Fauci Discusses Public Misperceptions About Viruses
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April 19, 2019
Vol. LXXI, No. 8
(URI)— they sneeze, they cough—sometimes
they get sinusitis; sometimes they go on to
get a complication like pneumonia. Some
of the viruses that cause URIs are very mild
Fauci Discusses Public inherently, with very little chance of there
Misperceptions About Viruses being severity.”
BY DANA TALESNIK Rhinoviruses, which are responsible for at
least one-third of adult colds, are an example.
Emerging from the height of cold and flu They generally cause a mild URI. Other URIs
season, it may seem as though there are can be mild or more serious when caused by
dozens of new, increasingly stubborn viruses such viruses as influenza.
out there. This, in fact, is not the case. “Some URIs are always mild and rarely
“There is not this whole hoard of get serious,” said Fauci. “Some are mild and
unnamed viruses that we do not know not infrequently get serious. And some can
NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci
about,” said NIAID director Dr. Anthony be very serious.”
Fauci, in a recent conversation with the NIH If symptoms do not go away, that is the
Record. “Everything that really is out there, than the predominant flu strain (H1N1) time to seek help. Then it is possible that a
we know about.” this past winter. secondary, bacterial infection has developed
Viruses tend not to become more severe, “I guess that is one of the interesting such as sinusitis or pneumonia, which in that
though certain viruses can vary in their aspects, but one of the confounding aspects case would require antibiotics.
virulence. The influenza strain H3N2 a of colds, particularly in the winter,” said Fauci also discussed two viruses that have
year ago, for example, was quite virulent Fauci. “When people get a sore throat, made headlines in recent months.
and more likely to cause complications they get an upper respiratory infection SEE FAUCI, PAGE 4
MEDICINE ON SCREEN NEEDLESS SUFFERING
NLM Relaunches Vintage Access to Palliative Care,
Movies with Overview Lecture Pain Relief Out of Reach for
BY CARLA GARNETT
World’s Poor
From virtual BY ERIC BOCK
travel and art The world’s poor-
imagery to est citizens have
family planning almost no access
and the sexual to the palliative
revolution, you care and pain
Campus attraction. Another giant magnet
arrives for MRI research. See story, p. 12. can find films relief that provide
featuring nearly respite from
ALSO THIS ISSUE any theme imag- serious health-re-
inable among the lated suffering,
Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
almost 40,000 said Dr. Felicia
NIH Exceeds $2.2 Million CFC Goal . . . . . . . . . . 3 titles in the Knaul at a recent
IT Service Desk Marks 25 Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 National Library Center for Cancer
of Medicine’s Research Grand
NINDS Hosts Summit on ADRD. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Dr. Oliver Gaycken
storehouse of Rounds in Lipsett Dr. Felicia Knaul
Digest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 audiovisual Amphitheater.
Milestones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 materials. Recently, NLM relaunched its Palliative care is one of the most neglected
website dedicated to such resources with areas in global health today, she said.
51-Ton MRI Magnet Arrives at NIH. . . . . . . . . . . 12
SEE MOVIES, PAGE 6 SEE PAIN RELIEF, PAGE 8
BRIEFS
12th Annual NIH Career Symposium, May
10 at Natcher Bldg.
The NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education
invites all NIH graduate students and postdoctoral
trainees, both basic scientists and clinicians, to par-
ticipate in the 12th annual NIH Career Symposium
on Friday, May 10 at Natcher Conference Center
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The symposium provides
an opportunity for fellows and graduate students
to learn about scientific career options and to
explore factors that lead to career success. The
all-day program will include more than 20 breakout
sessions highlighting career opportunities.
Panel sessions cover academic, government,
industry and non-profit career paths. More
than 80 speakers will provide insights into their
careers—what their current job entails, its pluses
and minuses and how they got there. For more
information and registration visit https://www.
training.nih.gov/. Pianist Entertains at CRC
Danila Tomassetti, an Italian native and concert pianist who is pursuing her doctorate under a full
scholarship at Catholic University, performed on Mar. 28 as part of the Music in the Atrium series at
Postbaccalaureate Poster Day, May 2 the Clinical Research Center. She played Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet op. 75 by Sergei Prokofiev.
Postbac Poster Day is scheduled for Thursday, To see the calendar of upcoming concerts in the Clinical Center Atrium, go to https://clinicalcenter.nih.
May 2. It will be held at Natcher Conference Center gov/ocmr/music.html.
from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The keynote address will PHOTOS: DEBBIE ACCAME
begin at noon, followed by presentation of Postbac
Distinguished Mentoring Awards to NIH investiga-
Daum@nih.gov, (301) 594-7559 or the Federal and treatment, as well as other areas in the
tors selected by the postbacs. Poster session I will
Relay at 1-800-877-8339. Requests should be behavioral sciences.
take place from 10 a.m. to noon and session II is
made at least 5 days before the event.
from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Register at https://prevention.nih.gov/
More information can be found at www.nidcr. education-training/methods-mind-gap/
Poster Day provides an opportunity for postbacs
nih.gov/news-events/nidcr-host-craniofacial-re- optimization-prevention-interventions-us-
to share the research they have been conducting at
search-symposium-may-6-2019. ing-most-state-science-and-future-directions.
NIH and also develop their scientific communica-
tion and networking skills. Posters will be reviewed
by teams composed of graduate students, post- Webinar on Prevention Apr. 23 Belkaid Wins
docs and staff scientists/clinicians. The authors of Interventions Features FNIH’s Lurie
the top 20 percent will receive a letter acknowledg- Collins Prize
ing their accomplishments. For more information, The Office of Disease Prevention will host a The Foundation for
visit www.training.nih.gov/postbac_poster_day. Methods: Mind the Gap webinar with Dr. Linda M. the NIH has named
Collins on optimization of prevention interventions NIAID’s Dr. Yasmine
NIDCR To Host Craniofacial Research using MOST. The event will take place on Tuesday, Belkaid the winner
Symposium, May 6 Apr. 23 at 3 p.m. of the $100,000
Lurie Prize in
NIDCR will host a symposium, “Looking Back Collins will briefly Biomedical Sciences
and Facing the Future: From NIDR to NIDCR,” on describe the multi- for outstanding
Monday, May 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in phase optimization achievement by a
Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10. strategy (MOST), an promising young
engineering-inspired
The event will commemorate the founding of the scientist in bio-
methodological
institute in 1948 and the addition of “Craniofacial” medical research.
framework for opti-
to the institute name in 1998, and will showcase Belkaid, the award’s
mizing and evaluating
research accomplishments in craniofacial biology, seventh honoree, is Dr. Yasmine Belkaid
behavioral, biobehav-
from basic science to clinical applications. The being recognized
ioral and biomedical
symposium will also include presentations on for blazing a trail in
interventions.
craniofacial development and regeneration, wound understanding the microbiome’s significant role
healing, salivary gland development and regenera- Collins is distin- in immune regulation. FNIH awards the Lurie Prize
tion and bone loss. guished professor of annually to recognize pioneering work by scientists
human development early in their careers. Belkaid, who is director of the
Two former directors, Dr. Lawrence Tabak and Dr.
and family studies Microbiome Program and chief of the metaorgan-
Harold Slavkin, will deliver talks at the event. Dr. Linda M. Collins at Pennsylvania ism immunity section in the Laboratory of Immune
The symposium is free and open to the public; no State University. System Biology and an adjunct professor at the
registration is required. The event will be videocast She is also director of the Methodology Center, an University of Pennsylvania, will be presented with
live and archived. Individuals who need sign interdisciplinary research center devoted to the the prize at the FNIH Award Ceremony on May 22 in
language interpreting and/or other reasonable advancement and dissemination of quantitative Washington, D.C.
accommodation to participate should contact Mary. methods for applications in drug abuse prevention
2 • NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019
many smaller events held at individual ICs,
NIH Exceeds $2.2 Million Goal NIH employees had plentiful opportunities
in 2018 CFC Program to learn about the charities that are part of
the CFC and build enthusiasm for giving.
The NIH’s Got Talent event was a
NIH has done it again. That was the main particular hit in this year’s campaign. NIH
message of the appreciation and awards staff showed off skills in everything from
ceremony that wrapped up NIH’s 2018 hula-hooping to harp playing. Collins noted
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The with amusement that the competition’s
ceremony, which recognized each institute winner was also a co-chair: Austin, who
and center based on participation, amount amazed the crowd with his opera skills,
of money raised and overall campaign singing an aria from Carmen.
achievements, was held Mar. 6 at Lister Hill At the end of the ceremony, the CFC
Auditorium, Bldg. 38A. banner and a cardboard torch were passed
NIH exceeded its goal for the CFC, raising to NEI, which will be the lead for the 2019
more than $2.2 million for charities in the U.S. campaign.
and abroad. The CFC is the federal govern-
ment’s largest workplace giving campaign.
This year, some 8,000 charities participated in
the National Capital Area CFC.
“At a time of seemingly endless frac-
tiousness, it was a pure delight to see the
NIH community do what it does best—truly
caring for others,” said campaign co-chair
NCATS’s Bekah Geiger (r) passes the torch and
and NCATS director Dr. Christopher Austin. the CFC banner to NEI’s Jessica Ryan.
NCATS served as the lead NIH agency for the
2018 campaign. The theme, for the third year
in a row, was “Show Some Love.” be paid for the unexpected time off made
This year’s partial government shutdown committing to charitable donations difficult.
presented a unique challenge. “We at “Even in the face of those challenges, we ON THE COVER: Humans typically have two sex
chromosomes—X (larger pair) and Y. Scientists have
NIH only had a very small segment of the did it,” Collins said. “This speaks to NIH’s evidence that millions of years ago, X and Y were the
employee base furloughed, but the furlough commitment to this important endeavor.” In same size and contained essentially the same genes.
still affected us,” said NIH director Dr. addition, he noted, colleagues in other parts Now, virtually the only DNA they still have in common
is at the very tips (blue).
Francis Collins. Many NIH employees have of the federal government were receiving
IMAGE: MELISSA WILSON, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
spouses and other family members who benefits from some of the same charitable
were furloughed during the shutdown. The organizations that the CFC supports. The NIH Record
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From left: NCATS director Dr. Christopher Austin, Debra Gale, Monica Hanson, NIH director Dr. Francis
Collins and Geiger pose with NIH’s award from the CFC National Capital Area.
NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019 • 3
science. And the evidence tells us that the
Fauci
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
vaccines—particularly for measles—are very
safe and highly effective.”
In November 2018, a 19-year-old NIAID continues to underscore the
University of Maryland student died after importance of getting vaccinated to protect
contracting adenovirus, one of dozens of everyone from disease.
cases of the highly contagious virus reported “Herd immunity means that when a
on the campus around that time. certain percentage of the population is
“Adenoviruses are very common,” said protected by vaccination, it boxes the virus
Fauci. “They tend to occur in outbreaks in in and does not allow the virus to freely
close quarters. It is a big problem in boot circulate in society,” Fauci explained. “For
camp in the military and that is why the measles, you need somewhere between
military vaccinates their recruits against a 92-95 percent of the population to be vac-
couple of the adenoviruses.” cinated to get full community protection.”
Adenovirus is generally not deadly, said Image of an enterovirus, a common bug Once we fall below this percentage, “then the
Fauci. The student who died had a compro- herd immunity shield is dampened a bit and
mised immune system from an underlying when you were a child and now you are an that is how people in the community start
illness. adult,” he said. “Meanwhile, the children are getting infected.”
“She was not a normal host,” he said. getting infected for the first time and you So stay current on vaccines, avoid or limit
“Very, very rarely do you get an otherwise do not know if their predisposition—geneti- close contact with contagious people and
normal, healthy person get so sick that [he or cally or otherwise—is going to allow them to frequently wash your hands. The old adage
she dies] from an adenovirus.” get AFM.” remains: when it comes to viruses, preven-
Another viral condition making news Enteroviruses are generally treated symp- tion is the best medicine.
in recent months is acute flaccid myelitis tomatically and there is no cure for AFM.
(AFM), which affects the nervous system “If someone gets the rare complication NIGMS, Scholastic Team Up for
and, in serious cases, can cause paralysis. of AFM,” said Fauci, “then very aggressive ‘Pathways’
Proving what triggers AFM has been physical therapy has been shown to be The National Institute of General Medical
tough because the virus is difficult to isolate, beneficial in preventing the advancement of Sciences recently announced the debut of
Pathways, a collaboration between NIGMS and
said Fauci, but circumstantial evidence the physical disability.”
Scholastic, Inc.,
points to a specific enterovirus as the cause. There is also no vaccine for AFM because that provides
“It is one of those hit-and-run viruses,” “you would not know whom to vaccinate,” a collection of
said Fauci. “You get infected, then you said Fauci. There are many kinds of enterovi- free educa-
cannot isolate it, but you get a post-infection ruses, most of which cause mild infections. tional resources
about basic
syndrome—in this case paralysis.” The topic of vaccinations has also hit
biomedical
AFM is rare, contracted by less than one the news in recent months, as outbreaks of science and
in a million people. An entire family might measles have been reported in Washington research
get infected with the same enterovirus but state, New York and elsewhere. careers.
only one member might get AFM due to “First of all, it is important to establish Designed
environmental, genetic or other predis- that these measles outbreaks are all associ- for grades 6
positions that led to the otherwise rare ated with lack of vaccinating children,” said through 12,
complication. Fauci. “So the anti-vax movement is at the Pathways includes a student magazine, teacher
lesson plans, activities and videos, all available at
“Remember, enteroviruses are all over root cause of the outbreaks that you have
www.scholastic.com/pathways.
the place,” said Fauci. “They are very read about.”
common viruses. Virtually everyone, at Misinformation about vaccines lingers on The Pathways student magazine is also being
distributed to subscribers of Scholastic’s Science
one time in their lives, was infected by an the internet and gets propagated on social
World magazine, reaching nearly 500,000
enterovirus, including you and me. Only media. Addressing the anti-vaccination students in all 50 states. The magazine and
rarely do enteroviruses cause acute flaccid community can be complicated though. accompanying resources feature NIGMS
myelitis. The complication is rare, but the “Some people are inveterate anti-vax’ers scientists such as “Beetle Guy” Ryan Bracewell,
virus is not rare.” and no matter what you say or do, they are a postdoctoral fellow at the University of
California, Berkeley; “Viral Star” Mavis Agbandje-
Most incidents of AFM in recent years not going to change their minds,” said Fauci.
McKenna, a professor at the University of
have been reported among children. That “But there are some people who are prevent- Florida; and “Gene Detective” Melissa Wilson, an
is because most adults already contracted ing their children from getting vaccinated assistant professor at Arizona State University.
an enterovirus when they were younger, and can be convinced otherwise. The way
NIGMS encourages teachers to use
explained Fauci, and built immunity from you approach them is not to criticize or #NIGMSPathways on social media to share how
previous exposure. denigrate them, but to try to get them to they’re using Pathways in their classrooms.
“You escaped getting flaccid paralysis appreciate what we call evidence-based
4 • NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019
Hill Lecture on Controlling HIV Pandemic
Set for Apr. 30 25 YEARS
IT Service Desk Marks Milestone
HIV physician-scientist Dr. Diane Havlir will give the
2019 James C. Hill Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, When the NIH IT Service Desk recently celebrated its 25th
Apr. 30 at 3 p.m. in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. anniversary, veterans of the desk noted the great strides the team had made since its early days in
10. Her talk, 1994, when team members distributed yellow Rolodex cards containing phone numbers for technical
“Ending support. No one could have anticipated that, 25 years later, the service desk would operate as a central
AIDS: The hub for IT services and support at participating NIH institutes and centers and certain operating
Wild West,” divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services.
will examine The NIH IT environment now
strategies used supports more than 19,000
to control the mobile devices and 50,000
HIV epidemic computers in facilities around
in San the country. Last year alone,
Francisco and the service desk team (along
rural western with IC help desks) handled
Uganda more than 279,000 calls.
and Kenya,
highlighting The team has managed to
insights from handle that deluge of tickets
each approach. by adopting IT best practices
and tools that improve the
Havlir is customer experience.
chief of HIV, Tony Roberts (l) and John Buglio at the service desk’s 25th
Dr. Diane Havlir anniversary celebration
infectious One such tool is remote
disease and assistance, which allows
global medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco technicians to access a user’s machine (with his or her permission) to resolve a technical issue remotely.
General Hospital and Trauma Center, where she On average, the tool was used more than 1,000 times per month in 2018.
directs the renowned HIV clinic Ward 86. She also
Another such tool is VoIP (voice over internet protocol), a cloud-based phone service that provides
is professor and associate chair of clinical research
customers the convenience of voice interaction and caller ID. It also offers better geolocation services
in the department of medicine at the University
for emergency personnel and saves money by lowering the cost per call.
of California, San Francisco. In addition, she chairs
the United Nations AIDS scientific and technical These tools are supported by a team of technicians who provide help to the NIH and HHS communities
advisory committee, which provides guidance for 365 days a year.
global action on HIV/AIDS.
“Since its inception 25 years ago, the team has pushed itself each and every day to provide better
In 2014, Havlir co-founded San Francisco: Getting support to the NIH community,” said Tony Roberts, the IT support service division chief. “And we’re
to Zero, a city-wide initiative to eliminate new HIV also proud to offer a range of services that make the service desk more accessible, including bilingual
infections and HIV-related deaths. She also leads and TTY services.”
a large clinical trial called SEARCH in Uganda
and Kenya in which everyone in participating In the future, says Roberts, “we’re going to continue developing processes that improve the speed and
communities was tested for HIV—primarily at quality with which participating NIH staff engage with the service desk team. Even with a 97.5 percent
multi-disease health fairs—and those who tested customer satisfaction rating, it’s always our goal to provide faster and better service.”—John Hotka
positive were offered immediate access to HIV care
and treatment. The study found that this approach
helped communities surpass UNAIDS targets for La Spada To Give Sayer Lecture, May 7 Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is an
HIV diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression and inherited neurological disorder characterized by
Dr. Albert La Spada, professor of neurology,
improved overall population health. cerebellar and retinal degeneration. People with
neurobiology and cell biology at Duke University
SCA7 develop atrophy of the cerebellar cortex and
School of Medicine
In her lecture, Havlir will discuss how the Getting to the brainstem and they exhibit extensive loss of
and director of the
Zero program has helped cut San Francisco’s HIV cerebellar Purkinje cells. Physiological assessments
Duke Center for
incidence in half over 5 years and the need for new by electroretinogram show cone photoreceptor
Neurodegeneration
strategies to boost population-level viral suppres- dysfunction prior to rod photoreceptor abnormali-
& Neurotherapeutics,
sion further. She also will describe the effect in ties, leading to complete blindness.
will give the 11th
the SEARCH study of integrating HIV testing with
Sayer Vision Research La Spada will discuss progress in identifying the
screening for other diseases and the lessons this
Lecture on Tuesday, molecular and mechanistic bases of SCA7. His team
offers for San Francisco and beyond.
May 7, at 11 a.m. in recently demonstrated that silencing the ataxin-7
The Hill Lecture series is dedicated to the memory Lipsett Amphitheater, gene is an effective treatment for SCA7 retinal
of former NIAID deputy director Dr. James C. Hill, Bldg. 10. degeneration.
who played a critical role in shaping NIAID’s HIV/
His presentation The Sayer Vision Research Lecture Series features
AIDS research agenda during the early years of
is titled “Clinical prominent scientists conducting vision-related
the epidemic.
Features and research. It is co-hosted by NEI and the Foundation
Molecular Basis for the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Albert La Spada
of the Cerebellar-
Retinal Degenerative For assistance, including the need for sign language
Disorder Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7: From interpretation or other reasonable accommodation
Mechanism to Therapy.” to participate in this event, call (301) 451-6763.
NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019 • 5
Movies different from the current moment,” he
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 explained. “But I tend to see them as films we
are in dialogue with right now, with elements
a lecture, “Fantastic Voyages Through the that have become troubling with time [but
Historical Audiovisual Collections at the also with] elements that have remained
National Library of Medicine,” by Dr. Oliver enduringly helpful.”
Gaycken, a historian of cinema and media The films helped serve the social
with an emphasis on the intersection of progress and public health goals of northern
science and medicine at the University of Virginia’s Airlie Center, a farm retreat/con-
Maryland. ference center that “Life magazine called ‘an
“The NLM’s extraordinary collection island of thought,’” Gaycken noted. “[Many
of AV materials attests to the presence of these movies] allowed for the inclusion
of a largely unknown history of the 20th of otherwise excluded perspectives, notably
century where medical media educated those of women.”
and persuaded untold millions of patients The 1960s-era center established its
and doctors, and documented diseases, own documentary filmmaking division.
innovations and procedures,” said Gaycken, Screenwriter-director Miriam Bucher of
describing the movie trove’s range. “Together the center is credited on several of the films,
these films demonstrate the variety of including Speak.
approaches to communicating medical “Her example demonstrates how medical
knowledge and the enduring value of the films provided a venue for a woman’s voice to
medical profession’s AV records.” Gaycken’s look at medical movies in the NLM be heard on the critical issue of reproductive
collection included a group of training films for
For sheer art appreciation alone, for physicians and psychologists. health,” said Gaycken. “You can hear it pretty
example, consider A Voyage Through the clearly in the conclusion to Speak.”
PHOTO: MARLEEN VAN DEN NESTE
History of Anatomy with Frank Armitage, “A young wife need not die worn out by
the longtime Disney animator and medical Communicating Family Planning: Speak. childbirth,” the narrator says in the final
illustrator. They Are Listening (1974) was part of a clip. “…A child can grow up in a household in
“I like to feel that there can be great global communication strategy to address which there is room for love…A woman can
beauty in medical art, a beauty that really issues such as overpopulation, family come to know more of life than childbearing,
goes hand in hand with science as we planning, nutrition, sanitation, poverty and drudgery, the threat of early death…”
explore the infinite inner spaces of the the environment in developing nations. Concluding his look at medical movies
human body,” intones narrator Armitage in “These films are part of the story of in the NLM collection, Gaycken focused
the opening sequence of the late 1960s/early how globalization and public health media on a group of training films for physicians
1970s film presentation to the Association of developed in tandem over the course of the and psychologists providing counseling for
Medical Illustrators. “Here we move deeper latter half of the 20th century,” Gaycken sexual dysfunction.
through spectacular caverns of the heart explained. “They show a dynamic I see The movies were made to teach interview
and we feel like explorers in this fantastic throughout this collection: On the one hand and observation techniques, he pointed out,
anatomical world.” [there’s] a heavy-handed Western inter- but also “register the aftermath and ongoing
The movie lets viewers catch a ride vention in the lives of people from different repercussions of what has come to be called
around the animated, colorful corridors of cultural backgrounds, but on the other hand, the ‘sexual revolution’ in the U.S.” In the final
the organ, guided by the unseen artist’s voice. a global feminist intervention to provide clip, both therapists-acting-as-patients are
“Armitage’s evocative commentary helps women with control over a central feature of smiling, having agreed that knowing each
to make a general point about medical their lives—their reproductive health. Taken other’s perspective cleared up the problems
media’s ability to provide virtual expe- together these films illustrate the shrinking they were experiencing.
riences and how the medium of film can world of globalism with the U.S. a hegemonic Regardless of what sparks your mov-
multiply the experiences to which individ- source for knowledge.” ie-watching fancy, Gaycken urges you to
uals can be exposed,” said Gaycken, whose In answer to a question about some of check out NLM’s array of AV materials.
lecture title also revisits another Armitage the movies’ male American narration for “Here’s hoping we can all take a lesson on the
product, the 1966 Oscar-winning sci-fi an arguably largely female audience in a importance of mutual acknowledgment and
thriller Fantastic Voyage. developing country, Gaycken said, “There is a apply it to taking a two-way street between
Items in NLM’s AV collection offer kind of uneasy quality to some of the films, at archives and their patrons.”
historical context as well as commentary on least to how some of the dynamics are being Gaycken’s full lecture is archived online
the times, Gaycken points out. stated and that’s one of the dimensions that’s at https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.
In Technique of Laparoscopy (1979), crucial to acknowledge. asp?Live=28986&bhcp=1. Visit NLM’s
an all-female surgical team taught “Part of the tendency might be to see audiovisual collection at https://medici-
practitioners how to do a technique. them as helplessly stuck in a mode that is neonscreen.nlm.nih.gov/.
6 • NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019
ADRD summit scientific chair Dr. Julie Schneider (l) presents cross-cutting themes during final session. NINDS director Dr. Walter Koroshetz (c) gives closing
remarks. At right, the heavily attended summit offers opportunities for public comment.
Dr. Laura Gitlin, dean of the College of Nursing and Trainee Travel Scholarship Program, which was
NINDS Hosts Summit on ADRD Health Professions at Drexel University and chair of designed to increase training and contact among
Research Priorities the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care peers regarding the complex realities of the basic
and Services for the National Alzheimer’s Project and clinical science of AD/ADRD. The 21 recipients
BY SHANNON E. GARNETT
Act (NAPA), gave an overview of the NAPA plan, included graduate, postdoctoral and medical
Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD) which aims to overcome Alzheimer’s disease and students, residents and other health professionals
are debilitating conditions that impair memory, related dementias by 2025. from all parts of the country who are pursing
thought processes and functioning. These advanced degrees and training in areas relevant
To help carry out the plan, both NIA and NINDS
disorders—which include Lewy body dementia, to dementia research.
hold triennial summits to develop a multidisci-
frontotemporal degeneration, vascular contribu- plinary AD research agenda and priorities. This At the summit, the scholars had the opportu-
tions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) year’s summit was intended to build on progress nity to meet with leading scientists during a
and multiple etiology dementias—affect millions of made since 2016 and to hone those priorities. welcome reception and attend the meeting. Later,
Americans and take a tremendous toll on individu- they will participate in a follow-up debriefing
als, families, caregivers and society. “These summits are really important because they teleconference.
provide input from a broad base of participants
NINDS recently sponsored a 2-day ADRD Summit and really inform the direction of how we are “The idea of this program is to find a way to help
at Natcher Conference Center to bring together going to change dementia in the United States,” train the next generation on what real, everyday
internationally recognized experts, researchers, Gitlin said. “From the last couple of summits, common dementia is about—the scientific, the
physicians, non-profit groups, patients and care- what’s been emerging is that we as a research clinical and other realities of dementia,” said Dr.
givers to discuss scientific advances and research community have to do research differently. That Roderick Corriveau, a program director in the
priorities. means involving stakeholders, people living Neurodegeneration Cluster of the Division of
The goals of the meeting were to assess progress with dementia and caregivers, not only as study Neuroscience, NINDS.
on research recommendations developed at two participants, but as members of our research team.
At the end of the meeting, Dr. Julie Schneider,
earlier summits held in 2013 and 2016, add new We’ve learned from our summits that, by involving
summit scientific chair, presented highlights and
recommendations based on recent scientific dis- our stakeholders, our questions change and our
cross-cutting themes. Schneider—who is also
coveries, receive input from stakeholders including outcome measures change.”
associate director at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease
the public and update priorities and timelines for The sessions featured overarching topics—those Center at Rush University Medical Center—then
tackling ADRD under the National Plan to Address relevant for disorders across the AD/ADRD joined the session chairs as they fielded final com-
Alzheimer’s Disease. spectrum—such as multiple etiology dementias, ments from the audience regarding ADRD research
dementia nomenclature priorities and the way forward.
and health disparities as
Recommendations from this meeting will be
well as disease-specific
presented to the National Advisory Neurological
topics including Lewy
Disorders and Stroke Council in September and
body dementias and
then delivered to the NAPA council in November.
VCID. One new session,
Emerging Scientific “This was a really high-quality summit,” said NINDS
Topics in AD/ADRD, director Dr. Walter Koroshetz in closing remarks.
covered traumatic “I think the one take-home point is that our brains
brain injury and TDP-43 are so vulnerable and they become more and more
proteinopathy in common vulnerable to many different pathologies as we get
dementias. Each session older. So, this battle to try and understand what’s
was followed by open going on and how to make a difference for people
At left, session panelists field questions from attendees. At right, Dr. discussion and questions is a real challenge. A summit like this allows us to
Jonathan Rohrer, a consultant neurologist at UCL Queen Square Institute of from the audience. see the gaps so then we can digest this kind of
Neurology in London, presents on biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia. information and try and address the gaps. That’s
This year’s meeting
PHOTOS: CHIA-CHI CHARLIE CHANG what it’s really all about.”
debuted the ADRD
NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019 • 7
www
“We saw that, shockingly,
palliative care and pain relief
was just being ignored, it was Cancer Institute and Human Rights Watch
to advocate for palliative care. That advocacy
cast aside.” drove explicit policy changes including finan-
~DR. FELICIA KNAUL cial protection of the entitlement to palliative
www care and a switch from paper to electronic
prescribing for opioid medications.
In many parts of the world, palliative care
include countries with large populations isn’t a priority. Knaul thinks this is because
such as India and Russia. The U.S., Canada we lack metrics and indicators measuring
and Australia have especially large illness-related suffering.
Knaul thinks “any country at any level of
income” should be able to provide the most amounts of these medications compared to “We saw that, shockingly, palliative care
basic palliative care services by 2030. patient need. and pain relief was just being ignored, it was
PHOTOS: CHIA-CHI CHARLIE CHANG To prevent an opioid crisis similar to cast aside,” she noted. “Most health minis-
the one in the United States, she suggests ters don’t even realize that the issue is there.”
countries regulate the supply and marketing The commission is beginning to develop a
Pain Relief
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
of opioids for medical use, especially by comprehensive metric to quantify suffering,
avoiding direct marketing to health care building on the concept of serious health-re-
“The poorest 50 percent of people that providers. Knaul also recommends that lated suffering “to measure how much
inhabit our world have access to 1 percent health practitioners receive mandatory patients value the alleviation of suffering
of distributed opioid morphine equivalent. training for the safe management of opioid independent of whether or not it makes
The wealthiest 10 percent have access to prescriptions and that these prescriptions them live longer.”
90 percent,” explained Knaul, a professor follow evidence-based practice. If they are successful, Knaul believes
in the University of Miami’s department An essential package for palliative care that ending serious illness-related suffering
of public health sciences at the Leonard services was developed by the commission could become a priority for countries around
M. Miller School of Medicine and director to address the global burden of serious the world. Such a metric would provide an
of the University of Miami Institute for health-related suffering. It includes low-cost opportunity to track the performance of
Advanced Study of the Americas. pain relief medicines such as off-patent countries that provide palliative care and
From 2014-2017, she served as chair of morphine as well as equipment and health pain relief.
the Lancet Commission on Global Access professionals who can administer care “We’re actually just starting to scratch the
to Palliative Care and Pain Relief. The at the primary level. Knaul thinks “any surface of understanding about suffering-in-
commission found that, in 2015, more than country at any level of income” should be tensity-adjusted life years and how patients
61 million people worldwide experienced able to provide the most basic palliative care and families value the alleviation of pain and
serious health-related suffering, including services by 2030. other symptoms,” Knaul said.
5.3 million children. These individuals Closing the pain divide—the disparities
experienced physical and psychological in access to pain relief, which serve as a
symptoms, including pain, for at least 6 marker for tracing inequities in palliative VOLUNTEERS
billion days of suffering and up to 21 billion care—is relatively inexpensive compared
days of suffering. to many other global health priorities and
Cancer is one of the biggest causes of suf- health needs, she said. Providing morphine Vaccine Study Needs Volunteers
fering—16 million cancer patients worldwide to children who experience pain associated NIAID researchers seek healthy volunteers, 18
in 2015 experienced serious health-related with serious health-related problems in to 70 years old, to participate in an influenza
suffering. In addition, in low-income low-income countries, for example, would (flu) vaccine study. Scientists are testing an
countries, other causes, such as infectious cost only $1,034,000 per year. That price, investigational vaccine to determine if it is
safe and if there are any side effects. There is
diseases, HIV and malnutrition, also account however, covers only the medication and
no risk of infection since the investigational
for massive suffering, yet are preventable. A doesn’t include the cost of getting the vaccine product does not contain any virus.
large part of the burden of suffering among medications to the patients. Compensation is provided. For more information,
the poor “happens because of a lack of access Beyond the medicines, it will take call 1-866-833-5433 or email vaccines@nih.gov.
to appropriate and necessary health care.” political will to close the global divides in
Healthy Volunteers Wanted
European countries are considered the access to pain relief and palliative care. In
“gold standard” or benchmark for access to Mexico, for example, Knaul said a group of Partner with NIAID researchers to investigate
how antibiotics affect the trillions of good
pain relief medications—a core component non-governmental organizations led by the
microbes that live on or in our bodies, also
of palliative care, Knaul said. By contrast, Mexican Health Foundation and Tómatelo a known as our microbiome. If you are 21-39 years
opioid medications are largely unavailable Pecho, AC worked with one of the country’s old and healthy, contact the CC Office of Patient
in low- and middle-income countries, Supreme Court justices, the minister of Recruitment, 1-800-411-1222, or prpl@cc.nih.gov.
which cover much of Asia, Africa and Latin health, leading clinicians from a number of Refer to study 16-I-0078. Read more online at
https://go.usa.gov/xng4m.
America and the Caribbean, and notably hospitals including the Mexican National
8 • NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019
DIGEST
First-in-Human Trial of a Universal Influenza HES is caused by high-
er-than-normal numbers
Vaccine Candidate Begins of white blood cells
called eosinophils in the
The first clinical trial of an innovative universal influenza vaccine candidate
blood, tissues or both.
is examining the vaccine’s safety and tolerability as well as its ability to
While most people have
induce an immune response in healthy volunteers. Scientists at NIAID
0 to 500 eosinophils per
developed the experimental vaccine.
microliter (ųL) of blood,
Known as H1ssF_3928, the vaccine is designed to teach the body to make people with HES typically
protective immune responses against diverse influenza subtypes by have more than 1,500
focusing the immune system on a portion of the virus that varies relatively eosinophils/ųL. The
little from strain to strain. The vaccine candidate was developed as part of a symptoms of HES vary
broader research agenda to create a so-called “universal” influenza vaccine widely from one patient
that can provide long-lasting protection for all age groups from multiple to the next and can
influenza subtypes, including those that might cause a pandemic. affect the heart, lungs,
skin, gastrointestinal Activated eosinophils in the peripheral
“Seasonal influenza tract, central nervous blood of a patient with idiopathic
is a perpetual public system and other organ hypereosinophilic syndrome
health challenge, and systems.
we continually face PHOTO: NIAID
the possibility of an Nearly all existing ther-
influenza pandemic apies for HES involve drugs that are not specifically approved for treating
resulting from the the syndromes, have significant side effects and sometimes become less
emergence and effective over time. This study was only the second randomized, place-
spread of novel bo-controlled trial—the gold standard of medical research—to test the
influenza viruses,” effectiveness of a drug specifically for treating HES. The trial was led by Dr.
said NIAID director Dr. Amy Klion, chief of the human eosinophil section in NIAID’s Laboratory of
Anthony Fauci. “This Parasitic Diseases.
phase 1 clinical trial is
a step forward in our Harnessing T-Cell ‘Stemness’ Could Enhance
A healthy volunteer receives an experimental
efforts to develop a
durable and broadly universal influenza vaccine known as Cancer Immunotherapy
H1ssF_3928 as part of a phase 1 clinical trial at
protective universal A new study led by scientists at NCI sheds light on one way tumors may
the Clinical Center.
influenza vaccine.” continue to grow despite the presence of cancer-killing immune cells.
PHOTO: NIAID The findings, published Mar. 29 in Science, suggest a way to enhance the
The trial, conducted effectiveness of immunotherapies for cancer treatment.
at the Clinical Center,
is being led by Dr. Grace Chen of NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center Clinical Dying cancer cells release the chemical potassium, which can reach high
Trials Program. The trial will gradually enroll at least 53 healthy adults ages levels in some tumors. The research team reported that elevated potassium
18 to 70 years. causes T cells to maintain a stem-cell-like quality, or “stemness,” that is
closely tied to their ability to eliminate cancer during immunotherapy. The
The first 5 participants will be ages 18 to 40 and will receive a single findings suggest that increasing T cells’ exposure to potassium—or mim-
20-microgram (mcg) intramuscular injection of the experimental vaccine. icking the effects of high potassium—could make cancer immunotherapies
The remaining 48 participants will receive two 60-mcg vaccinations spaced more effective.
16 weeks apart. They will be stratified by age into 4 groups of 12 people
each: 18 to 40 years, 41 to 49 years, 50 to 59 years and 60 to 70 years. “This study helps us better understand why cancer immunotherapy works
Investigators hope to understand how participants’ immune responses to the way it does,” said Dr. Nicholas Restifo, who led the research team. “It
the experimental vaccine may vary based on age and the likelihood of their could also point the way toward generating better and more long-lasting
previous exposure to different influenza variants. responses to these treatments.”
FDA-Approved Drug Effectively Treats Rare Immunotherapy has led to remarkable results for some patients’ cancers,
eradicating difficult-to-treat tumors and, in some cases, causing complete
Chronic Immune Disorder remission of disease. But many patients’ tumors do not respond to immuno-
therapy treatments and researchers are working to determine why this is.
A drug approved to treat a severe form of asthma dramatically improved
the health of people with rare chronic immune disorders called hypereo- In addition, some immunotherapy treatments, such as CAR T cells and
sinophilic syndromes (HES) in whom other treatments were ineffective or immune checkpoint inhibitors, are limited by the lifespan of T cells. Cancer-
intolerable. This finding comes from a small clinical trial led by scientists at fighting T cells inside the tumor can get “exhausted” and die. Therefore,
NIAID and conducted through a partnership with the global biopharma- researchers are exploring ways to help T cells used for immunotherapy not
ceutical company AstraZeneca. The results were published online Apr. 3 in only last longer but also replicate and grow.
the New England Journal of Medicine.
“People living with a rare disease often have few, if any, effective treatment
options,” said NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci. “This promising treatment
advance for people with hypereosinophilic syndromes is just one example
of how NIH research responds to the unique medical needs of individuals
with rare diseases.”
NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019 • 9
MILESTONES
Role Named NINDS Scientific behavior at SBU and, in 2016, she was named Corsaro Retires from CSR
a SUNY distinguished professor.
Director The focus of Role’s research has been BY PAULA T. WHITACRE
Dr. Lorna Role was recently named scientific on the brain’s cholinergic system over the
Dr. Cheryl Corsaro, a scientific review officer
director at NINDS. She officially joined lifespan. Cholinergic signaling is essential for
who retired in February, found her passion
the institute in attention, cognitive processing and memory
for puzzle-solving beneficial as she managed
February. She will and is compromised in neurological disor-
genetics-related
oversee NINDS’s ders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
study sections
Intramural disease. She has been the principal inves-
during her 34 years
Research tigator on numerous NIH-funded grants,
with the Center
Program, which supported continuously since 1982, and the
for Scientific
consists of 1,015 recipient of an NINDS Javits award. She has
Review, formerly
employees published more than 100 scientific articles.
the Division of
working in 48 Throughout her career at both Columbia
Research Grants.
labs on the NIH University and SBU, Role has mentored
“Finding the
campus. more than 50 postdoctoral fellows, graduate
right person with
Before coming and medical students and nearly 20 under-
the right expertise
to NINDS, she graduate students.
to complement the
was a SUNY Role has also earned numerous awards
Dr. Lorna Role rest of the study
distinguished and honors, including being named a
Dr. Cheryl Corsaro section was like
professor and fellow of the American Association for
finding the piece
chair of the department of neurobiology the Advancement of Science in 2011
with just the right shape to solve a jigsaw
and behavior at the State University of New and a fellow in the American College of
puzzle,” she said.
York at Stony Brook (SBU). Neuropsychopharmacology in 2009. She
The results were study sections known for
Role received a B.A. in applied mathemat- received three separate awards from the
their expertise and camaraderie.
ics and earned a Ph.D. in physiology from McKnight Foundation at different stages
“Cheryl was a wonderful colleague, the
Harvard University. of her career and was twice named a dis-
work she did was so comprehensive, so well-
After completing her postdoctoral tinguished investigator by the National
done,” said Dr. Richard Panniers, former
training with Dr. Gerald Fischbach, who Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and
chief of the genes, genomes and genetics
served as NINDS director from 1998-2001, Depression, now the Brain and Behavior
integrated review group.
she became an assistant professor in the Research Foundation.
Dr. Elena Smirnova, current GGG chief,
department of anatomy and cell biology in In 2010, she received the NIH Director’s
lauded her “tremendous track record in the
the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Pioneer Award, which is granted to
genetics community.” She said members
Columbia University College of Physicians extremely creative researchers propos-
valued the poems Corsaro wrote about them
and Surgeons in 1985. She was promoted to ing innovative strategies for solving big
when they rotated off the study section.
associate professor with tenure in 1992 and problems in medical research.
Corsaro grew up in Cleveland, the middle
full professor in 1996. Role replaces Dr. Alan Koretsky, who had
of three sisters. She loved math’s prob-
In 2008, Role became professor and served as NINDS scientific director since
lem-solving aspects and originally planned
chair of the department of neurobiology and 2006.
to major in math at St. Mary’s College,
Notre Dame, Ind. But a biology professor
Biassou Honored by Amherst College introduced her to genetics and sparked her
Dr. Nadia Biassou, a staff clinician in the Clinical Center radiology lifelong interest in the field. She graduated as
and imaging sciences department, has been named a Wade a biology major and moved to Johns Hopkins
Fellow at Amherst College for the 2019–2021 academic years. The for a Ph.D. in human genetics.
appointment will bring her to campus during the academic year, Corsaro’s dissertation focused on the
with the goal of sharing her extensive experiences with students use of mammalian cell genetics to isolate
to help them learn how identity informs career exploration and to
collaborate on programming that teaches them skills for navigating mutants in cell culture and the impact of cell
a complex professional world before and after graduation. Biassou communication through gap junctions on the
is the lead physician for the Clinical Image Processing Service. isolation of such mutants. She had postdoc-
Previously she served as acting chief/lead interpreting physician of toral fellowships at several places, including
the mammography division from 2007 to 2009, and general body the University of Toronto and Caltech.
imaging radiologist from 2006 to 2009. She has lectured at con-
tinuing medical education conferences throughout the Caribbean After a number of years at the bench,
and Central America, where she has taught community physicians Corsaro took a career exploration workshop
cutting-edge radiologic interpretation in various clinical settings. Her interdisciplinary training places to help focus her next step. One assignment
her at the intersection of applied linguistics and cognitive science, imaging and medicine. required her to interview someone with
10 • NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019similar training but doing something differ- NIH Alumnus Rinzel Honored
ent professionally. “I interviewed my grad
school roommate, who was a program officer Former NIH senior investigator Dr. John
at NIH,” she said. From her, Corsaro learned Rinzel was awarded the Israel Brain
about and was accepted into NIH’s Grants Technologies
Associate Program, a program for people Mathematical
switching from research to administration. Neuroscience
After rotating through 12 assignments in Award recently
a year, Corsaro found herself most drawn to for his “pioneer-
peer review positions. ing role in the
“I liked how review was explicit, with application of
clearly defined tasks,” she said, “and I loved mathematical
interactions with some of the smartest systems to neural
scientists in the country.” She joined the systems” (https://
DRG/CSR staff. braintech.
OD Alumnus Coppola Retires kenes.com/ibt-
Among other assignments as an SRO,
she managed the genome study section and Paul Coppola (r) is retiring on May 31 after 29 years awards/). Rinzel
of federal service. He spent 17 years at NIH in the
another on the ethical, legal and social impli- helped establish
Office of the Director’s Office of Management
cations of human genetics. More recently, Assessment, conducting management analysis the field of
she ran the genetics of health and disease studies and supporting the NIH Management mathematical and Dr. John Rinzel
study section. Control Program. In 2007, he joined the Office of computational
In March, the remaining original extra- the Secretary’s Division of Acquisition and later neuroscience during his career as a research
moved on to the Office of Recipient Integrity
mural staff of the NIH genome center/ mathematician and member of the Public
Coordination, the department’s Suspension
institute held a luncheon to honor Corsaro. and Debarment Program. Coppola will start his Health Service in NIDDK from 1975 to
They recognized her as the SRO who retirement working as an adjunct professor at 1997. He was chief of NIDDK’s Mathematical
introduced CSR reviewers to non-hypothesis Washington Adventist University, teaching chem- Research Branch (now called the Laboratory
driven research, so critical to the Human istry and biochemistry to pre-nursing students. of Biological Modeling) from 1981 until he
In the photo above, Coppola is shown with HHS
Genome Project. Her study section also left to become a professor in the Center for
Secretary Alex Azar, one of four secretaries under
suggested that the genome center/institute whom he served. Neural Science and the Courant Institute
consider the R21 program to help PIs who of Mathematical Sciences at New York
had great ideas about genomic technologies, PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER SMITH University in 1997.
but no funds to generate preliminary data.
Corsaro also served on the trans-NIH bio- NHLBI’s Fakunding Mourned
ethics committee and NIH ethics advisory Dr. John Fakunding, 73, former director of the Heart Research
committee. Among many awards, she is Program in the Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases at
proudest of a CSR Director’s Award for her NHLBI, died Feb. 21 in Beaufort, S.C.
ethics-related contributions to NIH. A native of California, he received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and
On the lighter side, Corsaro initially biophysics from the University of California, Davis. He went
spearheaded and then participated in the on to conduct postdoctoral training in endocrine research at
Rockledgers, a popular group that created Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. His first NIH position
was in the intramural program lab of Dr. Kevin Catt at NICHD.
and sang parodies for CSR social events
for more than 20 years. Fittingly, several After leaving NICHD, Fakunding went to the Extramural
Rockledgers composed two parodies for her Review Branch of NHLBI, where he was responsible for review-
ing training and career development grant applications.
retirement party.
Corsaro plans to stay in Maryland. She After joining the Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases
will hone her puzzle skills by playing bridge as a program officer, he eventually was appointed chief of
the DHVD Training and Career Development Branch. In that
and tackling the jigsaw and crossword puzzle
position, he was charged with identifying training and career
gifts she received from family in anticipation development needs, providing new opportunities to enhance
of her retirement. the cardiovascular biomedical workforce and support new Dr.
Dr. John
John Fakunding
Fakunding
biomedical training programs for underrepresented minority
scientists. He developed such programs as the Clinical Scientist Development Award, Short-Term
Training for Minority Students and the Research Scientist Award for Minority Faculty.
Fakunding retired in 2005, at age 60. In retirement he taught physiology and chemistry at the
University of South Carolina, Beaufort and at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, Beaufort.
He is survived by his wife Patti and his two beloved dogs.
NIH RECORD • APRIL 19, 2019 • 11You can also read
