NIDA Avant-Garde-Medications Development Award winners announced

Scientists proposing to develop vaccines against methamphetamine and nicotine have been selected to receive NIDA’s second Avant-Garde Awards for Innovative Medication Development Research. The two scientists, Dr. Thomas Kosten, of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and Dr. Peter Burkhard, of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, will each receive $500,000 per year for five years to … Read more

XMRV and related viruses not confirmed in blood of healthy donors or chronic fatigue syndrome patients

A study supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could not validate or confirm previous research findings that suggested the presence of one of several viruses in blood samples of people living with chronic fatigue syndrome. The new study also could not find the viruses in blood samples of healthy donors who … Read more

Director of Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine

National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has announced the appointment of Mahendra S. Rao, M.D., Ph.D. as the director for the new NIH Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine (NIH-CRM). The NIH-CRM is an initiative to create a world-class center of excellence in stem cell technology on the NIH campus, including induced … Read more

Martha J. Somerman, D.D.S., Ph.D., named director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Martha J. Somerman, D.D.S., Ph.D., has been appointed as director of the National Institute of dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). She is currently dean of the University of Washington School of Dentistry, Seattle, a position she has held since 2002. She will begin her duties as NIDCR director on Aug. 29, 2011. National Institutes of … Read more

Analysis of opioid prescription practices finds areas of concern

An analysis of national prescribing patterns shows that more than half of patients who received an opioid prescription in 2009 had filled another opioid prescription within the previous 30 days. This report also suggested potential opportunities for intervention aimed at reducing abuse of prescription opioids. Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a … Read more