive our sleep-wake cycles, are thought to be in the lab only about 50 percent of the time, important factors that contribute to physical and mental health. The presence of artificial light at night can disrupt these rhythms, altering the light-dark cycle that influences hormonal, cellular and and only one-third of the lab occupancy at other biological processes. Researchers have investigated associations among indoor artificial light, any one time, requires extra attention to daily rhythms and mental health, but the impact of outdoor artificial light has received relatively little coordination and organization. Breeding attention, especially in teens. animals for experiments also takes some lead In this study, Paksarian, Dr. Kathleen Merikangas, senior investigator and chief of NIMH’s Genetic time, about 2-3 months to get colonies back Epidemiology Research Branch and co-authors examined data from a nationally representative sample up to normal.” of adolescents in the United States. “For us at least, things have been pretty To gauge the teens’ exposure to outdoor artificial light at night, the researchers used satellite imagery smooth,” said Robey. “Everybody is hyper data to calculate the average artificial light levels for each census block group in the U.S. As expected, aware of wearing masks and keeping levels of artificial light at night varied according to certain neighborhood-level factors, such as distance, I would say. It’s still a little awkward urbanicity, socioeconomic levels and population density. to share data in person—I actually made a Importantly, teens who lived in areas with high levels of artificial light at night tended to report later PowerPoint file with recently acquired data weeknight bedtimes and shorter weeknight sleep duration. The analyses showed that, on average, and printed it out so my colleague and I could teens in areas with the highest levels of outdoor light went to bed about 29 minutes later and got 11 go over the data from a safe distance—but we fewer minutes of sleep than did teens in areas with the lowest levels. all seem to be managing! Quite frankly, even “Although environmental light exposure is only one factor in a more complex network of influences on though everybody is at one-third capacity, sleep and behavior, it is likely to be an important target for prevention and interventions in adolescent it still feels completely dead. I rarely see health,” says Merikangas. anybody in the halls; it’s just eerie.” NIH Researchers Reframe Dog-to-Human Aging Comparisons Those returning onsite should expect a very different workplace than they left. One of the most common misconceptions is that 1 human year equals 7 dog years in terms of aging. However, this equivalency is misleading and has been consistently dismissed by veterinarians. A recent Auditoriums, shuttlebuses and cafeterias study, published in Cell Systems, lays out a new framework for comparing dog-to-human aging. all are functioning on limited schedules, according to safety guidelines. In one such comparison, the researchers found the first 8 weeks of a dog’s life is comparable to the first 9 months of human infancy, but the ratio changes over time. The research “Conference space will be utilized when used epigenetics, a process by which modifications occur in the genome, NIH is at a phase where in-person meetings as a biological marker to study the aging process. By comparing when and can be conducted safely either with proper what epigenetic changes mark certain developmental periods in humans physical distancing or because the pandemic and dogs, researchers hope to gain specific insight into human aging has subsided,” said Brad Moss of the Office of as well. Research Services. “Until such time, the use Researchers performed a comprehensive analysis and quantitatively of remote conference capabilities continues compared the progression of aging between two mammals, dogs and to be the recommended method for conduct- humans. Scientists at NHGRI and collaborators at the University of California, San Diego, UC Davis and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine carried out the research. ing meetings at this time. ORS will continue to analyze the population on campus to see All mammals experience the same overarching developmental timeline: birth, infancy, youth, puberty, what food service operations we can open adulthood and death. But researchers have long sought specific biological events that govern when such life stages take place. One means to study such a progression involves epigenetics—gene expres- safely as additional groups return to work.” sion changes caused by factors other than the DNA sequence itself. Recent findings have shown that An assessment of conditions followed the epigenetic changes are linked to specific stages of aging and that these are shared among species. first wave of returnees. NIH director Collins “Dogs experience the same biological hallmarks of aging as humans, but do so in a compressed period, announced on July 13 that Group B could around 10 to 15 years on average, versus over 70 years in humans. This makes dogs invaluable for return the week of July 20, which happened studying the genetics of aging across mammals, including humans,” said Dr. Elaine Ostrander, NIH as scheduled. However, not all individuals distinguished investigator and co-author of the paper. within these groups have actually returned, The group acknowledges that the dog-to-human years formula that they developed is largely based on despite the all-clear. data from Labrador retrievers alone. Hence, future studies with other dog breeds will be required to test the formula’s generalizability. Because dog breeds have different life spans, the formula may be different among breeds.

NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 • 9 tools for managing The better ones, said Holmes, consider all the moving multiple elements, such as a model his parts of an evolving colleagues have been working on with pandemic, providing the Policy Lab at Children’s Hospital of a window into conta- Philadelphia that incorporates census data, gion dynamics. “This behavioral risk surveys and environmental is really important factors. because a pandemic “There’s no better example of a dynamical occurs over time,” system than a pandemic like covid,” said said Holmes, and the Holmes. “There’s a certain underlying dynamics “give us a chaotic function.” sense for the rate of Artificial Intelligence The Ponte Coperto looking toward the historical center of Pavia, with the spread and identify Duomo featured in the background co-variance. And, Other computational tools use machine from all of this, we learning to mine epidemiological data and Holmes want to develop and evaluate methods for predict outcomes. Setting confirmed covid CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 containment and mitigation.” cases as the outcome, a group of researchers being produced daily,” said Dr. John Holmes, Traditional computational methods— used computer-generated algorithms to professor and associate director, Institute such as epidemic curves that plot the number examine the impact of environmental factors for Biomedical Informatics, University of of cases along a timeline—track disease on covid transmission in four cities in Italy. Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. transmission and identify hot-spots. These “These methods came up with population “Computational methods are being curves rely on reporting, which can be spotty rethought and re-engineered and new ones and delayed, noted Holmes, but they do paint are being introduced [all the time].” a useful picture of contagion dynamics. Holmes, who spoke virtually at NLM’s “The early exponential rise in these inaugural Ada Lovelace computational curves indicates the point in time where health lecture on June 24, had returned days the strain on existing health care systems is earlier from a 6-month sabbatical in Italy. the highest,” he said. Some countries did a He discussed how different data models help better job than others of flattening the curve, us analyze contagion and predict outcomes, spreading cases over time to reduce the which can guide research and policy. burden on hospitals. Italy, where Holmes was a visiting Other tools, including compartment professor at the University of Pavia in models such as the SEIR—susceptible, Lombardy, had the world’s highest Covid-19 exposed, infected and recovered—chart mortality rate during the first months of the how people progress through each “com- pandemic. A confluence of environmental partment,” information that can be used Three medieval towers, erected in the 11th and and demographic factors to simulate the effects of the 12th centuries, on the main campus of the contributed to the country’s pandemic on hospital capacity. University of Pavia, Italy, where Holmes was a dire numbers, from muggy These models can give us rate visiting professor earlier this year weather and pollution to an equations, such as the repro- aging population, many of duction number, or R-naught, density and humidity being the strongest whom live in nursing homes representing the average predictors of Covid-19 spread,” said Holmes. that have become hotbeds of number of people each person “I’ve heard humidity come up time and infection. infects during an outbreak. again, in a number of different covid projects The densely populated The day before Holmes’s that I’ve been working on.” region of Lombardy was the lecture, Italy reported only 122 Another study simulated parameters hardest hit. On Mar. 9, the Covid-19 cases over a 24-hour intended for contact tracers and deci- entire country went into period. “The R-naught for Italy sion-makers who need such real-time lockdown. “I knew enough right now is far less than 1; the assessments. Researchers used a feature map about this at that point to infection is dying out,” he said. plugged into past mobile crowd-sensing data The lecture’s namesake, to model mobility patterns. realize that we’re in big Ada Lovelace, was an “That’s very exciting, to say the trouble and I’m not going English mathematician least, given that the case count “They found that 2 weeks after the first home,” said Holmes. who lived in the early 19th was typically in the thousands confirmed case in the city under the risk of century. daily for months.” community spread, AI-enabled mobilization Contagion Dynamics IMAGE: NATIONAL PORTRAIT Some statistical models of assessment centers can [dramatically] GALLERY, LONDON Data models are handy have had mixed track records. reduce the unassessed population size,”

10 • NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 MILESTONES

CSR’s Chaitin community. “Because he was so involved, he was able to convene the highest caliber of reviewers Retires to give the fairest reviews,” Wani said. He noted BY PAULA WHITACRE that the workshops and networking he did at the annual ARVO meetings particularly helped junior Dr. Michael Chaitin’s investigators. last day at NIH did not go as expected when Precautions related to Covid-19, for now, have he first announced his affected Chaitin’s original retirement plans to travel retirement after 20 and spend time with family and friends. On the years as a scientific other hand, his son, a journalist in Washington, review officer at the and daughter, a music teacher in Prince George’s Center for Scientific County, are temporarily sheltering in place at the Review. Working at family’s Rockville home. One advantage of retire- home on the last day Dr. Michael Chaitin ment amid the pandemic: His daughter is teaching of March during the him to play the piano, something he has wanted to Covid-19 pandemic, he closed his laptop at the end do for a long time. said Holmes. This became a useful tool for of the afternoon, walked into another room and announced to his wife, “I am retired.” A send-off NIGMS Branch Chief Smith updating policy guidelines. with colleagues—via Zoom—took place earlier that Mourned Another predictive approach is looking day. As of this writing, he has not cleaned out his at what’s trending online. Internet search office, much less seen colleagues in person. Dr. Ward Smith, chief behavior can serve as an early-warning of NIGMS’s Biomedical That anticlimax, which he acknowledged was “a Technology Branch system for incidence of covid or other little surreal,” does not reflect his career advancing in the Division infectious diseases, said Holmes, who noted the vision sciences in many capacities in and of Biophysics, exponential increases in online searches for outside of NIH. Born in New York City and raised Biomedical handwashing, hand sanitizer and antiseptics on Long Island, Chaitin majored in physics at the Technology, and State University of New York at Albany as an under- early in the pandemic. Computational graduate. However, he migrated to cell biology to Biology, passed away Social media can also compute inci- undertake retina and retinal degeneration research, in early July. dence early on. In China, the Wiebo social in part because of his own experience with retinitis media platform aggregated and compared pigmentosa, a genetic condition that initially affects Smith first joined peripheral and night vision. NIGMS in 2007 as a 15 million covid-related posts across the program director in Dr. Ward Smith country. Reports of symptoms and diagnosis Chaitin obtained his Ph.D. in molecular biophysics the former Division of cases significantly predicted the daily at Florida State University but was able to conduct of Cell Biology and case counts compared with official statistics, his thesis work in a retina research laboratory at Biophysics. Among his major contributions to UCLA. He also did postdoctoral work in retina noted Holmes. NIGMS were his management of the Protein research, supported by fellowships from the Structure Initiative, for which he was honored Beyond case counts, a more varied National Eye Institute, in the department of pathol- with an NIH Director’s Award, and of the NIH- picture can come from agent-based ogy at Yale and at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at supported synchrotron facilities. Smith also models, which simulate behaviors, allowing UCLA. His research focused on the photoreceptor oversaw a large portfolio of grants in biomedical researchers to see the potential effects as cells in the retina that mediate the absorption of technology. The recipient of several NIGMS light and how these cells keep themselves healthy they tweak the parameters individually or awards, he will be remembered as a well-liked or can cause diseases that affect vision. colleague who was generous with his time and combined with other agents. was wiling to help others. Researchers recently modeled infection Chaitin served on the faculties of the University of Miami School of Medicine and the University of spread in nursing homes in Italy by setting Prior to coming to NIGMS, Smith had an illustrious North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. career in academia and industry. After receiving up risk parameters using a new, multi-agent In 2000, he decided to move into scientific his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, where platform called NetLogo. “They found administration at NIH when the opportunity arose he worked in the lab with Dr. Martha Ludwig, he useful information and strategies for to manage what was then called visual sciences joined Dr. David Eisenberg’s lab at the University reducing transmission risks,” said Holmes. A study section, followed by other eye-specific of California, Los Angeles, where he conducted study sections. With this model, “you can certainly imple- structural studies on ribulose-1,5-biphosphate “Mike managed the biology of the visual system carboxylase/oxygenase, a photosynthetic enzyme ment some interventions, perhaps masking essential to the global carbon cycle. He went on or no-visitation policy in the nursing home… study section with exceptionally high standards for himself and his reviewers,” said Dr. Noni Byrnes, to spend most of his career in industry where he and see how much that would reduce cases.” CSR director and his former division director and applied his crystallography expertise and served in The question remains: how can we best review group chief. “Not only was he an asset to leadership positions. use the abundance of data now available to CSR and to NIH due to his competence in review, Major contributions included crystallizing the researchers? but also he was active in outreach at the annual enzyme that’s the target of glyphosate (an active “Hopefully,” said Holmes, “it feeds into meetings of the Association for Research in Vision ingredient in weedkillers) and solving the structure and Ophthalmology [ARVO].” policy and behavior change, and a reduc- of thymidylate synthase with 5-fluorouracil, one Dr. Maqsood Wani, his supervisor as chief of the of the first examples of the structure of a drug tion in the impact of a pandemic like this in bound to its target. Other work helped launch the the future.” cell biology integrated review group, emphasized Chaitin’s long track record of service to the vision paradigm of structure-based drug design.

NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020 • 11 SEEN

‘True Champion’ Fauci Throws First Pitch on NIAID director Dr. threw the ceremonial first pitch on Major League ’s Opening Day July 23 at . Calling him a “Nats super-fan,” the said in a statement, “Dr. Fauci has been a true champion for our country during the Covid-19 pandemic and throughout his distinguished career, so it is only fitting that we honor him as we kick off the 2020 season and defend our Championship title.” The Topps limited edition baseball trading card featuring Fauci’s toss—on sale for just 24 hours—set an all-time record print run, selling 51,512 cards. That scorched the previous record of 19,396 cards sold in honor of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s debut hit for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019. Owing to the pandemic and to limit spread of the coronavirus, Opening Day was nearly 4 months later than normal and stadium stands were virtually empty as the 2020 60-game season will be played without in-person audiences until further notice. The Nats dropped their first game, and first series, to the .

Pandemic Projects Occupy “Because I’m a nerdy public health educator married to a professional artist, we took it as NIH’ers’ Free Time an opportunity to help explain things in a fun NIH employees, notoriously accomplished in way (and use up some of hundreds of pieces of their free time, were recently asked to share sidewalk chalk we’ve accumulated). I had a few with us their creative projects, undertaken more punny ideas but ran out of driveway!” during those hours when a commute would normally occupy their time. Since the global coronavirus pandemic has made telework mandatory for many, we asked to see what’s been going on outside of work hours. Here is some of the harvest. Feel free to submit your project to the editors by Aug. 24. “I am sharing these chalk drawings my husband and I did at the beginning of all this for our kids,” said Neyal Ammary- Risch of NHLBI’s communications office.

12 • NIH RECORD • AUGUST 7, 2020