|
NIDCR Supplement to the Journal of Public Health Dentistry
 NIDCR is pleased to announce the publication of the NIDCR Supplement to the Journal of Public Health Dentistry on behavioral and social intervention research essentials. The issue highlights several important areas that are crucial to high quality behavioral and social intervention research. It is our hope that readers will find this to be a valuable tool in developing research proposals, enhancing existing intervention research studies, and making today’s intervention studies more informative for the next generation of research.
Articles highlight:
--PRECEDE-PROCEED and the importance of using intervention planning models
--The role of health behavior theory in developing interventions
--Mediators, moderators, and testing for mechanisms of action
--The importance of fidelity adherence and monitoring in different stages of research
--Determining feasibility and acceptability of interventions to the target populations
--Studying the sustainability of interventions as part of a larger program of research
--Assessing intervention sustainability through cost-utility and economic analyses
Each manuscript is followed by brief commentary from additional experts in the field. Access to this supplement is free for the first year of publication. To view the special journal issue, please visit the Wiley website:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jphd.2011.71.issue-s1/issuetoc.
NIDCR Launches New Homepage
 The NIDCR homepage has a new look. This updated version provides faster access to science news, researcher interviews, funding opportunities, and popular oral health publications. Additional features include fly-out menus in the top navigation to help users quickly accomplish key tasks, an image gallery, and a toolbar that highlights NIDCR's social media presence. The A-Z index is also higher up on the page where visitors can more readily find it. Visit the new homepage at http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/.
|
|
New Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research Seeks to Curb Epidemic
 To combat the obesity epidemic, NIH is encouraging diverse scientific investigations through a new Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research. More than one-third of adults in the U.S. and nearly 17 percent of the nation’s children are now obese, which increases a person’s chance of developing many health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, and some cancers.
NIH funds research to reduce the prevalence of obesity and its health consequences (an investment of $824 million in fiscal year 2010, plus awards totaling $147 million made in the same year through the Recovery Act). The NIH strategic plan, developed by the NIH Obesity Research Task Force, recognizes that eating less and exercising more is easier said than done. Highlighting the crucial role of research in efforts to reduce obesity, the plan emphasizes moving science from laboratory to clinical trials to practical solutions, and is designed to help target efforts and resources in areas most likely to help. See more about the strategic plan:
http://www.obesityresearch.nih.gov/About/strategic-plan.htm
NIH Launches Largest Oil Spill Health Study:
 GuLF STUDY to follow 55,000 cleanup workers and volunteers for up to 10 years
A new study that will look at possible health effects of the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill on 55,000 cleanup workers and volunteers has begun in towns across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
The GuLF STUDY (Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study) is the largest health study of its kind ever conducted among cleanup workers and volunteers, and is one component of a comprehensive federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The study is being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the NIH, and is expected to last up to 10 years. Over time, the GuLF STUDY will generate important data that may help inform policy decisions on health care and health services in the region. For additional information visit the GuLF STUDY website at:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/od/programs/gulfspill/gulfstudy/index.cfm.
New Robot System to Test 10,000 Chemicals for Toxicity
 Several federal agencies, including the NIH, have unveiled a new high-speed robot screening system--called Tox21--that will test 10,000 different chemicals for potential toxicity. The chemicals to be screened include compounds found in industrial and consumer products, food additives, and drugs. Tox21 is located at the NIH Chemical Genomics Center in Rockville, MD, and merges existing agency resources (research, funding, and testing tools) to develop ways to more effectively predict how chemicals will affect human health and the environment. The system marks the beginning of a new phase of an ongoing collaboration that is working to protect human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the U.S.
Tox21 is a collaborative effort among the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Toxicology Program, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. See more about the system:
http://www.genome.gov/27543670.
Training Institute on Dissemination and Implementation Research
 On August 1-5, 2011, NIH will hold a five-day training session on dissemination and implementation health research. One of the most critical issues impeding improvements in public health today is the enormous gap between the best evidence-based strategies to improve health and what actually gets used and implemented in everyday practice. The science of dissemination and implementation seeks to address this gap by understanding how to best ensure that evidence-based strategies to improve health and prevent disease are effectively delivered in clinical and public health practice.
The Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health will feature a faculty of leading experts from a variety of behavioral and social science disciplines. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention will host the institute at its Rizzo Conference Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Applications are being accepted through April 15, 2011. To register and for more information, please visit:
http://conferences.thehillgroup.com/OBSSRinstitutes/TIDIRH2011/index.html
Summer Institute on mHealth
 NIH has announced the creation of the first NIH mHealth, or mobile health, Summer Institute. Scheduled for the summer of 2011, this week-long workshop will bring together leaders in mobile health technologies, behavioral science researchers, federal health officials and members of the medical community to provide early career investigators with an opportunity to learn about mHealth research.
Mobile technologies have the potential to transform medical research and enable health care providers to more rapidly and accurately assess biological processes, behavior, attitudes, and the environment. These technologies also allow providers to help patients improve their health in real time—enabling them to personalize health care options and monitor progress. NIH’s mHealth Summer Institute will provide an overview of the engineering, behavioral science and clinical aspects of wireless research.
[Please note: Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2011 institute]:
http://obssr.od.nih.gov/training_and_education/mhealth/index.aspx
Dr. Rajesh Ranganathan Appointed Senior Advisor for Translational Research
 NIH Director Francis S. Collins has announced the appointment of Rajesh Ranganathan, Ph.D., as senior advisor for translational research. Dr. Ranganathan will provide leadership and expertise in planning and establishing NIH-wide program priorities that focus on accelerating the translation of scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside. He comes to the NIH from Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Inc., where he was the global head of the Scientific Education Office and a director in the Scientific Portfolio Management and Strategy Office.
|