NIDA Researchers Honored with Presidential Early Career Award

Two researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have been awarded the White House Office of National Science and Technology Council’s Presidential Award for Early Career Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). NIDA grantees Dr. Bruce J. Hinds, III and Dr. Gonzalo E. Torres will receive their awards today during a ceremony at the Commerce Building in Washington, DC.

Diet May Protect Against Gene Changes in Smokers

Leafy green vegetables, folate, and some multivitamins could serve as protective factors against lung cancer in current and former smokers, according to a study that is a first step in understanding a complex association. The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study appeared online Jan. 12, 2010, in Cancer Research.

NIH and D.C. Department of Health Team up to Combat District’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Officials from the National Institutes of Health and the city of Washington, D.C. today announced the new D.C. Partnership for HIV/AIDS Progress, a collaborative research initiative between NIH and the D.C. Department of Health designed to decrease the rate of new HIV infections in the city, improve the health of district residents living with HIV infection, and strengthen the city’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The partnership is being co-led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, and the D.C. Department of Health.

Gene Mutations Reveal Potential New Targets for Treating a Type of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Researchers have discovered genetic mutations that may contribute to the development of an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. These findings provide insight into a mechanism that cancer cells may use to survive, thus identifying potential new targets for treatment of the disease. The study conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Human Genome Research Institute, components of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues appeared Jan. 7, 2010, in Nature.

Molecule Repairs Alcohol Metabolism Enzyme

An experimental compound repaired a defective alcohol metabolism enzyme that affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide, according to research supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The findings, published Jan. 10, 2010 in the advance online edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, suggest the possibility of a treatment to reduce the health problems associated with the enzyme defect.