PROFILE 2011

There’s No 

Other Hospital 

Like It 

N I H C L I N I C A L C E N T E R • D I R E C T O R ’ S A N N U A L R E P O R T 

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services • National Institutes of Health 
Keep in touch with the 

NIH Clinical Center 

Go online, clinicalcenter.nih.gov 

Find us on Facebook and Twitter 
 

 

 

PROFILE 2011

There’s No 

Other Hospital 

Like It 

CONTENTS 2011

3 Message from the Director 

4 Mission/Vision 

6 Patient Activity and Support 

16 Advancing Clinical Research 

39 Training the Next Generation 

48 Organizational Improvement/Teamwork 

54 Noteworthy 

58 Organization and Governance 

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E D I R E C T O R 

HISTORIC OPPORTUNITIES 

The Clinical Center underwent unprecedented scrutiny in 2010 as part of a thorough 

review of NIH’s intramural program by the Scientific Management Review Board. 

The Board was authorized by the NIH Reform Act of 2006 to advise the NIH 

Director, HHS officials, and Congress. Recommendations made by the Board at 

the end of 2010 included expanding the Clinical Center’s role as a resource for the 

external clinical research communities; streamlining its governance structure; and 

defining a more stable mechanism for funding that is responsive to evolving priorities. 

These recommendations still face further discussion across NIH and HHS prior to a 

final decision, which will be reported to Congress. 

The Clinical Center has made strides in opening its doors to extramural researchers 

in recent years.The Bench-to-Bedside program has included research collaborations 

involving extramural investigators since 2006.A pilot partnership with the Damon 

Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, announced late in 2010, is a promising new 

avenue for external collaborations with early-career investigators.Training in clinical 

research and its management has long been an important cornerstone of the Clinical 

Center’s mission. Since 1995, more than 21,000 students world-wide have participated 

in the NIH Curriculum in Clinical Research. In 2010, the innovative sabbatical in 

clinical research management attracted its first participants.The sabbatical provides a 

learning environment that is totally flexible and responsive to student needs. 

The Clinical Center provides an unparalleled environment for all aspects of clinical 

research.The coming months and years offer remarkable opportunities for the Clinical 

Center to contribute to medical discovery in important new ways. 

John I. Gallin, MD 

Director, NIH Clinical Center 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 3 
 

 

O U R V I S I O N As America’s research hospital, we will lead the global effort in 

training today’s investigators and discovering tomorrow’s cures. 

MISSION To provide a versatile clinical research environment enabling the NIH mission to 

improve human health by: 

•	 investigating the pathogenesis of disease; 

• 	 conducting first-in-human clinical trials with an emphasis on rare diseases 

and diseases of high public health impact; 

• 	 developing state-of-the-art diagnostic, preventive, and 

therapeutic interventions; 

• 	 training the current and next generations of clinical researchers; and, 

• 	 ensuring that clinical research is ethical, efficient, and of high 

scientific quality. 

There’s No Other Hospital Like It
 

4 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
R E C E N T R C L I N I C A L C E N T E R A C H I E V E M E N T S 
 

I N 2 0 1 0 W E : 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 5 

• Expanded the international reach of clinical research training programs. 

• Initiated a sabbatical in clinical research management. 

• Began a pilot partnership with the National Cancer Institute’s Center for 

Cancer Research and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 

offering some of the Clinical Center’s capabilities and expertise to an 

external group of clinical investigators in cancer research. 

• Defined the nursing subspecialty in clinical research nursing. 

• Opened a new pharmaceutical development facility to formulate candidate drugs and a Special Clinical Studies Unit offering state-of-the-art 

isolation and extended-stay capabilities. 

• Partnered with Project SEARCH to launch an internship program for 

young adults with disabilities. 


• Underwent review as part of the Scientific Management Review Board’s 

focus on NIH intramural research. The Board, established by the NIH 

Reform Act of 2006, advises the NIH Director and HHS officials on certain 

organizational authorities. 

• Celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge. 

• Continued collaborations in the Undiagnosed Disease Program. Nearly 

400 patients have been accepted since the program began in 2008. 


• Improved communications with referring physicians. 

• Enhanced patient safety through expanded bar-coding capabilities. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patient Activity and Support 

HOME STATES OF ALL ACTIVE CLINICAL CENTER PATIENTS 

0-999 

1,000-7,999 

3,000 + 

ions. 

ND WA MT 27 MN 363 85 360 MA 

WI SD 122 OR 352 24 228 ID MI 

113 WY 602 NY 43 VT 63 IA 1692 

NE NH 100 150 140 PA MA 499 

IL IN OH 1943 RI 71 NV 752 460 738 UT CO CT 350 97 280 367 KS NJ 1016 MO WV 183 DE 283 348 KY 417 VA CA DC 4645 272 8933 1306 MD 20,749 

OK TN NC 220 AR 325 1105 AZ NM 99 315 119 SC 

MS 379 AL GA 

146 198 598 

TX LA 928 254 Patients come to NIH from 

every corner of America 

seeking answers to their AK 

FL scientific and medical quest 42 

1362 Finding these answers through 

leading-edge clinical research 

is the sole mission of the 

HI NIH Clinical Center, guiding 80 all of its activity. 

WORKFORCE DISTRIBUTION 

Nursing & patient care/support 

services 41% 

Administrative & operations 18% 

Clinical departments & 


imaging sciences 


departments 41%
 

The Clinical Center has a staff of 


approximately 2,000.
 

FY 2010 BUDGET BY MAJOR CATEGORY 

377.4 MILLION 

6 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 

Salaries and benefits 57%
 

NIH assessments 7%
 

Drugs 10% 


Contracts (labor) 8%
 

Contracts (non-labor) 7%
 

Equipment 3%
 

Supplies 6%
 

All other 2%
 
P A T I E N T A C T I V I T Y 2 0 0 8 – 2 0 1 0 
 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 7 

Admissions 08 6,105 4.8% increase 

09 6,426 5.3% increase 

10 6,000 6.6% decrease 

New patients 08 9,460 0.3% increase 

09 10,315 9% increase 

10 P A T I E N T 10,086 A C T I V I T Y P A P A T- 2.2% decrease 

Inpatient days 08 51,311 0.2% increase 

09 55,664 8.5% increase 

10 56,502 1.5% increase 

Average length 08 8.5 1.5% decrease 

of stay (days) 09 8.7 2.6% increase 

10 9.4 7.6% increase 

Outpatient 08 90,254 0.7% decrease 

visits 09 96,372 6.8% increase 

10 96,664 0.3% increase 

ONSITE CLIN I CAL ACTIVITY FOR 2006–2010
 

Active 06 1,372 

Protocols 07 1,390 

08 1,449 

09 1,451 

10 1,443 

New 06 205 

Protocols 07 166 

08 155 

09 162 

10 158 

Principal 06 505 

Investigators 07 484 

08 478 

09 481 

10 474 
 

PATIENT ART ON DISPLAY
 

A new display in the NIHVisitor Center and 

Nobel Laureate Exhibit Hall in the Natcher 

Building spotlights Clinical Center partners 

in research—the patients.Tiles from “The Art 

of Healing” art therapy project out of the CC 

Rehabilitation Medicine Department Recreation 

Therapy Section and the CC Art Program were 

installed in late February.The project was conducted in the summer of 2008 and invited patients and 

their family members to decorate tiles to express 

their experiences through illness and treatment 

using mixed media like copper cut-out shapes, 

game pieces with letters, paint, and a texturized 

modeling paste. Many of the tiles are presented in 

the “Hope Flows from One to Another” display 

on the Hatfield Building’s seventh floor. Next to 

the wall of NIH Nobel Prize laureates, the patient 

artwork completes a representation of translational 

research. 

“We so appreciate the addition of this patientfocused exhibit. It adds a wonderful dimension 

and balance to the other displays in the exhibit 

hall that focus on the importance of researchers as 

mentors,” saidVisitor Center and Nobel Laureate 

Exhibit Hall director Jennifer Gorman (at right in 

photo with coworkerTara Mowery).“The patient 

tiles bring the human story of research to the audience.They literally jump off the wall and say to the 

viewer that research and discovery is about life.” 

The art selection and arrangement of the work, 

with identifiable themes at eye-level, particularly 

appeals to middle-school age groups who participate in programs at the NIH, Gorman said, though 

any kid at heart should be drawn to the tiles. 

TheVisitor Center plans to continue enhancing 

the Nobel Laureate Hall’s aesthetic with interactive consoles where visitors can hear stories of discoveries from the researchers who made them and 

experience virtual tours and science that highlight 

the NIH. 

FORMER PATIENT CELEBRATES LIFE AFTER BEATING CANCER AT THE NIH 

Robert Longo celebrated an anniversary in June 2010. Given a 20 

percent chance of living two years, Longo has survived 35 years after 

a bone cancer diagnosis at age 15. 

He was diagnosed on June 10, 1975. Living in Rockville at the time, 

Longo learned of an NIH protocol for the cancer that would take 

his left leg above the knee. Others in the study were also teenagers 

and together they did two legged races down the hall and played in 

wheelchair basketball games organized by the nurses. 

His experience as a research volunteer inspired his project to earn 

“life rank” in the Boy Scouts of America: a blood drive at the NIH 

Blood Bank. More than 100 people donated 92 pints of blood. 

Longo continues to organize NIH blood drives. 

8 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
VOLUNTEER INTERPRETERS HELP STAFF AND PATIENTS BRIDGE 


LANGUAGE BARRIERS
 

Eileen DeSantillana (right) is one of more than 

70 language interpreter volunteers who help 

patients like Jaime Sanchez of Oaxaca, Mexico, 

navigate the sometimes complicated journey of 

clinical research. To assure that all patients have a 

full understanding of their involvement in clinical 

research, and, conversely, to assure that staff have 

a full understanding of what the patient is experiencing, the CC relies on a dedicated staff of 

language interpreters. 

The program also comprises three staff members 

to handle the average of 25 (though as high as 

40) interpreter requests that come in a day. From 

Amharic (spoken in Ethiopia) toYiddish, the program offers interpreters in more than 40 languages. 

Volunteers come in the form of former and current NIH staff, local retirees of such international 

entities as the World Bank and the Pan American 

Health Organization, and medical students or 

those who wish to soon be such.“Our volunteers 

are selfless people who serve with devotion 

and humanity,” said coordinator Brenda Robles. 

“They value their experience and show respect 

to the patients.We admire them and highly 

value them.” 

All volunteers are vetted and tested to assure that 

their capabilities match the CC needs, particularly 

knowledge of medical and legal jargon, Robles 

said. No matter their background, applicants take a 

written and an oral test then, if they pass, shadow 

an interpreter to learn the CC process. 

Nurse Eleftheria (Libby) Koklanaris of the National 

Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute uses the the 

service almost daily to interpret for procedures 

and consents and to communicate and correspond 

with patients and their doctors in their country 

of origin. 

“Without the Language Interpreter Program and 

their services, it would be challenging to advocate 

for the patient’s needs, which does not do justice 

for the patients,” Koklanaris said.“They offer many 

services and their endless efforts of advocacy and 

professionalism are what make them desired by 

many.” 

ARTIST’S EYES
 

Chevy Chase artist Jean Meisel made a 

generous donation to the Clinical Center in 

2010—13 large works, half of which hang in 

the Magnuson’s Building new main corridor. 

Her artist’s statement explains her work:“Every 

day of our lives we are astounded by the glorious and mysterious objects and events in the 

natural world. In my paintings I isolate shapes 

and colors and simplify what I see—rocks, 

leaves, skies, shells—in the hope that the viewer, 

like the painter, can apprehend these miracles 

with new eyes.” 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 9 
 

EDMOND J. SAFRA FAMILY LODGE MARKS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY 

The Edmond J. Safra Family 

Lodge has housed close to 

74,000 caregivers of Clinical Center patients since it 

opened on June 1, 2005. It 

offers convenience and community to the loved ones of 

our partners in research. 

A haven for caregivers of Clinical Center 

patients—the Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge— 

welcomed its first guests on June 1,2005. 

Since then, about 74,000 family caregivers from around the world have stayed at the 

Family Lodge.“The lodge was first conceived 

by Clinical Center nurses, and having a 

resource like the Family Lodge was a goal of 

mine for many years,” said Dr. John I. Gallin, 

CC director.“Patient volunteers make clinical 

research and medical discovery possible.The 

lodge makes it possible for their loved ones to stay 

close and be comfortable during what can 

be a very stressful time.” 

Just steps away from the CC, the 34-room guest 

house is an extension of the patient experience, 

said Denise Ford, chief of CC Hospitality Services. 

“We know how much our patients need the support of their loved ones while they are inpatients. 

It gives them peace of mind to know that family is 

close by and well cared for by our wonderful staff 

at the lodge,” Ford said. 

Getting here 

The CC initiated the NIH Guest House 

program in 1996 in Building 20, the former staff 

Apartment House. Building 20 was torn down in 

1998 to make way for the Hatfield Building. 

The six-unit Guest House moved to a nearby 

apartment building on Battery Lane in Bethesda 

then to six rooms in a local hotel.These pilot programs demonstrated the need for housing.The CC 

approached the Foundation for the NIH, asking 

that the foundation’s board spearhead a campaign 

to solicit support from private sector partners to 

build the Family Lodge.As the project closely 

reflects its mission—supporting NIH’s efforts to 

improve health through scientific discovery— 

the foundation board made fundraising for the 

much-needed lodge its highest priority. 

On April 17, 2002, a ceremony marking the 

naming of the facility as the Edmond J. Safra 

Family Lodge was held at the Russell Senate 

Office Building in Washington, DC. 

Massachusetts Sen.Ted Kennedy was a keynote 

speaker in support of the lodge. Contributors of 

the $9 million raised to build the lodge, besides 

the main benefactor, the Edmond J. Safra 

Philanthropic Foundation, included the Merck 

Company Foundation; the Bristol-Myers Squibb 

Foundation; GlaxoSmithKline; the Harry and 

Jeanette Weinberg Foundation; and many other 

corporations, foundations, and individuals. 

Considered by many to have been the twentieth 

century’s greatest private banker, Safra quietly 

carried out many philanthropic activities.The 

Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation carries forth Safra’s lifetime commitment to medical 

10 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
National Symphony Orchestra 

conductor Marvin Hamlisch 

and violinist Marissa Regni

presented a holiday concert 

at the Edmond J. Safra Family

Lodge in December. It was the 

the renown musican’s fifth 

holiday concert here. 

 

research and humanitarian causes. His namesake 

organization gave millions to the Foundation 

for the NIH. Safra’s wife, Lily, serves on the 

foundation’s board of directors. 

A groundbreaking ceremony on October 29, 

2002, marked the beginning of construction of the 

Family Lodge. It was designed by Amy Weinstein 

of Weinstein Studio in conjunction with the 

architectural firm Louviere, Stratton andYokel. 

Designed in the unique style of an early 1900s 

English Manor House, the lodge offers a retreat 

to the families and caregivers who make it their 

temporary home. 

Lily Safra, on making her gift for the building of 

the Family Lodge, said,“We know that when 

illness afflicts one person, an entire family can 

suffer.The mission of the Edmond J. Safra Family 

Lodge is to give those families a place to remain 

resilient together.” 

On May 26, 2005, the six-year planning and 

construction project officially came to an end 

as the Family Lodge was formally dedicated 

and opened.When Lily Safra saw the completed 

building for the first time, she smiled and simply 

stated,“Beautiful.” 

How it works 

Guests are offered a room at the Family Lodge 

based on a priority system. Caregivers of patients 

Special garden setting 

Through an additional special 

gift to the Foundation for 

the NIH made by Lily Safra, 

landscaping around the Family 

Lodge offers visitors a myriad 

of garden experiences, including the more private Claudio 

and Evelyne Cohen Garden. 

A peaceful, tranquil venue 

provides guests with a place of 

rest and refuge from their dayto-day concerns in an English 

park-like setting reminiscent of 

the lodge’s architecture. A path 

meanders along the perimeter 

of the lodge’s property, and a 

number of smaller pathways 

lead to more intimate seating 

areas. Each is distinctively 

treated with plantings and a 

water feature. Benches offer guests multiple areas for 

conversation and reflection. 

The gardens were designed by 

Madison Cox Design Inc.

in the intensive care unit are given first priority, 

followed by those with loved ones in palliative or 	

end-of-life care. Close to 70 percent of guests are 

from the third priority group: those accompanying 

a patient having inpatient surgery or admitted 

for more than one week. 

The remaining priorities are for 

discharged inpatients (and their 

guests) transitioning home and 

outpatients (and their guests). 

The Family Lodge is located at 

the corner of Convent and Center 

Drives, across the street from the CC. 

“The proximity of the lodge to the 

Clinical Center offers ease of access,” 

Ford said.“It gives them one less 

thing to worry about and lets them 

focus on caring for their loved one.” 

“Staff are customer service-oriented, 

but respect the guests’ privacy,” said 

Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge 

Executive Director Lawrence 

Eldridge. Many want to reflect or 

relax alone, while some guests may 

care to engage with others, frequently 

in the lodge’s shared kitchen. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 11 
os. 

 hear from the medical 

SURGERY SPACES RENOVATED TO IMPROVE PROCESS FOR PATIENTS AND VISITORS
 

A new space for the 

Department of Perioperative 

Medicine’s family waiting and 

outpatient arrival area offers 

separate enclaves for privacy 

and comfort. 

Surgery is a multi-step process for patients and 

for their loved ones, too. Recognition of the stakeholders and the several stages involved in preparing for an invasive procedure led to a recently 

completed renovation of some areas of the Clinical 

Center Department of Perioperative Medicine. 

The pre-anesthesia clinic now includes three interview and exam areas, along with a separate waiting 

area, which allows for more privacy and a more 

relaxed setting.At the clinic, patients scheduled 

for surgery review the planned procedure and the 

risks of anesthesia with staff and have the opportunity to bring up any questions or discuss concerns. 

On the day of their surgery, outpatients report 

to the new waiting area, where loved ones of all 

surgical patients can wait to 

team. Closer to the procedure areas and recovery room than its predecessor, the new waiting 

area features isolated areas where family members and friends can gather separate from other 

patients’ visitors. 

An appreciated addition to the new space is 

a private room for sensitive conversations. 

A volunteer services representative is present 

to answer questions and assist the arriving outpatients and the waiting family and friends. 

A bright, new holding area lets the surgical 

team take proper preparation steps—such 

as documentation and site marking—efficiently 

and privately. 

CRACKING A SMILE 

Clowns from the Ringling Br 

and Barnum & Bailey Circus 

visited Clinical Center 

patients—including 

Vienna Mariela Martinez 

Fuentes—in March. 

12 • A N N U A L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
The new “elegant” 

Clinical Center patient 

menu features fresher 

ingredients and new 

offerings from the 

Nutrition Department. 

FRESHER, MORE 

SEASONAL 

More fresh foods, more variety, 

redesigned layout.The Clinical 

Center Nutrition Department 

rolled out its revised patient 

menu in mid-2010. 

The new menu replaces 

some frozen foods with fresh 

versions. For example, fresh 

spinach replaces frozen spinach 

on the dinner sides menu.The 

Fall/Winter seasonal menu also offers more variety, 

adding shrimp, pork chops, beef stew, baked sweet 

potatoes, and a variety of new soups, including 

a soup of the day.The menu is without added 

trans fat. 

“The Clinical Center strives to be ahead of 

the curve when it comes to our room service 

program,” said Jennifer Widger, Food Service 

Section chief, comparing the new menu to the 

options offered at other hospitals.“We provide a 

‘build-your-own’ concept for many of our items, 

such as a salad bar and pasta bar, so patients can 

combine whichever ingredients they would like.” 

The recipes are developed by the department’s 

certified executive chef, Robert Hedetniemi. 

Every new menu item is then thoroughly 

reviewed by clinical dietitians who determine if 

the item complies with more than 150 diets. 

Nutrition Department food preparation staff and 

phone operators receive training on new recipes 

and participate in a taste test, so they can answer 

questions about items. Lee Unangst, dietitian 

informaticist and manager of the department’s 

complex computer system, ensures ingredients and 

nutrition information is accurate and correct. 

With a diverse patient population, the CC must 

work to feed a variety of diets. 

“Because we serve patients from all over the world, 

there are, of course, different food preferences,” 

explained Widger, describing how her group 

found a source of halal-certified meat for a 

Muslim patient who came to the CC for a lengthy 

stay.“When we get a patient request, we honor it.” 

CELEBRATING PATIENT SIBLINGS 

Brothers and sisters of Clinical Center patients 

were honored during the Third Annual Sibling 

Day at the Clinical Center on July 13, 2010. 

“It is truly important that there is a time . . . 

they can be a proud, contributing member 

of their family,” said Dr. Lori Wiener, event 

organizer and coordinator of NCI’s Pediatric 

Psychosocial Support Program.The program 

is conducted in conjunction with the Clinical 

Center Rehabilitation Medicine Department 

Recreation Therapy Section and The Children’s 

Inn. Participants visited the Department of 

Laboratory Medicine, the Department of 

Perioperative Medicine, and a mock scanner in the 

National Institute of Mental Health Behavioral 

Health Clinic. Chief of the Recreation Therapy 

Section Donna Gregory facilitated therapeutic 

activities encouraging the siblings to talk about 

their experiences with a sick brother or sister and 

starting a conversation on what they face and how 

they cope with it. 

In an operating room, siblings 

learned how staff sterilize the 

environment and got a chance 

to practice surgery in a mock 

belly. Nurse Shayna Herbert 

showed patient siblings Katalina 

Khoury (left) and Kassidy Koch 

some of the tools surgeons use. 

A N N U A L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 1 3 
HOSPITAL RECOGNIZES COMMUNITY OF CAREGIVERS
 

WITH DAY OF ACTIVITY
 

In recognition of the support provided by family 

and loved ones to patients participating in clinical 

research, the Clinical Center celebrated National 

Family Caregiver Month with Family Caregiver 

Day on November 1, 2010. 

Research shows that family caregivers are at 

increased risk for health, emotional, financial, 

and work-related problems. In addition, family 

caregivers often find themselves in positions that 

make it difficult to maintain their own health. 

“Caregivers report a lot of disruption in their 

sleep, high levels of physical and emotional fatigue, 

and high levels of distress that might even suggest 

that they need clinical intervention,” said Dr. 

Margaret Bevans, clinical nurse scientist in Nursing 

and Patient Care Services.According to Bevans, 

research in the chronic care setting shows that 

individuals who provide informal care to loved 

ones exhibit not only an increase in morbidity, but 

may also have an increased risk of mortality. 

The agenda for Family Caregiver Day included 

a presentation from guest speaker Dr. Richard 

Schulz, a nationally recognized expert in the field 

of caregiver research. Schulz is the director of the 

University Center for Social and Urban Research 

at the University of Pittsburgh. His talk— 

”Reflections on Three Decades of Research on 

Caregiving”—described some of the psychosocial 

and general health issues encountered by family 

caregivers, along with intervention research and 

implications for policy. 

Dr. Richard Schulz, a 

nationally recognized 

expert in the field of 

caregiver research, 

was guest speaker. 

As a caregiver for her husband, Nancy Bradfield of 

Harrisonburg,Va., understands how hard it can be. 

“For people who are just coming into a situation 

where their loved one has been diagnosed with a 

serious illness, it can be quite a challenge,” she said. 

“I think that if you can tell yourself that you need 

to stay as optimistic as possible, it helps a lot.And 

try to communicate as well as you can with the 

patient.” 

Events included an information fair and expo; an 

interactive art project; sessions with mental health 

and social work workers; and fitness, yoga, and 

massage demonstrations. 

“We are already caring for a unique population, 

so we need to think of our caregivers as having to 

deal with unique challenges.They are managing 

not just the clinical needs of their loved ones, but 

they also need to understand and interpret the 

needs associated with the clinical trial their loved 

one is enrolled in.This is an added complexity,” 

said Bevans. 

She is currently investigating the effectiveness 

of problem-solving education in caregivers 

and patients who are receiving stem cell 

transplantation.“We are trying to determine 

if caregivers who are supporting individuals 

undergoing a stem cell transplant also report 

levels of emotional distress or symptoms that 

will put them at risk for health issues in the 

future,” she said. 

Ideally, Bevans would like to see caregivers 

maximize the resources and education available to 

them while at the CC, giving them the knowledge 

and resources necessary to stay healthy when they 

return home. 

“If you think about the role of the caregiver—the 

commitment to their family, their employer, their 

own health—one can easily recognize the scope of 

the caregiving experience. It’s much broader than 

what we see when they are with us,” she said. 

14 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
Asyky Maris works a paper 

cutout of a hand to add to the 

“Collage of Helping Hands” 

interactive art project offered 

by the Rehabilitation Medicine 

Department Recreation Therapy 

Section. 

TEEN RETREAT 

Members of The Children’s Inn band— 

including staff members Alex Florez 

(left) and Joe Hage—serenaded 

participants in the Fourth Annual Teen 

Retreat in June 2010. The Clinical 

Center Rehabilitation Medicine Department’s Recreation Therapy Section— 

in collaboration with The Children’s 

Inn—coordinates the event, which 

offered two days of programs aimed 

at balancing therapeutic activities with 

team-building exercises. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 15 
 

 

Advancing Clinical Research 


PROTOCOLS BY RESEARCH TYPE 

(ONSITE INTRAMURAL PROTOCOLS, FISCAL YEAR 2010) 

Total active protocols: 1,443	 

Clinical trials: 638 (44%) 

Training: 21 (2%)

Sample/data analysis: 120 (8%) 

Screening: 67 (5%) 

Natural history: 580 (40%) 

Pharmaco-dynamics/ 

kinetics studies: 17 (1%) 

Clinical studies are medical research studies (or protocols) 

in which human volunteers participate. Clinical trials 

are studies developing or investigating new treatments 

and medications for diseases and conditions. Natural 

history studies investigate normal human biology and 

the development of a particular disease. Screening studies

determine if individuals may be suitable candidates for 

inclusion in a particular study. Training studies provide 

an opportunity for staff physicians and other health-care 

professionals to follow particular types of patients. 

Breakdown of clinical trials	 

Total clinical trials: 638 

Phase 0:	 9 (1%) 

Phase I: 	 198 (31%) 

Phase I-2: 	 70 (11%) 

Phase 2: 	 307 (49%) 

Phase 3: 	 39 (6%) 

Phase 4 15 (2%) 

16 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 

Clinical trials phases 

Phase 0:	 An initial first-in-human study (20-30 

participants) under an exploratory IND 

(investigational new drug) for early 

identification of biologic and molecular 

markers in new clinical agents.There is very 

little agent exposure with no therapeutic or 

diagnostic intent. 

Phase I: 	 Researchers test a new drug or treatment 

for the first time in a small group of people 

(20–80) to evaluate its safety, determine a safe 

dosage range, and identify side effects. 

Phase II:	 The study drug or treatment is given to a 

larger group of people (100–300) to see if it is 

effective and to further evaluate its safety. 

Phase III:	 The study drug or treatment is given to 

large groups of people (3,000 or more) to 

confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, 

compare it with commonly used treatments, 

and collect information that will ensure 

safe usage. 

Phase IV:	 These studies are done after the drug 

or treatment has been marketed. Researchers 

continue to collect information about the 

effect of the drug or treatment in various 

populations and to determine any side effects 

from long-term use. 
THE ROAD AHEAD FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH NURSING
 

Clinical research nurses from more than 20 states 

and four countries discussed the “Road Ahead” 

during the Second Annual International 

Association of Clinical Research Nurses (IACRN) 

Conference co-hosted by Clinical Center Nursing 

and Patient Care in November 2010. 

Dr. Christine Grady, acting chief of the CC 

Bioethics Department, delivered the conference’s 

keynote,“Clinical Research Nursing: Ethical 

Foundations and Challenges on the Road Ahead.” 

Grady described some of the central ethical tensions experienced by nurses in a clinical research 

setting and encouraged nurses to be active, vocal 

members of the research team. 

“Each of the diverse nursing roles has its own 

absolute critical function in the conduct of clinical 

research, and all of us are committed to quality 

research practices, high ethical standards, regulatory 

compliance, and human subjects protection,” she 

said.“In order to accomplish those goals, we need 

to be familiar with the ethical challenges that we 

face—the principles, regulations, and other guidance for the ethical conduct of clinical research.” 

According to Grady, clinical research nurses or 

research nurse coordinators often find themselves 

in a position where they are advocates for three 

competing components of research: the individual 

as patient, the individual as study participant, and 

the research. 

“All of us, I think, can recognize times when there 

is a tension between a data point that needs to be 

taken care of and a patient who might be upset or 

asleep,” she said.“We wake them up, we calm them 

down, but the tension that we feel in that process is 

real.There are struggles between what we believe 

is important for the comfort and interest of the 

patient, and the need to collect and report 

accurate data.” 

CC Chief Nursing Officer 

Dr. Clare Hastings (left) 

accepted the IACRN 

Distinguished Clinical 

Research Nurse Award 

from the association’s pastpresident Margaret McCabe 

(center) and current president 

Nicole Mullen (right). 

DEFINING CLINICAL RESEARCH 

NURSING 

Discover a better nursing career for a better world. 

So said a video played at the beginning of the 

Clinical Research Nursing 2010: Nursing Practice 

at America’s Research Hospital pre-conference 

November 17, 2010. 

Clinical Center Nursing and Patient Care Services 

hosted the event, which was held the day before 

the International Association of Clinical Research 

Nurses conference.The pre-conference reviewed 

the department’s four-year initiative to define the 

specialty.“Clinical research nursing encompasses 

the care that is required because of the condition 

the patient has and any work that is necessary for 

the clinical research study,” said Dr. Clare Hastings, 

chief nurse officer.“If the person has diabetes, a 

clinical research nurse takes care of the diabetes. 

There is also serial sampling, blood draws, and 

other procedures that are part of the protocol.” 

The CRN2010 initiative was launched in 2007 

following a review that encouraged nursing to 

share the specialized nature of its practice. 

A team of nurses worked to define the domain of 

practice through interviews, review of 

Acting chief of the CC 

Bioethics Department 

Dr. Christine Grady delivered 

the IACRN conference keynote 

on ethical foundations and 

challenges of clinical research 

nursing. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 17 
A panel of representatives 

of different clinical research 

nursing positions gave their 

perspectives on their roles in 

research. Participating were 

(from left) Leslie Wehrlen, 

nurse specialist in research; 

Dirk Darnell, clinical research 

nurse; and Carol Levinson, 

senior clinical research 

nurse. 

clinical research nurse job descriptions, and review 

of relevant of literature.They narrowed their findings to five dimensions that represent the specialty. 

“CRN2010 was the basis for our strategic plan, 

and we feel very good that we accomplished what 

we set out to do,” Hastings said. 

Clinical Research Nursing 2010 took this definition to the level of detail and consensus required 

to create a certification process for nurses practicing in clinical research.This nursing specialty 

focuses on the care of research participants. In 

addition to providing and coordinating clinical 

care, clinical research nurses have a central role 

in assuring participant safety, ongoing maintenance of informed consent, integrity of protocol 

implementation, accuracy of data collection, data 

recording, and follow up. 

Hastings also explained the role of nurses at the 

CC and demonstrated the value of the profession 

in the research process.“If you want precision data 

collection and patient care as specified in the protocol, you can’t be understaffed,” she said. 

Pre-conference attendees, who came from academic institutions across the country, heard from 

LCDR Dr. Margaret Bevans on the results of a 

role delineation study—differences between a 

research nurse coordinator and a clinical research 

nurse—and the need for further analysis. 

Representatives from different roles gave their 

perspectives on nursing roles in research, and 

nurses attended round table discussions on innovative approaches to a particular challenge in 

clinical research nursing.The afternoon also held 

an opportunity for tours of the Clinical Center 

and discussion of research in particular patient care 

settings. 

Bertha Robbins, clinical research nurse coordinator, is one of a small research staff at Middlesex 

Hospital Cancer Center in Middletown, Conn. 

She traveled to the Clinical Research Nursing 

2010 pre-conference to learn from and share with 

others in her field.“I think the initiative is a great 

idea,” Robbins said.“This is the only way to move 

the profession forward.” 

18 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
 

 

 

 

Dr ector 

DECKER LECTURE COMBATS MYTHS AROUND HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS
 

The seventh in a series honoring NIH leaders in 

clinical teaching, the 2010 John Laws Decker Memorial Lecture in June, highlighted the work of Dr. 

Tara Palmore, deputy hospital epidemiologist at the 

Clinical Center and staff clinician at the National 

Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Palmore 

is the recipient of the NIH Fellows Committee’s 

2009 Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award. 

Palmore’s lecture,“Hospital Infections: Rumors and 

Reality,” addressed common misconceptions about 

hospital-acquired infections, an area of interest of 

the NIH community evidenced by the crowd at 

Lipsett Amphitheater. 

Hospital-acquired infections—which affect nearly 

2 million people a year and kill an estimated 

99,000—come at a serious cost, economically, 

and socially, Palmore said. 

“An intangible but extremely important consequence of hospital infections is a loss of public 

confidence in the health-care system, which allows 

these infections to occur in a place where people 

go to get well,” she said. 

Palmore refuted the misconception that “hospital 

infections are bound to happen” and explained 

ways health-care professionals can prevent and treat 

infections. Palmore discussed the CC policy of 

mandatory flu vaccination for patient-care staff. 

“The reality is that flu vaccination of health-care 

workers saves patient lives,” she said. 

Palmore discussed strategies to prevent or terminate 

the transmission of infection and encouraged lecture 

attendees to always consider the possibility of 

an outbreak until proven otherwise and to avoid 

viewing single infections as isolated incidents 

or coincidences. 

“Hospital infections should not be accepted as a 

normal part of patient care,” she said.“We aren’t 

going to get certificates for having clean hands, 

but preventing infections is really its own reward.” 

Palmore came to the NIH in 2001 as an infectious 

disease fellow after completing her medical degree 

at the University ofVirginia School of Medicine 

and residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill 

Cornell Medical Center. She joined the NIH staff 

in 2005 and became deputy hospital epidemiologist 

in 2007. Palmore directs development, organization, 

and implementation of the CC infection control 

program. 

The annual lecture is presented in memory of 

former CC Director Dr. John Laws Decker, who 

died in 2000. He served as director of the CC 

and as NIH associate director for clinical care 

from 1983 until 1990, after which he was named 

scientist emeritus. 

Dr. Tara Palmore presented 

the 2010 John Laws Decker 

Memorial Lecture. 

Doppman imaging lecture presents “The Evolution of PET” 

Radiology and Imaging Sciences hosted the 10th annual John Doppman 

Memorial Lecture for Imaging Sciences on October 27, 2010. 

Dr. Carolyn Cidis Meltzer,William P.Timmie Professor and Chair of 

Radiology, as well as associate dean for research at Emory University School of 

Medicine, was the speaker. She is also director of the Emory Center for Systems 

Imaging. . David Bluemke, dir

Meltzer spoke on “The Evolution of PET: Images of Progress.” 

The Doppman lecture is held in honor of the late chief of the CC’s 

former Diagnostic Radiology Department. 

Dr. David Bluemke, director 

of CC Radiology and Imaging Sciences, with Carolyn 

Cidis Meltzer, who presented 

the 10th John Doppman 

Memorial Lecture for Imaging 

Sciences. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 19 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recovery Act funds go to Clinical Center projects 

Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is enabling major purchases in support of 

initiatives that will help stimulate advances in science and technology. The projects are: 

•	 Instrument to provide automated assessment of the white blood cell differential, identifying the 

fraction of white cells that are neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and basophils. 

•	 Hardware and software upgrades for the Clinical Research Information System (CRIS), the 

electronic patient record application. 

•	 Upgrade to existing information technology system to integrate the new perioperative information 

system and extend the infectious diseases and health-care epidemiology surveillance platform to 

outpatients. 

•	 New capability for centralized patient scheduling that integrates into the Clinical Research 

Information System. 

•	 Hi-resolution display monitors so clinicians have greater access for review of images from the 

Electronic Picture Archiving Communications Systems that enable filmless radiology operations. 

•	 Portable computers to enhance quality care and patient safety by facilitating documentation at the 

point of care. 

•	 Expansion of the perioperative information system, which enables procedures scheduling and 

nursing/physician/anesthesia documentation. Information will be integrated to the Clinical 

Research Information System. 

•	 System to automate the process of nucleic acid extraction from samples, which increases the 

efficiency of molecular diagnostic services. 

•	 Freezers to replace old and outdated equipment for use with clinical blood products, reagents, and 

clinical specimens. 

•	 Freezers to replace equipment used to store cellular therapy products, rare red blood cells, and 

human leukocyte antigen (HLA) specimens for clinical use. 

•	 Equipment used during surgeries when excessive blood loss occurs. Such pumps can be life-saving 

by rapidly infusing large volumes of blood and blood products. 

•	 Replacement endoscopes that are used during surgical procedures to visualize the respiratory and 

gastrointestinal tracts. 

•	 Equipment to support ultrasounds, oxygen-dependent patients, and patients in impending 

respiratory failure. 

•	 New server that will allow storage of complex data for electronic data-capture projects involving 

movement analysis studies in rehabilitation medicine. 

•	 Hardware and software to provide authentication to all clinical and administrative information 

systems following Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 regulations using the Government 

Smart Card. 

•	 Equipment to automate the process of isolating specific cell types, based on surface antigens using 

monoclonal antibodies. 

•	 Equipment to enhance support for the hospital standard for intravenous medication safety infusion. 

•	 Software that enables extracting data from the CRIS and ancillary systems to the Data 

Transformation Initiative System used for financial and activity reporting by protocol. 

•	 Hardware and software to enable patient and health-care provider access to patient records and 

facilitate communications with the NIH care and research teams. 

•	 New PET/CT (positron emission tomography) scanner to strengthen and expand support for 

clinical research, patient care. 

•	 Equipment to improve the quality of peripheral blood and bone marrow smears used in 

laboratory tests. 

•	 Patient lifts to ensure staff safety and patient-care efficiency. 

•	 Support to accelerate efforts to transition to and maintain electronic medical records for patients. 

•	 Upgrades for processing servers and Tesla acceleration systems to facilitate more rapid generation of 

higher-quality patient images. 

20 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASTUTE CLINICIAN EXAMINES GENES’ ROLE IN LIVER AND HEART DISEASE
 

The 13th annual Astute Clinician Lecture brought 

a crowd to Masur Auditorium on November 17, 

2010, with a popular topic—“GenesVersus Fast 

Foods: Eat, Drink & BeWary.” 

Dr. Helen H. Hobbs delivered the lecture established 

through a gift from the late Dr.RobertW.Miller 

and his wife Haruko.The Astute Clinician Lectureship honors a US scientist who has observed an unusual occurrence and, by investigating it, has opened 

an important new avenue of research. 

Hobbs is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, director of the Eugene McDermott Center 

for Human Growth and Development, and professor 

of internal medicine and molecular genetics at the 

University ofTexas Southwestern Medical Center. 

For the past 10 years she has spearheaded the Dallas 

Heart Study, a large population-based study of Dallas 

County. 

In her lecture—part of the NIH Director’sWednesday Afternoon Lecture Series—Hobbs presented 

the case study of Morgan Spurlock, the star of the 

documentary “Supersize Me” that chronicled his 

experience with a McDonald’s-only diet. Spurlock’s 

elevated liver function tests and cholesterol levels 

after only 12 days of his experiment is indicative 

of the effect such diet has on many Americans, 

albeit at a slower rate, Hobbs said. 

The elevated liver function tests are most likely due 

to the development of fatty liver disease, which is 

associated with both obesity and insulin resistance. 

However, some diabetics and obese people do not 

have fatty liver disease, Hobbs said. 

“The question that we wanted to address was 

‘Are there genetic factors that are responsible for 

individuals contributing to the propensity to deposit 

triglyceride in the liver?’” she said. 

Hobbs’ team also used genetics to examine the 

relationship between plasma levels of cholesterol and 

heart disease. Researchers know that high plasma 

levels of cholesterol promote atherosclerosis (plaque 

buildup in the arteries), Hobbs said. She presented 

evidence that low plasma levels of cholesterol, if 

maintained over a lifetime, provide protection from 

heart disease. 

Dr H. elen Hobbs of University l H bb f U i it 

of Texas Southwestern Medical 

Center presented the 13th 

annual Astute Clinician Lecuture. 

With her is Dr. William Gahl, 

NHGRI clinical director. 

MEETING SUPPORTS ADVANCEMENT IN CRITICAL CARE TRIALS
 

Clinical Center staff joined other NIH representatives and researchers from around the nation to 

encourage the best science and exchange ideas on 

clinical trials in critical care medicine in November 

2010. 

Approximately 100 researchers attended the third 

meeting of the US Critical Illness and InjuryTrials 

Group, which vets study ideas, offers networking 

opportunities, and facilitates large, multi-center trials. 

This year’s meeting at Natcher Conference Center 

focused on neurologic emergencies.Attendees discussed the key role played by emergency room and 

ICU staff in treating strokes and other neurologic 

emergencies, when quick response matters most. 

“Meetings like this improve the efficiency of studies,” 

said Dr.Anthony Suffredini, associate chief of the CC 

Critical Care Medicine Department and member of 

the meeting organizing committee.“There was a lot 

of synergy between different groups in the multidisciplinary critical care community who might not 

otherwise have the opportunity to communicate or 

collaborate.” 

A N N U A L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 2 1 
 

SYMPOSIUM PRESENTS CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS OF 

TRANSFUSION MEDICINE 

CC Department of Transfusion 

Medicine Chief Dr. Harvey Klein 

(left) presented the 2010 Richard 

J. Davey Award to Dr. Walter 

Dzik of Massachusetts General 

Hospital for his dedication to 

research and education in transfusion medicine. 

The Clinical Center Department of Transfusion 

Medicine hosted the 29th annual Immunohematology & Blood Transfusion Symposium, cosponsored by the American Red Cross, in Masur 

Auditorium on September 16, 2010.The program provides practical information about recent 

developments, current practices, controversies, and 

laboratory management issues relative to transfusion medicine. 

The Richard J. Davey Award—given annually 

to an individual whose contributions have 

significantly advanced the field of transfusion 

medicine—was presented to Dr.Walter Dzik, 

co-director of the Blood Transfusion Service at 

Massachusetts General Hospital and associate 

professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. 

He was a fellow in transfusion medicine here 

from 1981 to 1983. 

During the symposium, Dzik presented on cerebral malaria and cytoadherence. Infected red blood 

cells attach to blood vessels by binding protein 

pfEMP-1 to the CD-36 antigen. CD-36 is found 

on platelets, which bond to endothelium (layer of 

cells in blood vessels), and endothelium itself. 

The clusters of red blood cells, platelets, and 

endothelium make blood delivery difficult and 

an be lethal.Complicating the connection, CD-36 

is also present on monocytes, which swallow red 

blood cells thereby protecting from dangerous 

adhesions to endothelium. 

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Dzik’s group 

found a way to code for CD-36 on monocytes 

versus platelets to examine expression in relation 

to cerebral malaria and outpatient malaria.They 

are doing so in a clinical study in Uganda.”There 

are a lot of obstacles in trying to get to the heart 

of that matter,” Dzik said.“You just have to accept 

that and keep working toward your intent.” 

Dr. Susan Stramer, executive scientific officer at 

the American Red Cross, presented “Plagues in 

the Blood Supply? Emerging Infectious Disease 

Agents du Jour” and listed causes of infectious 

disease risk, including failure of donor selection, 

insensitive tests, mutant/variant organisms, and 

emerging/reemerging agents. Other presentations 

during the day-long symposium focused on infectious diseases, blood and drug evaluation, blood 

usage and monitoring, and application of red 

blood cell molecular testing. 

physician draws a 

crowd in Lipsett 

Reflecting on the lessons learned and 

challenges faced in the field with international 

medical humanitarian organization Doctors 

Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontieres 

(MSF), Dr. Jean-Herve Bradol spoke to a 

packed Lipsett Auditorium on April 16, 2010. 

Director of research at the MSF Center for 

Reflection on Humanitarian Action & Knowledge, Bradol has extensive field experience 

with MSF including in refugee camps in Thailand and in Rwanda during the early 1990s. 

He also served as president of MSF-France for 

eight years and is a former board member of 

MSF-USA. Bradol discussed his experience 

with Burmese refugees in Thailand suffering 

from advanced malaria. A patient told him that 

he had resorted to smuggled drugs from China 

because the MSF drugs were not working. Bradol’s team obtained the other pharmaceuticals 

and started investigating their safety 

and efficacy. 

“But setting up trials in those environments is 

not that easy,” Bradol said. The refugee community was not initially receptive to using a 

Chinese drug not registered in their country, 

and ethical concerns were rampant in conducting research with such a patient population. 

“How can a refugee give consent when the 

question is asked by the very organization that 

provides their basic survival? The person is 

not really in a position to say no,” Bradol said. 

He reported that with advance treatments and 

preventive measures such as mosquito nets, 

malaria is no longer a major public health issue 

in that area. 

His lecture coincided with the release of the 

MSF collection Medical Innovation in Humanitarian Situations: The Work of Médecins Sans 

Frontieres, which illustrates 10 examples of the 

complexities of introducing medical innovations 

in the midst of difficult humanitarian crises. 

22 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
 

PHARMACEUTICAL DEVELOPMENT SECTION UPGRADES TO 

NEW, TAILOR-MADE SPACE 

The unique and groundbreaking work of the 

Clinical Center calls for clinical trial drugs not 

always available from a study sponsor, so we make 

our own. 

The CC Pharmacy Department Pharmaceutical 

Development Section (PDS) was established in 

1956 and has operated in several areas over the last 

half-century. Evolving good manufacturing practices, as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration, presented an opportunity to upgrade the 

PDS environment and equipment in a new space 

created especially for the section. 

PDS formulates and analyzes vaccines and medications not able to be purchased from manufacturers. 

These products account for one-third of the 

1,000 separate drugs (including placebos and 

varying strengths) that the CC uses in its research 

protocols, said PDS Chief George Grimes, Jr. 

An example is a topical, sterile gel of resiniferatoxin, which PDS is developing for research 

into its utility as a pain treatment in an upcoming National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial 

Research protocol from Dr. Mike Iadarola, chief 

of the NIDCR Integrative Neurobiology and 

Neuronal Gene Expression Unit, and Dr.Andrew 

Mannes, staff clinician in the CC Department of 

Perioperative Medicine. 

The section also registers and packages all drugs 

obtained from outside pharmaceutical companies 

for use in CC clinical trials.“We handle all investigational drugs,” Grimes said.“In the double-blind 

studies in particular, all the drugs look alike, so we 

have to be really good about record-keeping and 

procedures.” 

In the new facility, there’s a different room for 

seemingly every step of their process, allowing for 

better air and overall quality control, Grimes said. 

Where staffers work with HIV-infected blood in 

the Clinical Pharmacokinetic Research Laboratory, 

for example, negative air flow (pulling more air in 

than is pumped out) and the use of a biological 

safety cabinet decreases the risk of contamination 

outside the confines of the laboratory. 

Clinical Pharmacokinetic Research Laboratory 

staff characterize how drugs are excreted and 

metabolized, another function of the PDS. 

Pharmaceutical Development Section Chief George 

Grimes, Jr., does the honors 

at a ribbon-cutting on 

January 8, 2010. With him 

are CC Director Dr. John I. 

Gallin (left) and Pharmacy 

Chief Robert DeChristoforo. 

PDS staff (from left) Kumi 

Ishida, Scott Hotaling, and 

Ram Agarwal adjust the new 

automatic capsule machine 

in their section’s updated 

area. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 23 
2010 BENCH-TO-BEDSIDE AWARDS
 

The Bench-to-Bedside (B2B) Program was launched in 1999, and 176 projects totaling about 

$40 million have been funded to date. The program expanded in 2006 to include extramural 

collaborators with 68 grants supplemented so far. Over the past five cycles, extramural interest 

in the program has greatly increased; in the current 2011 application cycle, investigators from 

114 extramural institutions were listed as collaborators or principal investigators on the 

143 Letters of Intent. 

AIDS CATEGORY: PROJECTS FUNDED BY OFFICE OF AIDS RESEARCH 

PROJECT 

New Bioinformatic Approach to 

Determine HIV Incidence 

Role of Gut-Associated Lymphoid 

Tissue in HIV-1 Persistence 

Multiplex Microarray Chip-based 

Diagnosis of Respiratory Infections 

in HIV 

INVESTIGATORS INSTITUTE(S)/INSTITUTION 

NCI: F. Maldarelli; M. Kearney; W. Shao; NIAID: R. Dewar; Johns Hopkins University, 

Bloomberg School of Public Health: J. Margolick; Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute 

at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; (LA BioMed): E. Daar 

NCI: F. Maldarelli; M. Kearney; University of Pittsburgh: D. McMahon; National Naval Medical 

Center: A. Ganesan 

CC: J. Kovacs; A. Suffredini; P. Murray; NIAID: S. Holland; J. Cuellar-Rodriguez; 

NCI: J. Gea-Banacloche; R. Lempicki; Washington Hospital Center: M. Smith 

BEHAVIORAL & SOCIAL SCIENCES CATEGORY: PROJECT FUNDED BY OFFICE OF BEHAVIORAL & SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH 

Antibody Identification and IVIG NIMH: S. Swedo; Yale University: J. Leckman; Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center: 

Treatment of PANDAS M. Cunningham 

WOMEN’S HEALTH: PROJECTS FUNDED BY OFFICE OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN’S HEALTH 

Adrenal Hyperplasia Among NICHD: C. Stratakis; SUNY: S. Ten 

Adolescent Patients With 

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome 

MINORITY HEALTH CATEGORY: PROJECTS CO-FUNDED BY NATIONAL CENTER FOR MINORITY HEALTH & HEALTH DISPARITIES AND INSTITUTES/CENTERS 

Control of XMRV Replication in NCI: V. Pathak; A. Rein; W. S. Hu; F. Maldarelli; University of California, Davis: R. deVere White; 

PBMCs and Prostate Carcinomas H.J. Kung 

In vitro Fucosylation to Augment NHLBI: R. Childs; J. Pantin; CC (Transfusion Medicine): D. Stroncek 

Cord Blood Stem Cell Engraftment 

Biochemical Mechanisms of the NIDDK: A. Schechter; NINR: R. Dionne; CC (Transfusion Medicine): D. Stroncek; W. Smith 

Etiology of Sickle Cell Pain Beth Israel Medical Center: R. Portenoy; R. Cruciani 

GENERAL CATEGORY: PROJECTS CO-FUNDED BY NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES AND INSTITUTES/CENTERS 

Optical Guidance for Improved CC (Radiology and Imaging Sciences): B. Wood; M. Dreher; A. Kapoor; NCI: P. Pinto; 

Prostate Cancer Surgery W. Linehan; Massachusetts General Hospital: U. Mahmood 

Imaging CXCR4-Expressing NIAID: J. Farber; I. Weiss; NIBIB: X. Chen; O. Jacobson; NCI: P. Choyke; 

Cancer Using 64CuAMD Georgetown University: C. Isaacs 

PHARMACOGENOMICS CATEGORY: PROJECT FUNDED BY FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) 

Mechanism of Response to NIAID: M. Yao; W. Strober; I. Fuss; University of MD: R. Cross; M. Flasar 

Anti-TNF Therapy in Inflammatory 

Bowel Disease 

24 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
RARE DISEASES CATEGORY: PROJECTS CO-FUNDED BY OFFICE OF RARE DISEASES RESEARCH AND INSTITUTES/CENTERS 

PROJECT	 

Targeting Antigen-Antibody Responses 

in Systemic Capillary Leak Syndrome 

Sympathetic Innervation & Myocardial 

Injury in Acute Stress Cardiomyopathy 

Preclinical Testing of Targeted Agents 

for Clinical Development in NF1 

The DICER1-related Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Cancer Predisposition 

Syndrome 

Brain Development in Children with 

Williams Syndrome and the 

LIMK1 Gene 

The Role of EGFR in 

Endolymphatic Sac Tumors 

INVESTIGATORS INSTITUTE(S)/INSTITUTION 

NIAID: K. Druey; T. Myers; S. Porcella; NCI: O. Landgren; NIBIB: A. Gorbach; 

University of Minnesota: A. Dudek; Mayo College of Medicine: P. Greipp 

CC (Radiology and Imaging Sciences): C. Sibley; D. Bluemke; NINDS: D. Goldstein; 

NHLBI: D. Rosing; Johns Hopkins: I. Wittstein; F. Bengel; J. Mudd; J. Lima 

NCI: A. Kim; B. Widemann; E. Dombi; Children’s Hospital Medical Center: N. Ratner; J. Wu 

NCI: C. Kratz; B. Alter; P. Rosenberg; National Children’s Medical Center: A. Hill; 

Children’s Hospital & Clinics of MN: Y. Messinger; K. Schulz 

NIMH: K. Berman; J. Kleinman; University of Louisville: C. Mervis 

NCI: P. Dennis; Yale University: A. Vortmeyer 

RARE DISEASES DRUG DEVELOPMENT: PROJECTS CO-FUNDED BY THERAPEUTICS FOR RARE AND NEGLECTED DISEASES PROGRAM 

AND INSTITUTES/CENTERS 

A Novel Therapy to Treat Acid LipaseDeficiency by LCAT Inhibition 

Development of Combination Therapy 

for Niemann-Pick Disease, Type C 

Gene Therapy Clinical Trial for LAD-1 

Using a Foamy Viral Vector 

BH3 Mimetics for the Treatment of 

Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative 

Syndrome 

Preventing Aortic Dilation in Women 

with Turner Syndrome 

Immunogenicity and Leishmania 

Vaccine Potential of Sandfly Saliva in 

Humans 

NHLBI: A. Remaley; K. Vickers; R. Shamburek; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical 

Center - Research Foundation: G. Grabowski; H. Du 

NICHD: F. Porter; A. Yergey; S. Bianconi; NHGRI: W. Pavan; 

Washington University: D. Ory 

NCI: D. Hickstein; University of Washington Medical Center: D. Russell; Cincinnati 

Children’s Hospital Medical Center: P. Malik 

CC (Laboratory Medicine): J. Oliveira Filho; T. Fleisher; NIAID: V. Rao; K. Dowdell; 

NIDDK: D. Appella 

NICHD: C. Bondy; V. Bakalov; J. Zhou; NHLBI: A. Arai; D. Rosing; M. Boehm; V. Sachdev; 

Johns Hopkins University: J. Van Eyk; Q. Fu 

NIAID: J. Valenzuela; S. Kamhawi; Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences/ 

Walter Reed Army Medical Center: N. Aronson; George Washington University: 

M. Bottazzi 

PROJECT FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 

The Role of BDNF in Autism Spectrum 	 NICHD: J. Han; C. Pierpaoli; NIMH: K. Martinowich; D. Weinberger; C. Golden Williams; 

Disorder and Cognitive Function 	 S. Swedo; A. Thurm; NCI: L. Tessarollo; Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences/Walter Reed Army Medical Center: S. Sharp; GlaxoSmithKline 

Pharamceuticals: B. Lu 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 25 
NEW UNIT PROVIDES UNIQUE SUPPORT FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH
 

(Above) Dr. H. Clifford Lane, 

NIAID clinical director, was 

among speakers at the 

unit’s opening. 

(Right) Doing the honors at 

a ribbon-cutting for the new 

Special Clinical Studies Unit 

were (from left) Stewart Simonson, former HHS assistant 

secretary for public health 

emergency preparedness; Dr. 

(Col. US Army) Mark Kortepeter, 

deputy director of the Infectious 

Diseases Clinical Research 

Program at the Uniformed 

Services University of the 

Health Sciences; CC Director 

Dr. John I. Gallin; and NIAID 

Director Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

A ribbon-cutting for NIAID’s new Special 

Clinical Studies Unit at the Clinical Center was 

held on April 14, 2010.The new seven-bed 

unit, which is in the 5NE-S corridor of the 

Hatfield Building, affords state-of-the-art 

isolation capabilities. 

“This new unit is another example of the 

Clinical Center’s ability to adapt to emergency 

situations,” said CC Director Dr. John I. Gallin 

at the ceremony. 

During the event, NIAID Director Dr.Anthony 

Fauci presented a special award to Stewart Simonson, former HHS assistant secretary for public 

health emergency preparedness, who was instrumental in the creation and development of the 

unit.“He promised it would happen, and here it is,” 

Fauci said. Simonson applauded NIH staff for the 

ability to “use their imagination, try to anticipate 

problems, and create solutions before they happen.” 

Inpatient healthy volunteers and low-acuity 

patients in clinical trials will typically spend 

extended periods of time on the unit.The facility, 

designed as a mini-apartment to make the time 

spent more comfortable, includes one single 

room (with an anteroom), three double inpatient 

rooms, a common area for dining, a kitchenette, 

an exercise area, and laundry space. 

The entire unit is also capable of functioning as an 

isolation suite of rooms and can be used to house 

patients with known or suspected infections with 

especially virulent infectious agents. It will be 

available for use by investigators whose patients are 

suspected of having a highly contagious condition. 

When patient isolation is needed, all four patient 

rooms and their connecting corridor will be 

kept under negative pressure at a high rate of air 

exchange and with HEPA-filtered exhaust.When 

isolation is mandated, access to the unit will be 

restricted to the unit staff with state-of-the-art 

infection control procedures in place. Point-ofcare laboratory testing and telemetry monitoring 

are additional capabilities of the unit. 

Staffing the access-protected Special Clinical 

Studies Unit requires a new process, too, said Ann 

Marie Matlock, nurse manager.While new to the 

CC, all 10 nurses hired to staff the unit came with 

clinical experience and a professional interest in 

infectious diseases. Specific training was developed 

and implemented to deal with infectious pathogens staff could potentially encounter despite the 

expected rarity of these types of occupational 

exposures or exotic infections, Matlock said. 

26 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
DC PARTNERSHIP FOR HIV/AIDS PROGRESS SEES ACCELERATED
 

ACTION, OPENS FOURTH CLINIC 

The DC Partnership for HIV/AIDS Progress, 

announced in January 2010, has seen substantial 

acceleration in progress for the four original pillars 

of the program, said Dr. Henry Masur, chief of the 

Clinical Center Critical Care Medicine Department. 

In addition to directing the overall project in collaboration with Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, director of 

the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious 

Diseases (NIAID) Division of AIDS, Masur leads 

one of the four pillars—enhanced care.The 

others—surveillance, prevention, and test and 

treat—complete the base of the initiative.The 

initial investment in this long-term program, $26.4 

million over the first two years, supports clinical 

research to help address the District’s HIV/AIDS 

epidemic, where roughly 3 percent of the population is infected with HIV—among the highest 

HIV/AIDS rates in the nation.The project is a 

collaboration among several NIH institutes and 

centers and the NIH Office of AIDS Research. 

One of the most exciting programs in the initiative is the DC Cohort, which will link electronic 

records from the 12 largest HIV providers in DC 

to a database that can be used for research and 

for quality improvement studies.These 12 clinical 

partner sites see 85 to 90 percent of the District’s 

HIV patients.The collected information will provide important data for epidemiologic and clinical 

investigations.“We think we will have an unparalleled opportunity to look at an urban cohort,” 

said Masur. 

The four clinics where NIH specialists are embedded to improve HIV subspecialty care for the 

underinsured—directed by Dr. Dawn Fishbein 

and within Masur’s pillar of enhanced care—have 

seen approximately 200 patients with HIV and 

hepatitis C infections.Three initial clinics opened 

in June 2009 in connection with existing programs 

at Family & Medical Counseling Service, Inc., in 

Southeast Washington; Unity Health Care’s Walker 

Jones Health Center in Northeast Washington; and 

Whitman-Walker Clinic in Northwest.The fourth 

clinic based at Unity’s D.C. General Health Center 

opened in the fall of 2010. 

In each clinic, NIH staff work directly with patients 

to provide care and treatment.As the clinics expand, 

NIH is adding more experts. Dr.Anu Osinusi, 

an HIV-hepatitis co-infection specialist from the 

University of Maryland School of Medicine in 

Baltimore, joined the Clinical Center to work 

with patients at the new Unity Health Care’s D.C. 

General site and at the Unity’s Walker Jones facility. 

Additionally, Dr. Suad Kapetanovic, a psychiatrist 

with extensive HIV clinical and research experience at the University of Southern California, has 

been recruited by the National Institute of Mental 

Health to develop HIV-related mental health 

research initiatives in connection with the DC 

Partnership. 

“This is a chance for NIH to do something good 

for the city and to expand our intramural research 

agenda into more areas that will contribute to 

reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS in urban 

America,” said Masur. 

The clinics serve as study sites for a currently enrolling safety and tolerability clinical research study 

examining an experimental, orally administered 

drug in combination with injectable interferon and 

ribavirin to treat hepatitis C in patients with HIV/ 

AIDS.The oral drug has been proven safe and effective to treat parasitic infections, and is currently 

being studied in research volunteers with hepatitis 

C mono-infection.The new study will involve 

as many as 35 research volunteers with HIV and 

hepatitis C who did not respond to prior standard 

treatment regimens. 

New oral medicines potentially could replace 

injectable interferon-based regimens that are 

associated with adverse effects. “The patients are 

excited about the opportunities they will have to 

be enrolled in clinical trials, especially for hepatitis 

C, which is so hard to treat,” added Osinusi. 

In addition to the new treatment study, the sites 

are participating in a study that is retrospectively 

examining progression of liver disease in AfricanAmerican patients with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C 

to evaluate the theory that this population remains 

in early stage liver disease longer than other 

populations with the same co-infections. 

“We think we 

will have an 

unparalleled 

opportunity to 

look at an 

urban cohort.” 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 27 
LEARNING ABOUT RESEARCH 

AND HEALTHY EATING 

ON THE NATIONAL MALL 

Get kids fired up about scientific research. Demonstrate that healthy food can be tasty and affordable.To accomplish these goals, Clinical Center 

staff joined thousands of children, teachers, parents, 

and scientists on the National Mall in Washington 

on October 23 and 24, 2010, for the inaugural 

USA Science and Engineering Festival. More than 

half a million people attended the event, where 

hundreds of NIH employees staffed booths and 

answered questions alongside business leaders and 

representatives from other government agencies. 

Nearly 900 kids participated in an activity at the 

Clinical Center’s booth, Pack a Lunch with Punch 

for Kids in Research, that demonstrated the scientific research process. 

Selecting a favorite food from a menu of options, 

children learned to form a hypothesis, collect and 

analyze data, and report results.A colorful takeaway—a lunch box featuring the CC website— 

reinforced messages about healthy eating. 

“This was a unique opportunity to educate the 

community about our research hospital,” said Kelli 

Carrington of the Office of Communications, 

Patient Recruitment, and Public Liaison.“It was 

exciting to see so many young faces eager to select 

their favorite food for the demo study.” Results of 

the demonstration are posted on the CC website 

(clinicalcenter.nih.gov) for further use by teachers 

and parents educating children about the scientific 

method. 

Also representing at the USA Science Festival, CC 

Executive Chef Robert Hedetniemi headlined a 

cooking demonstration with Pete Thomas from 

the second season of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” 

“Learning how to eat is fundamental,” said 

Thomas, who lost 185 pounds over nine months. 

“And contrary to popular belief, healthy eating 

can be both very tasty and economical.” 

In front of the crowd, Hedetniemi prepared three 

healthy meals as part of a daily menu: a pomegranate and fig breakfast parfait, an apple-encrusted 

autumn lunch salad, and a vegetable pasta dinner 

dish. 

The USA Science and Engineering Festival aims 

to invigorate the interest of the nation’s youth in 

science, technology, engineering, and math. 

Britt Ehrhardt, Office of Communications, Patient Recruitment 

and Public Liason, looks on as a 

science festival attendee spins 

the prize wheel, completing 

the Pack a Lunch with Punch 

science demonstration. 

Omar Echegoyén, from the Office of Communications, Patient Recruitment, and Public Liaison, 

chats with young science enthusiasts at the Clinical 

Center booth at the USA Science and Engineering 

Festival. 

CC executive chef Robert 

Hedetniemi prepared prepared 

three healthy meals as part of a 

daily menu during his demonstration at the USA Science and 

Engineering Festival while Pete 

Thomas of “The Biggest Loser” 

discussed his weight loss with 

the crowd. 

28 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
RESEARCH DAY EXPOSES DIETITIANS TO CLINICAL RESEARCH
 

The Clinical Center Nutrition Department 

welcomed 85 attendees from around the country 

to an NIH Research Day on March 18, 2010. 

National Cancer Institute/CC Nutrition and 

Cancer Prevention Research Practicum participants and local dietetic interns heard a morning of 

presentations from staff before touring the hospital 

and the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit to get a 

glimpse of the work of clinical research dietitians 

Attendees heard a welcome and introduction to 

the CC from dietetic internship director LCDR 

Merel Kozlosky, before learning about the role of 

dietitians in research from Nancy Sebring. In an 

acute care hospital, clinical dietitians spend about 

80 percent of their time on clinical patient care, 

with the rest devoted to hospital and department 

support. Clinical research dietitians, on the other 

hand, Sebring said, split their time between those 

responsibilities and research support, though the 

breakdown varies by staff member. 

Sebring presented some types of nutrition-focused 

research.“For example, in one of our studies looking at obesity we’re interested in patients’ taste 

preferences—do certain people taste sweet or sour 

differently than others?” Sebring said. 

In the “Parade of Protocols “presentations, CC 

clinical research dietitians spoke on their roles in 

various NIH studies. Beth Moylan found it important to evaluate the existing low iodine diet, which 

is used in conjunction with the treatment for 

thyroid cancer patients, due to food manufacturing 

changes and an international patient population 

consuming foods grown in different soil compositions. LCDR Jennifer Graf explained balancing 

types of protein for those with methylmalonic 

acidemia who need enough protein for normal 

anabolic function but not too much of particular 

amino acids they cannot properly break down. 

LT Rachel Drabot recounted helping a cancer 

research patient who experienced a multitude of 

treatment side effects by providing her with liquid 

nutrition supplements, individualized nutrition 

counseling, meal plans, and support. 

Dr.Amber Courville, metabolic research dietitian, 

presented the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit, 

where more than a dozen obesity-related studies 

are being carried out, such as one examining how 

genes and the environment interact to determine 

body weight.The unit continues to grow and 

several more protocols with nutrition components 

are currently under development. 

Dr.Amy Subar, nutritionist from the National 

Cancer Institute, spoke on new methods of dietary 

assessment, including using cell phone photos to 

track what someone eats. Marnie Dobbin, CC 

clinical research dietitian, presented an overview 

of botanical and “other” dietary supplements and 

resources available to guide safe supplement use. 

BTRIS—the Biomedical Translational 

Research Information System—was 

launched in 2009 and is is available to the 

NIH intramural community, bringing together 

clinical research data from the CC and other 

institutes and centers. 

“BTRIS is designed to bring together clinical research data from all the institutes and 

centers to give investigators one place to 

get all their data and allow other users to ask 

new questions of the old data,” said Dr. Jim 

Cimino, chief of the Clinical Center Laboratory 

for Informatics Development. 

BTRIS provides clinical investigators with 

access to identifiable data for the subjects on 

their own active protocols, while providing all 

NIH investigators with access to de-identified 

data across all protocols. The advanced 

search, filtering, and aggregation methods 

to create data sets support ongoing studies 

and stimulate ideas for new research. 

Dr. Jim Cimino demonstrated 

the sorting capabilities of BTRIS 

to a group of NINDS intramural 

researchers in June 2010 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 29 

 

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT 

NURSES PRESENT ON TRIBAL COMMUNITY’S ROLE IN

Clinical Center 

Nursing and Patient Care Services 

and nurse leaders 

from the Indian 

Health Service 

(IHS) organized 

a symposium and 

workshop on the 

use of the principles of community-based participatory research on 

the Fort Belknap 

Indian Reservation in 2009. In 

2010 NIH, IHS, 

and Fort Belknap 

representatives presented outcomes 

from those events. 

Presenting at the 2010 Nurse 

Leaders in Native Care 

Conference in July on their 

experience with communitybased participatory research 

were (from left) Desiree 

Goodman, director of nursing, Fort Belknap Service 

Unit; Teresa N. Brockie, 

Clinical Center research 

nurse specialist; and Kathleen Adams, manager of 

public health nursing, Fort 

Belknap Community Council. 

At the 2010 Nurse Leaders in Native Care 

Conference held in DC in July, Kathleen Adams, 

manager of public health nursing, Fort Belknap 

Tribal Health, and Desiree Goodman, director of 

nursing, Fort Belknap Service Unit, presented a 

poster and led a discussion on “Utilizing Community Based Participatory Research Principles as a 

Mechanism for Delivery of EBP in Tribal 

Communities: Fort Belknap Research Symposium 

and Evidence-Based Practice Workshop.” 

Community-based participatory research is a collaborative approach that involves tribal communities in knowledge generation, intervention research, and policy change. Evidence-based practice 

is a problem-solving approach to the delivery of 

health care that integrates the best evidence from 

research with a clinician’s expertise and a patient’s 

or a community’s preferences and values. 

The research symposium informed practitioners 

of significant research findings related to community–identified health topics of concern (community and family violence, methamphetamine 

abuse, mental health, and suicide).The interactive 

workshop facilitated and encouraged the implementation of evidence into practice. 

The presentation at the July conference provided 

the process of collaboration—from initiation to 

the culmination of the research symposium and 

workshop—using a community-based participatory research model for Native American community engagement. 

Through continued collaboration with the CC, 

Fort Belknap nursing is using the process to develop a project focused on adolescent alcohol use, 

with an implementation date of mid-2011. 

MOVEMENT ANALYSIS LAB STEPS INTO RENOVATED SPACE
 

WITH LATEST EQUIPMENT 

More tools make for better research in the Clinical 

Movement Analysis Lab in the Clinical Center 

Rehabilitation Medicine Department Functional 

& Applied Biomechanics Section. Recently 

renovated space brings the latest in motion 

capture and analysis equipment to the study 

of how patient populations move.The lab uses 

a combination of tools—cameras, electrodes, 

force plates, and a new body weight support 

system—to give a comprehensive view of how 

patients with debilitating disorders such as cerebral 

palsy and osteogenesis imperfecta move.While the 

focus is on walking, any type of movement in any 

part of the body can be measured.“Combining 

all those data gives a full quantitative analysis,” said 

Lindsey Bellini, a section engineer.The goal is to 

develop new strategies to improve movement and 

to test those strategies already in place, said Chris 

Stanley, senior research engineer. 

30 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 0 
The primary piece of the puzzle involves ten new 

cameras that measure motion—replacing seven 

older cameras—by recording the changing positions of reflective markers on specific locations 

of the patient’s body.A bone model created from 

the reflective markers calculates joint angles, for 

example how much the knee bends when walking. 

The new motion-capture system features real-time 

capability, where the software processes the motion 

as it occurs, rather than after the motion is completed.This allows for more advanced studies and 

lets researchers check that the capture technology 

is set correctly and adjust if necessary.Tiny, wireless 

electromyography electrodes are time-synchronized 

with the system and measure muscle activity, such 

as when they fire to propel the person. 

“Plus it’s really cool to show people,‘this is what 

you’re doing right now,’” Bellini said of the technology, which is also used in sports performance 

analysis and motion picture technology. 

A color pattern on the floor camouflages plates 

that measure three dimensional forces and moments in each patient’s step.With a lot of pediatric 

visitors, the colors are also “just more fun for the 

kids,” Stanley said. 

A bigger, better treadmill also holds force plates. 

The treadmill is split, right and left, to measure and 

compare forces on each side.The treadmill will 

be used with a new virtual reality system that will 

be tested first in patients with Parkinson’s disease 

or traumatic brain injury, the engineers said.This 

type of system can ‘trick’ the person to step over 

obstacles or navigate through a narrow hallway 

or busy store, to more realistically assess how they 

function in everyday life. 

The last piece to be installed was a body weight 

support system with a track extended over the 

force plates and treadmill.The patient wears a harness that is connected to the system, allowing the 

team to provide support to enable weak or heavy 

patients to practice walking when they would not 

be able to on their own.Additionally, the support 

system can help patients safely practice more difficult tasks, such as running or deep squats, without 

a fear of falling.The support is dynamic, that is 

the same tension is 

held through the 

entire exercise, both 

when pulling away 

and when moving 

closer through the 

natural gait pattern. 

“This allows us 

to start rehabilitation sooner and 

accelerate people 

more quickly.When 

they’re not supporting their entire 

body weight, they 

can challenge themselves,” said Bellini. 

Data from all the 

lab’s tools are 

combined to form 

a more complete 

picture for both 

patients with motor disabilities and 

healthy volunteers. 

The lab measures 

the effects of interventions—everything from 

surgery to medications, a brace to an exercise 

regime—to see if the patient makes and retains 

progress. For example, the movement of a young 

child with a brain injury would be captured and 

analyzed before, during, and after completing an 

exercise program on the elliptical machine to see 

if greater practice of making reciprocal arm and 

leg movements would translate to faster and better 

walking. 

The renovations were funded by the phenotyping 

core of the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine. Ongoing research involves the 

categorization and study of pathogenesis in traumatic brain injuries. 

The Clinical Movement 

Analysis Lab captures the 

gaits of patients with markers 

and cameras and displays 

the movement in real-time on 

a screen in the room. 

A N N U A L R E P O RT 2 0 1 0 • 3 1 
RESEARCH | S P O T L I G H T S 
 

First full genome sequence 

completed on NIH patient 

The first NIH patient to have his whole genome 

sequenced calls the experience “fabulous” and 

“eye-opening.” 

Rick Del Sontro was first to have researchers 

complete a detailed description of the order of the 

chemical building blocks, or bases, in his DNA. 

As part of the National Human Genome Research 

Institute’s ClinSeqTM study, this milestone is an 

advance toward personalized medicine and a better 

understanding of how patients may react to their 

genetic information. 

“Ultimately what personal genomics is all about 

is finding out what your risks are and modifying 

your behavior accordingly to maximize staying 

healthy,” NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins told 

science reporters in May 2010. 

The ClinSeqTM study is a trans-NIH effort to 

understand the genetic roots of disease susceptibility and the challenges of using genome (the entire 

set of genetic instructions found in a cell) sequencing tools in a clinical research setting. It is also the 

first study to return individual genetic sequencing results to research subjects from a large-scale 

sequencing effort. Coronary heart disease is a good 

place to start because of its high association with 

genetic risk factors and the numerous interventions available, reported the research team. 

While most ClinSeqTM participants were initially 

sequenced for about 300 genes known or suspected to be associated with heart disease, Del Sontro 

was the first chosen for whole genome sequencing. In this process, a person’s three billion base 

pairs are sequenced to identify the million or so 

variants that make everyone unique and hopefully 

link some of those to risk of disease. Patients want 

to know,“What’s wrong with me? What caused it? 

What can we do?” said ClinSeqTM principal investigator Dr. Leslie Biesecker, chief of the NHGRI 

Genetic Disease Research Branch.“We want to 

use these genomic technologies to answer those 

embarrassingly simple, but difficult, questions.” 

Del Sontro enrolled through a referral from 

the NIH Heart Center at Suburban Hospital 

in Bethesda, Md.With a family history of heart 

problems, he forced himself on a cardiologist, 

even though he appeared in good health with an 

Ironman triathlon to his record. His doctors found 

“off-the-charts calcification,” of his coronary 

arteries, Del Sontro said, and, after treatment, 

recommended him to the ClinSeqTM study for 

further investigation of an underlying cause. 

Launched in 2007, the research protocol invites 

participants to the Clinical Center for a half-day 

clinical work-up that includes visits to phlebotomy 

and the EKG heart station.A partner in the study, 

the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 

performs an echocardiogram and a computerized 

axial tomography, or CAT, scan of the heart on 

each ClinSeqTM patient volunteer. 

“We get a snapshot of the current state of that person’s heart health,” Biesecker said.“We can use that 

as the starting point, but only as the starting point, 

to begin to dissect their long-term risk of having 

heart disease.” 

The blood participants donate is screened for 

markers like cholesterol and glucose levels, and 

some is sent to the NIH Intramural Sequencing 

Center where the 300 candidate genes or, in 

Del Sontro’s case, the whole genome is sequenced. 

He was selected for the more comprehensive sequencing because of the unusual presentation 

of plaque buildup in his arteries but no history 

of high cholesterol, said genetic counselor and 

ClinSeqTM researcher Flavia Facio. Del Sontro 

shares this unique health history with generations 

of his family and his seven brothers and sisters. 

Many of them have joined the ClinSeqTM study. 

While the initial analysis of Del Sontro’s genome 

has not yet revealed the genetic mutation that 

causes his hereditary heart disease, it did show 

that he has inherited a condition called hereditary 

neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies, which 

causes numbness in his extremities. 

Though there is no cure, he said he is glad to have 

an explanation for the trait. Such knowledge could 

be comforting after symptoms have arisen, but it 

32 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
is still unclear if patients want to know about their 

odds of future disease.Another goal of the ClinSeqTM study is to assess how patients feel about 

genome analysis, which might reveal risk for serious conditions. 

“We want to know what patients want; what 

patients think; what they’ll do with the data,” 

Facio said. 

She discusses with study participants the possible 

outcomes and what results they would like to be 

notified of. Her anecdotal experience is that most 

want to know what their tests and gene analysis 

reports, but Facio is careful to note that her study 

population is self-selected and not generalizable. 

She reports that another patient has been selected 

for whole genome sequencing and that others are 

undergoing exome sequencing (just the portions 

of genes that code for proteins, thought to contain 

most mutations that have a major effect on the 

cause or predisposition to diseases). 

“We are intrigued about insights we are gaining 

from the study so far,” Biesecker said.“I think the 

research will be driven by collaboration and what 

we find in the sequencing.” 

Researchers link gene mutations 

to stuttering 

A trans-NIH study has identified three genes 

responsible for stuttering in its patient sample, a 

discovery that opens the door to new potential 

treatments for the speech disorder. 

Led by the National Institute on Deafness and 

Other Communication Disorders with Clinical 

Center and National Human Genome Research 

Institute contributors, the study found that stuttering may be the result of a glitch in the process by 

which cellular components in key regions of the 

brain are broken down and recycled. 

“For hundreds of years, the cause of stuttering has 

remained a mystery for researchers and practitioners alike,” said Dr. James F. Battey, Jr., NIDCD 

director.“This is the first study to pinpoint specific 

gene mutations as the potential cause of stuttering, 

a disorder that affects three million Americans, and 

by doing so, could dramatically expand our options 

for treatment.” 

Stuttering is a speech disorder in which a person 

repeats or prolongs sounds, syllables, or words, disrupting the normal flow of speech.The condition 

tends to run in families, and researchers have long 

suspected a genetic component. 

The NIDCD study grew from previous research 

by Dr. Dennis Drayna, a geneticist with the institute, which indicated a place on chromosome 12 

that was likely to harbor a gene variant that caused 

stuttering in a group of families from Pakistan. 

Drayna and his team then refined the location of 

interest on chromosome 12 and identified mutations in a gene known as GNPTAB, which helps 

encode an enzyme that assists in breaking down 

and recycling cellular components, a process that 

takes place inside a cell structure called the lysosome. 

GNPTAB encodes its enzyme with the help of 

another gene called GNPTG. In addition, a second 

enzyme, called NAGPA, acts at the next step in this 

process and together, these enzymes make up the 

signaling mechanism that cells use to steer a variety 

of enzymes to the lysosome to do their work. 

Because of the close relationship among the three 

genes in this process, the GNPTG and NAGPA 

genes were the next logical place for the researchers to look for possible mutations in people who 

stutter. Indeed, when they examined these two 

genes, they found mutations in individuals who 

stutter, but not in control groups. 

The new study involved patients from Pakistan, the 

United States, and England. Dr. Penelope Friedman of the CC Internal Medicine Consult Service 

and Dr. Donna Krasnewich, assistant clinical 

director of the NHGRI, went through a medical 

history and physical examination with each patient 

seen in the CC to investigate if stuttering occurs 

in tandem with other abnormalities classically 

associated with severe mutations in these genes. 

They did not find evidence of such symptoms in 

the individuals who stutter.Their initial work is a 

fundamental step in identifying where to look in a 

“We want to know 

what patients 

want; what 

patients think; 

what they’ll do 

with the data.” 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 33 
RESEARCH | S P O T L I G H T S 
 

patient’s DNA and in maintaining the validity of 

the research, Friedman said. 

The findings open new doors into possible treatments for stuttering.“Stuttering has been thought 

of as a behavioral problem,” Friedman said. Current therapies have focused reducing anxiety and 

regulating breathing and rate of speech. Drayna 

is interested in bringing the study and treatment 

of this condition into the world of medicine. 

An exciting future possibility may be offering enzyme replacement therapy as a potential treatment, 

as is used for some lysosomal storage disorders. 

The researchers estimate that roughly 9 percent 

of people who stutter possess mutations in one of 

the three genes—a lot for such a complex disorder, 

Friedman said.Among the next steps, Drayna and 

his team are conducting a worldwide epidemiological study to better determine the percentage of 

people who carry one or more of these mutations. 

They are also conducting biochemical studies to 

determine specifically how the mutations affect 

the enzymes.A long-term goal is to use these 

findings to determine how this metabolic defect 

affects structures within the brain that are essential 

for fluent speech. 

In addition to the NIH partners, researchers at 

the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan and 

the Hollins Communications Research Institute, 

Roanoke,Va., contributed to this work. 

Team tackles a debilitating bone disorder 

Big things come in small packages. Just ask Erin 

Jones.The 14-year-old from the state of Washington had a pea-sized tumor to thank for two broken femurs, among multiple other bone fractures. 

Jones suffered from tumor-induced osteomalacia, 

a disorder caused by a benign tumor that produces 

the hormone FGF23, which affects the metabolism of phosphorus and vitamin D and ultimately 

bone strength.A small tumor resting on her tibia 

was removed by an NIH team in August 2010, and 

Jones is on her way to a full recovery.Almost as 

impressive as the condition is the fact that doctors 

were able to find the tumor. 

“This was the most challenging and therefore 

most satisfying case of this disorder we’ve seen,” 

said Dr. Michael T. Collins, head of the Skeletal 

Clinical Studies Section of the National Institute 

of Dental and Craniofacial Research. 

Jones first came to the Clinical Center in mid2010. She had broken one leg at age 11 in a simple 

bike accident. Her physicians sensed there was 

something more complex going on, since her 

accident wouldn’t usually cause such an injury. 

A few months later, her dog jumped into her lap 

and the chair she was sitting in collapsed. Jones 

broke her other leg. 

“I got out of one cast, got the flu, then got into 

another cast,” she said, remembering that difficult 

year. In addition to the big breaks, Jones had a 

dozen small fractures through her body, from her 

ribs to her feet. 

Doctors suspected an underlying skeletal disorder, 

and when her blood phosphorus level came back 

low, they thought of tumor-induced osteomalacia. 

The disorder is very rare—there are fewer than 

200 cases in the medical literature, Collins said— 

and even more uncommon in children. Complicating the search for a cure for Jones was the 

nature of the tumors.They are typically very small 

and can appear anywhere from head to toe, in soft 

tissue or bone. 

Her physicians in Seattle did a positron emission 

tomography (PET) scan and an octreoscan, which 

looks for tumors, but couldn’t find anything.These 

tests are very sensitive, and in a patient like Jones 

with multiple fractures they can “light up like 

a Christmas tree,” Collins said. Deciding which 

marks on the scan could be the culprit is the difficult part. 

While these tumors are always hard to find, Jones’s 

was proving to be a particularly difficult one. Still, 

Collins agreed to try to help her. His team did 

more scans when Jones came to the NIH, and 

through the process of elimination—ruling out 

symmetrical marks and corroborating the 

marks with CT and MRI—narrowed the 

34 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
 

possible trouble spots to only a few. Dr. Clara 

Chen, deputy chief of the nuclear medicine 

section in Radiology and Imaging Sciences, 

was instrumental in deciphering which marks 

had potential and which were misleading, 

Collins said. 

With an idea of where the tumor may be, next to 

Jones’ right tibia, Dr. Richard Chang, chief of the 

endocrine and venous services section, threaded 

a catheter down a vein in Jones’ leg and took 

blood samples at different points to test presence 

of FGF23.The numbers spiked around the tumor. 

Jones was at her grandmother’s house when 

Collins called with the news.When she heard 

they’d found the tumor, she gave her grandmother 

a thumbs up.“She started screaming, she was so 

happy,” Jones remembered. 

Dr. Felasfa Wodajo, medical director of Inova 

Health System’s Musculoskeletal Tumor Program 

and a consultant to the National Cancer Institute, 

removed the tumor in August. Recurrence is rare, 

especially when a large margin of surrounding 

tissue is removed, as was done with Jones. 

She is back in Washington, returning to life as 

a healthy teen.“I’m back on my swim team, 

which I really love,” she said.“I can walk in the 

hall without being worried about knocking into 

something.” 

The end result wasn’t due to fancy science, Collins 

said, just the meticulous, rigorous teamwork that 

occurs at the CC. “How often in medicine do 

you get a chance to really cure someone? That 

was fantastic.” 

Study could improve care for 

rare immune disease 

NIH investigators have observed that the survival 

rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency 

disease called chronic granulomatous disease 

(CGD) is greatly improved when even very low 

levels of microbe-killing molecules are present. 

Because production of these molecules, made by an 

enzyme called NADPH oxidase, can be predicted 

from genetic analysis, a patient’s risk for severe 

CGD could be assessed very early in life, allowing 

for more personalized treatment, say the researchers. 

The study was conducted at the Clinical Center 

and led by researchers from the National Institute 

of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and their associated labs at SAIC-Frederick Inc.The study is available online in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

“Advances in treatment of CGD have made it 

possible for people with this once-fatal disease of 

early childhood to survive into adulthood; however, the disease remains difficult to manage,” said 

NIAID Director Dr.Anthony S. Fauci.“Having a 

marker to help predict disease prognosis will enable physicians to recommend treatment options 

that are more tailored to the needs of individual 

patients.” 

People with CGD have increased susceptibility 

to infections caused by certain bacteria and fungi. 

They can have abscesses in the lungs, liver, spleen, 

bones, or skin.Those with severe disease also can 

have tissue masses, called granulomas, that can obstruct the bowel or urinary tract. CGD affects an 

estimated 1,200 people in the United States and 

approximately 25,000 people worldwide. 

The disease is caused by inherited mutations in 

any one of five different genes required by immune cells to make the NADPH oxidase enzyme, 

which in turn makes superoxide, an oxygenderived molecule that immune cells use to destroy 

harmful bacteria and fungi.All CGD patients have 

impaired superoxide production, but some make 

a little superoxide, while others make none.The 

research team found that the level of superoxide 

production was linked to the type of mutation in 

the NADPH oxidase gene, and that the more superoxide a patient with CGD can make, the better 

the life expectancy. 

Until now, the severity of CGD has been linked 

only to how people inherit the NADPH oxidase 

gene mutation. If people inherit the mutation as 

an autosomal recessive trait, meaning that two 

copies of the abnormal gene, one from each parent, are present, the disease has generally been less 

severe than in those who inherit the mutation as 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 35 
RESEARCH | S P O T L I G H T S 
 

an X-linked trait, meaning that the abnormal gene 

is located on the female sex chromosome.The majority of people with CGD inherit the mutation 

as an X-linked trait. 

For their study, the NIH team tested the level of 

superoxide production by immune cells isolated 

from blood samples taken from 287 people with 

CGD, aged 1 to 64 years old, compared with 

superoxide production in healthy people. 

Some tests dated back to 1993, though patients 

and families affected by CGD have come to 

the CC for treatment since the 1970s. 

The NIH researchers used methods that could 

detect even trace amounts of superoxide, and 

grouped people with CGD based on the amount 

of superoxide made by the immune cells.The 

patients who produced the highest levels of superoxide had the highest survival rates, whereas those 

who produced the lowest levels of superoxide had 

the lowest survival rates. 

“By precisely measuring superoxide production, 

we observed that even tiny residual amounts, at 

levels below what doctors paid attention to in the 

past, had a significant impact on patient survival,” 

said CC Director Dr. John I Gallin, chief of 

the Pathophysiology Section of the NIAID 

Laboratory of Host Defenses, and senior author 

on the paper. 

Treatment of CGD consists of lifelong antibiotics 

and antifungal medications. Some people also 

receive injections with interferon-gamma, a 

protein that can stimulate the immune cells to 

fight infections. For people with the most severe 

forms of CGD, bone marrow transplantation is 

a treatment option, but it carries potential 

complications that can make patients and 

their families reluctant to elect this therapy. 

Based on the research team’s observations, doctors 

should be able to use DNA gene-typing results 

to help identify those patients who are candidates 

for more aggressive treatments, including possible 

bone marrow transplantation. In addition, 

therapies designed to promote NADPH 

oxidase function might reduce CGD severity. 

“This study is a great example of the special 

strengths of the Clinical Center,” commented 

Gallin.“We have worked for over three decades 

with patients with CGD, which at one time was 

almost entirely fatal, and have seen vast improvements in care and treatment.This work now gives 

us another tool to help individuals fight 

this disease.” 

Additional support for this research was provided 

by the National Institute of Diabetes and 

Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the 

National Cancer Institute. 

Finding the new ‘normal’ after allogeneic 

stem cell transplantation 

As any survivor knows, life doesn’t snap back to 

the way it was as soon as one hears that coveted 

“r” word—remission. Nurse researchers at the 

Clinical Center are leading a study to examine 

function, adjustment, quality of life, and symptoms 

(FAQS) in long-term survivors who have undergone an allogeneic (from a donor) hematopoietic 

(blood) stem cell transplant (HSCT). 

Dr. Margaret Bevans and Dr. Sandra Mitchell 

of Nursing and Patient Care Services and their 

multi-institute study team collect survey data once 

a year from participants to characterize the pattern 

of recovery after this intense treatment regimen. 

Understanding the factors that influence variation 

in these recovery patterns can help patients know 

what to expect over the long term and help 

clinicians improve services to aid in patients’ 

recovery.“Together with other intramural 

researchers conducting survivorship studies here 

on campus, we are contributing to the evidence 

base to guide assessment and tailor interventions 

in transplant survivors,” Mitchell said. 

Mitchell and Bevans began their work in 2005, 

noting gaps in the understanding of the recovery 

experience for several specific groups of transplant survivors.As the researchers noted in their 

summary of the study, most previous research had 

been cross-sectional (giving a snapshot rather than 

a timline) and had sampled a small number of survivors with limited diversity.” In the FAQS study, 

Bevans and Mitchell are examining the extent to 

36 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
which a patient’s condition improves, remains the 

same, or deteriorates with the passage of time after 

HSCT in a large sample of transplant survivors 

with clinical and demographic diversity.The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute performed 

its first allogeneic HSCT in 1993. 

Mitchell and Bevans’ FAQS study proceeds in 

tandem with other intramural NIH research 

examining late effects of this intense, often curative 

treatment for cancer or a serious bone marrow 

disorder.These late effects may include chronic 

graft-versus-host disease, osteoporosis, endocrine 

complications, and secondary cancers. 

“All typical problems seen in cancer survivors 

are multiplied after allogeneic HSCT.Therefore 

the treatment presents a unique opportunity for 

researchers to develop strategies to address late effects of cancer therapy,” said Dr. Steven Z. Pavletic, 

head of the Graft-Versus-Host and Autoimmunity 

Unit in the National Cancer Institute Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch. 

As nurse scientists, Bevans and Mitchell are particularly interested in the impact these late effects 

may have on how patients feel and function as 

they resume usual activities and roles in their daily 

lives. 

In the early period of recovery after an allogeneic 

HSCT, patients and families are often focused on 

aspects of physical recovery from an aggressive 

treatment regimen.As they proceed into the survivorship phase, other dimensions of well-being including mood, relationships, and symptoms such as 

fatigue and impaired sleep problems come to the 

forefront.The opportunity to complete the study 

questionnaires may help to validate the importance 

of these issues, and “may empower survivors to be 

their own advocates and raise such concerns with 

the doctors, nurses, and social workers on their 

transplant team,” Bevans said. 

Study results to date suggest that a number 

of these dimensions are affected in transplant 

survivors. For example, the team has found that 

approximately 45 percent of study participants 

had insomnia, and that those with more physical 

and psychological symptom distress reported more 

problems with sleep. Survivors experiencing difficulties with psychosocial adjustment reported the 

greatest concerns with immediate and extended 

family issues, sexual relationships, and emotional 

distress. Ultimately, Bevans and Mitchell believe 

that a better understanding of the factors associated with variability in recovery can be applied to 

develop ways to help patients return to a fulfilling 

and productive life. 

“The FAQS study is making major progress in 

this direction, but it only addresses the first step— 

describing the scope of the problem.The big 

next challenge is to decide what to do about the 

problem,” Pavletic said.“Survivors face a number 

of challenges affecting their health and well-being. 

Much work remains to be done in this arena, and 

the NIH can be a major contributor.” 

Endometriosis survey data gives insight on 

co-occurring disease, incites research 

A study in Fertility and Sterility co-authored by 

NIH clinician-scientists reported new findings on 

endometriosis.The paper,“Cancers, infections, and 

endocrine diseases in women with endometriosis,” 

has ramifications for care of this patient population 

and the advancement of related research, 

said co-author Dr. Ninet Sinaii of the Biostatistics 

and Clinical Epidemiology Service in the 

Clinical Center Office of the Deputy Director 

for Clinical Care. 

Sinaii began analysis of an Endometriosis Association survey during her doctorate work with the 

National Institute of Child Health and Human 

Development and continued her series of papers 

when she transferred to the Clinical Center in 

2006.The 1998 survey covered an array of topics 

to capture the broad scope of living with endometriosis, a condition where tissue that usually 

grows inside the uterus shows up elsewhere like 

the surface of organs in the pelvis or abdomen. 

Scientists believe the number of women living 

with endometriosis—said to be between 10 to 

15 percent of reproductive-age females—may be 

underestimated, Sinaii said. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 37 
In addition to the symptoms of long-lasting 

chronic pain and high rates of infertility directly 

attributed to endometriosis, sufferers also have to 

deal with commonly co-occurring afflictions, the 

Endometriosis Association survey showed. 

“Overall, 2,859 (66.0%) women self-reporting 

surgical diagnosis of endometriosis also reported 

physician diagnosis of at least one other condition,” the authors of the Fertility and Sterility paper 

wrote. Most common among responders were 

infectious diseases—recurrent upper respiratory 

infections and recurrent vaginal infections—but 

melanoma and ovarian cancers were also noted as 

“more common in the study population than in 

similarly aged women in the general population.” 

“It’s kind of like a chicken-and-the-egg 

situation,” Sinaii said.“While we believe that 

women with endometriosis may have an 

altered immune system, we don’t know if 

a compromised immune system causes 

endometriosis or if endometriosis causes a 

compromised immune system.” 

The survey results will inform physicians and 

patients of possible coexisting conditions after 

diagnosis of endometriosis, Sinaii said.The 

findings may also stimulate further studies 

into the experience of the disease. 

“This survey data related to other clinical observations is what helps shape translational research,” 

said Dr. Pamela Stratton, chief of the Gynecology 

Consult Service in the NICHD Program in 

Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology and 

second author on the Fertility and Sterility paper. 

While there is no cure for endometriosis, research 

into better treatments and strategies to prevent 

reoccurrence of symptoms and disease is strong. 

Stratton is examining the after effects of endometriosis, such as chronic fatigue and heightened 

sensitivity to pain, and exploring promising recent 

research involving endometrial stem cells for its 

possible link to the central nervous system. 

38 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
A N N U A L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 39 

Training the Next Generation 

TRAINING TODAY’S INVESTIGATORS TO FIND TOMORROW’S CURES 

The Clinical Center continues to be a primary 

resource for training in clinical research, and the 

demand for such training has never been higher. 

The Office of Clinical Research Training and 

Medical Education develops, administers, and 

evaluates clinical research training initiatives for 

nearly every level of career development. With 

a summer internship program for high school, 

college and graduate students, a year-long clinical 

and translational research enrichment program for 

medical and dental students, and even a sabbatical 

program for experienced researchers, the Clinical 

Center has something for everyone. The CC 

also manages a curriculum of three courses in 

clinical research and graduate medical education 

opportunities for clinical fellows. 

CURRICULUM IN CLINICAL RESEARCH 

Thanks to the latest technology, the CC is able 

to broadcast its popular courses, Introduction to the 

Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (IPPCR), 

Principles of Clinical Pharmacology (PCP), and Ethical 

and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research, to remote 

sites domestically and around the world. 

Thirty-two remote sites with more than 1,100 students participated in the 2010-11 IPPCR course, 

including ten international locations such as the 

Asan Medical Center Clinical Research Center 

in Seoul, Korea, and the Walter Sisulu University 

in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The CC 

makes content available for students using live 

stream and archived content on the web for the 

sites without a live broadcast. 

A record number (1,563) of students enrolled in 

IPPCR in 2010-11, demonstrating the strong and 

sustained interest in the subject matter and the 

positive reputation of the course. And the word 

keeps spreading. In May 2010, course faculty 

including CC Director Dr. John I. Gallin, conducted a five-day version of the IPPCR course 

in-person at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. 

Local faculty then continued to work with 

students on the full syllabus. 

Designed to meet the needs of researchers who 

have an interest in the clinical pharmacologic 

aspects of contemporary drug development and 

utilization, the Principles of Pharmacology course 

has entered its twelfth year. The course has also 

reached students far away from NIH’s Bethesda 

campus. Twenty-three remote sites, including 

seven international, and a record 1,200 students 

participated in the 2010-11 course. 

Even the newest course, Ethical and Regulatory 

Aspects of Clinical Research, saw growth for the 

2010-11 year. More than 475 students enrolled 

at both NIH and at 12 remotes sites, including 

six international, which represents a 40% increase 

from 2009. 

Student participation 

for 2010-11 

IPPCR and PCP 
 

 

GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION BROADENS
 

The Clinical Center, as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) 

accredited sponsor of graduate medical education at NIH, made strides to expand the scope 

of Graduate Medical Education (GME) training 

offered to residents and clinical fellows at the 

NIH. In 2010, the NINDS-based Neurological 

Surgery program officially received accreditation 

from the ACGME, bringing the NIH’s total to 18 

accredited programs. The Neurological Surgery 

program represents the first ACGME accredited surgical specialty program at the NIH and 

is the first collaborative training partnership to 

be established between the NIH Clinical Center 

and the University ofVirginia Medical Center. 

This seven-year training program, which provides 

clinical exposure to a large spectrum of patients 

with diseases of the brain and spinal cord at both 

institutions and in-depth exposure to translational 

research at the NIH, allows trainees to develop 

the skills necessary to become highly competent, 

board-certified academic neurosurgeons. 

Expansion of GME programs furthers the Clinical 

Center’s mission to educate the next generation 

of clinician-scientists. With more GME programs 

available at the NIH in more specialty fields, 

researchers are better able to address the broader 

needs of patients. 

MEDICAL AND DENTAL STUDENTS SEEK
 

OPPORTUNITIES IN RESEARCH 

The Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) 

has always been a popular program at the NIH. 

The level of enthusiasm has reached new heights 

this year. Established in 1997,the program offers 

unique opportunities for medical and dental 

students to add one year of school to learn 

the principles of and to perform clinical and 

translational research at the NIH. The number 

of students who apply for the CRTP has grown 

steadily over the last seven years, and the CC 

received a record number of applications for the 

2010-2011 class. The growth in applications to 

the CRTP is depicted in the graph below. 

This public-private partnership is supported by the NIH 

and the Foundation for the 

National Institutes of Health 

through a generous grant 

from Pfizer Inc. 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

Expansion to 30 students a year 

Applications 

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 

40 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
FELLOWS PROGRAM ATTRACTS NEW TALENT
 

New clinical fellows from medical institutions 

across the country mingled at a reception in 

July 2010 with leaders from the different NIH 

institutes and centers. National Institute of Mental 

Health Intramural Research Program Scientific 

Director Dr. Richard Nakamura (left) and Clinical 

Director Dr. Maryland Pao (right) welcomed their 

institute’s fellows: (from left) Patricia Bauza from 

the Mayo Clinic, Rishi Kakar from Georgetown 

University School of Medicine, and Jose FrancoChavez from the University of Puerto Rico 

School of Medicine. 

CTSA VISITORS SEE LATEST FROM THE CLINICAL CENTER 

The Clinical Movement Analysis Lab in the 

Rehabilitation Medicine Department Functional 

& Applied Biomechanics Section was one stop for 

a group of visiting fellows from the Clinical and 

Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium 

on April 7, 2010.The CTSA program—funded 

by the NIH National Center for Research 

Resources—creates academic homes for clinical 

and translational science at research institutions 

across the country. 

In the Washington, DC, area for the 2010 Clinical and Translational Research and Education 

Meeting, sponsored by the Association for Clinical 

Research Training and the Society for Clinical and 

Translational Science, about 75 CTSA representatives from academia around the country—such

as Morehouse School of Medicine,Washington 

University in St. Louis, and Weill Cornell Medical 

College—toured the CC 

after an overview of the 

hospital from CC Deputy 

Director for Educational 

Affairs and Strategic 

Partnerships Dr. 

Frederick Ognibene. 

Engineers Christopher 

Stanley (in front) and 

Lindsey Bellini demonstrated the capabilities of 

the newly updated Clinical Movement Analysis 

Lab. CTSA fellows also 

visited the new CC Pharmacy Department 

Pharmaceutical Development Section facility 

and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 

Vascular Biology research area. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 41 

Staying in touch with alumni 

By connecting with alumni of our training programs, the Clinical Center is able 

to answer the questions,“Where are they 

now, and what are they doing?” This 

reveals success stories of alumni, as 

well as whether our training programs 

are setting students up for a career in 

clinical and translational research as they 

aim to do.The CC’s OCRTME already

has data collection mechanisms in place 

for the Clinical Research Training 

Program (CRTP) and Graduate Medical Education (GME) and is working on

expanding to all of our training programs. 

In addition, OCRTME uses Facebook 

and Twitter to stay in touch with alumni. 

For example, the CRTP alumni group on 

Facebook has 66 members who can 

converse with each other, as well as read 

news about the CRTP posted by OCRTME staff. And the alumni e-newsletter 

launched in December 2010, with plans 

to distribute quarterly, allows the CC to 

provide detailed updates to alumni. 
FACULTY BRING CLINICAL RESEARCH COURSE TO NIGERIA
 

Dr. Charles Natanson, head 

of the anesthesia section in 

the CC Critical Care 

Medicine Department, 

lectured during the 

IPPCR course in Nigeria 

in May 2010. 

The course Introduction to the Principles and Practices 

of Clinical Research (IPPCR) was presented at 

the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in May 2010. 

Co-sponsors were the Clinical Center, the NIH 

Fogarty International Center, and the University 

of Chicago Global Health Initiative.“This was the 

first time an adaptation of this course, which was 

developed by the Clinical Center, has been taught 

in sub-Saharan Africa,” noted Dr. John I. Gallin, 

CC director and lead of the NIH faculty. 

Faculty members traveled to the most populous 

nation in sub-Saharan Africa for four days of classes and conversations.They touched on highlights 

of the course that is offered annually at the CC 

and videocast to locations around the world. Dr. 

Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade,Walter L. Palmer 

Distinguished Service Professor in Medicine and 

Human Genetics and director of the Center for 

Clinical Cancer Genetics at The University of 

Chicago, learned of IPPCR while on the NIH 

Advisory Board for Clinical Research. 

After hearing that the CC brought IPPCR to 

China in 2008, Olopade asked,“Why not 

Nigeria?” (her native country), recalled professor 

Dr. Laura Lee Johnson, statistician in the Office 

of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at the National 

Center for Complementary and Alternative 

Medicine. 

About 90 people attended the course in Nigeria, 

ranging from heads of departments to fellows. 

Highlights of IPPCR—data safety monitoring, 

epidemiological design, ethical issues, community 

engagement—brought a new perspective to the 

students. 

Nigerian investigators were interested in “all-overthe-map research,” Johnson said. From nutritional 

choices to encourage fertility to eye disorders, 

pregnancy-related issues to parasitic diseases, the 

students asked about a variety of studies, Johnson 

reported. 

To continue the education of Nigerian researchers, 

the local coordination group helped assemble a 

sustainability team of participants who were young 

Ibadan faculty.The team will keep the training going for other cohorts,“so it’s not just a single shot, 

and we walk away,” Johnson said. 

NIH and HHS faculty who went to Nigeria were 

Gallin; Johnson; Dr. Charles Natanson, CC 

Critical Care Medicine Department; and Dr. Jerry 

A. Menikoff, director, Office for Human Research 

Protections, Office of Public Health and Science, 

Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and 

Human Services.They were accompanied by 

Dr. Letitia Robinson of the NIH Fogarty 

International Center.Also teaching were 

Dr. Oladosu A. Ojengbede, University College 

Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Dr. Christopher 

‘Sola’ Olopade, University of Chicago; and 

Dr. Olufunmilayo (Funmi) I. Olopade. 

42 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
COLLABORATION OFFERS CLINICAL CENTER RESOURCES TO 

EXTERNAL INVESTIGATORS 

A new pilot partnership between the Clinical 

Center, the National Cancer Institute’s Center 

for Cancer Research, and the Damon Runyon 

Cancer Research Foundation will offer some of 

the capabilities and expertise of America’s research 

hospital to an external group of clinical investigators in cancer research.The special talent and 

resources of the NIH will allow Damon Runyonfunded investigators to undertake studies and collaborations that will advance understanding of the 

prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. 

Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators (DRCIs) 

are early career physician-scientists whose focus is 

on the translation of basic science discoveries into 

practical therapies. Since 1946, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has invested 

more than $230 million in early career cancer researchers who have the energy, drive, and creativity 

to become leading innovators in their fields. 

“Thanks to the new three-component partnership, 

these young investigators can apply to use certain 

equipment, facilities, and patient cohorts at the 

Clinical Center in research collaborations with 

NIH clinician-scientists,” said Dr. John I. Gallin, 

Clinical Center director. 

An approved research proposal could also provide 

access to select research materials, services, or 

products that may not be available or possible at 

their home institutions—such as products from 

the Pharmacy Department’s Pharmaceutical 

Development Facility—through arrangements 

with the Clinical Center but without a formal 

research collaboration with a specific institute. 

If the pilot proves successful, the NIH and the 

Clinical Center may pursue similar partnerships 

with other NIH institutes and centers and external 

organizations. 

“This is a first step toward opening the doors of 

the Clinical Center to a new group of clinicianscientists, further supporting the NIH mission to 

enhance health and reduce the burden of disease,” 

said Gallin.The partnership allows DRCIs to partner with an NIH-tenured or tenure-track investigator on a research project. If the NIH research 

partner is not identified independently, the DRCI 

can submit a research proposal to NCI and the 

Dr. Jeffrey Baron (left) received the 2010 

Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award. With him is 

Dr. Joo Song, chair of the CC Clinical Fellows 

Committee. 

NICHD endocrinologist named 2010 

Distinguished Clinical Teacher 

The 2010 Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award went to an investigator with a 

“logical and thorough” teaching style, according to the fellows who work with 

him. Dr. Jeffrey Baron, chief of the Section on Growth and Development at the 

National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, received the award 

in September 2010. 

The Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award has been presented each year since 1985 

to an NIH faculty member who demonstrates excellence in mentoring healthcare professionals and has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of 

clinical research.The recipient is chosen by the Clinical Center Clinical Fellow’s 

Committee and delivers the annual John Laws Decker Memorial Lecture the 

following spring. 

Also nominated this year were Dr.Alan Decherney (NICHD), Dr.Theo Heller 

(NIDDK), Dr. Steven Warach (NINDS), Dr. Juan Gea-Banacloche (NCI), and 

Dr. Susumu Sato (NINDS). 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 43 
Clinical Center for assistance in identifying a suitable collaborator. A scientist applying for a Damon 

Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Clinical 

Investigator Award could apply with a mentor 

from NCI or another NIH institute or center. 

The application would identify the research to be 

done and the resources used at the Clinical Center. 

“We are thrilled to offer these opportunities and 

resources to the clinical investigators we fund,” said 

Lorraine Egan, executive director of the Damon 

Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.To facilitate 

these partnerships, the Clinical Center and 

NCI’s Center for Cancer Research will create an 

annually updated portfolio of ongoing research 

and of the research interests of NIH investigators. 

In addition to scientific collaborations, this pilot 

partnership will provide interested DRCIs 

opportunities to participate in the Clinical 

Center’s clinical research training curriculum. 

Courses are Introduction to the Principles and 

Practice of Clinical Research, Principles of Clinical 

Pharmacology, and Ethical and Regulatory Aspects 

of Clinical Research. Damon Runyon Clinical 

Investigators also are invited to apply to the 

Clinical Center Sabbatical in Clinical Research 

Management. 

Clinical Research Training Program 

gathers best from across the 

United States 

The 2010-2011 Clinical Research Training 

Program class of fellows represents universities 

from coast to coast, pulling medical students 

from Boston University School of Medicine; 

Louisiana State University School of Medicine; 

and the David Geffen School of Medicine at the 

University of California, Los Angeles, to name a 

few. 

The program—directed by the Clinical Center 

Office of Clinical Research Training and 

Medical Education—brings medical and dental 

students to the NIH campus for 12 months of 

mentored clinical or translational research in an 

area that matches the fellows’ personal research 

interests and career goals. 

44 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
CLINICAL CENTER OFFERS SABBATICAL IN CLINICAL
 

RESEARCH MANAGEMENT 

The Clinical Center’s Sabbatical in Clinical 

Research Management program provides wide 

access to the knowledge, expertise, and experience 

of leaders at the NIH. 

The program started accepting applications in 

2009 from a limited number of those who are 

experienced in the world of clinical research but 

want to learn more about management of a clinical research enterprise.The four participants in 

the pilot phase of the sabbatical program chose an 

individualized set of electives and received oneon-one attention from managers, executives, and 

clinician-scientists.The elective leaders are mainly 

from the CC, but other educational partners 

include other NIH institutes and centers, the US 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the HHS 

Office for Human Research Protections, and the 

Foundation for the NIH. 

Dr. Roman Ivanov traveled from Russia to participate in the Sabbatical in Clinical Research Management for three months in 2010.As a researcher 

at both a biotechnology company and an academic 

medical center, Ivanov was curious to learn about 

protocol writing and tracking and patient recruitment, as well as the regulatory aspects of clinical 

research. Spending a month full-time at the 

FDA and two months at the NIH developing 

an ongoing project allowed him to meet his 

educational goals. 

“The program provided me with a unique 

opportunity to get a better understanding of the 

infrastructure required for investigator-associated 

clinical trials and regulatory issues associated with 

them. I will do my best to share this knowledge 

with my colleagues and I hope that this will 

ontribute to development of medical science 

in Russia,” Ivanov said. 

This is a major goal of the sabbatical program: 

giving participants hands-on experience in clinical 

research management so that they may apply what 

they learn at their home institutions. Opening the 

CC’s doors allows individuals to learn from the 

science, the management and operations, and the 

unique circumstances under which we conduct 

clinical and translational research conducted here. 

“This program provides management training to 

help ensure that medical research programs are safe, 

ethical, and efficient,” said CC Director Dr. John 

I. Gallin.“The sabbatical will help demystify the 

complexities of governmental regulatory agencies 

while providing an opportunity to achieve 

excellence in clinical research management.” 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 45 
 

46 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 

TRAINEE FORUM INTRODUCES FUTURE COLLABORATORS
 

Despite the presence of NIH institute and center 

directors, distinguished researchers, and even NIH 

Director Dr. Francis S. Collins, some of the most 

important people young clinician-scientists met at 

a forum in November were those sitting next to 

them in the auditorium seats. 

The Eighth annual Clinical Investigator Student 

Trainee (CIST) Forum—developed and hosted by 

the Clinical Center Office of Clinical Research 

Training and Medical Education—convened more 

than 260 medical, dental, and veterinary students in 

year-long enrichment programs at academic medical centers and at the NIH for two days of panels, 

tours, and networking. 

“You are what we call, in epidemiology, a cohort,” 

said NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research 

Dr. Michael Gottesman.“Look to your left and 

your right.These are the people who will be your 

collaborators.These are the people who will be 

reviewing your grant applications.” 

In addition to the opportunity to talk shop with 

their peers, the CIST Forum presented fellows 

and scholars access to possible mentors and leaders in their fields of interest. Leaders of the CC, 

the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and 

Bioengineering, the Fogarty International Center, 

and the National Institute on Drug Abuse spoke 

on the latest from their groups. Forum attendees 

could speak with investigators from their intended 

research areas at networking luncheons, and a panel 

on genomics and genetics elicited much interest 

from the students. 

Another popular panel was the group of alumni 

from the same programs as CIST Forum attendees. 

Dr. Eric Adler, assistant professor of cardiology and 

medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University 

and a former Sarnoff Fellow, kept the crowd laughing, as he referred to content from NIDA Director 

Dr. NoraVolkow’s presentation. 

“I was addicted to science,” he said.“Find something you’re addicted to, but not something destructive like methamphetamines.” 

Panelist Dr.Adam M. Zanation, assistant professor 

in the Department of Otolaryngology at University of North Carolina School of Medicine and 

former Doris Duke Charitable Foundation fellow, 

reflected,“Being a successful researcher is about 

commitment, effort, and having good ideas.” 

The other two panelists were Dr. Karen E. Hoffman, assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD 

Anderson Cancer Center and former CC Clinical 

Research Training Program (CRTP) fellow, and 

Dr. Jayanta Debnath, assistant professor in the 

Department of Pathology at the University of 

California, San Francisco Medical Center and 

former Howard Hughes Medical Institute-NIH 

research scholar. [Read about Hoffman’s journey 

from CRTP to clinical research at a premier 

academic medical institute on page 47] 

For the second year, CIST Forum organizers used 

social media to appeal to their millennium generation audience. Students asked questions and staff 

provided helpful links through tweets marked with 

the hashtag #CIST8, which were displayed on the 

Masur Auditorium screen during question-andanswer sessions and breaks.Additionally, online 

networking linked attendees and organizers before 

the conference—getting them need-to-know 

information and letting them coordinate travel. 

Tours of CC units allowed forum attendees to 

see first-hand the cutting-edge facilities that allow 

the groundbreaking work of the NIH intramural 

program. 

Lauren Stossel, a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation fellow from the Mount Sinai School of 

Medicine, visited the new Pharmacy Department’s Pharmaceutical Development Section and 

A panel of alumni of the research 

training programs that CIST 

Forum attendees are in shared 

their journeys and gave advice to 

the current trainees. 
Rehabilitation Medicine Department’s Clinical 

Movement Analysis Laboratory.“I thought it was 

really interesting,” she said.“They demonstrated the 

different technologies and showed us the clinical 

correlates.” 

The keynote speaker of the forum—NIH 

Director Collins—addressed the importance of 

translating basic science discoveries into new and 

better treatments and how the NIH is putting science to work for the benefit for health care reform. 

Collins also discussed what the NIH 

is doing to encourage innovation and empower 

young researchers like CIST Forum attendees. 

“As the director of the NIH, one of the things 

that I enjoy most is the opportunity to brainstorm, 

particularly with people that are going to lead our 

field in the future, and that is all of you, about the 

directions that science is taking that are going to be 

particularly transformative,” he said. 

Collins closed his speech with a musical 

performance on his double helix-inlayed guitar: 

a self-penned update about DNA to the tune of 

Del Shannon’s 1960’s hit “Runaway.” 

“Dr. Collins was amazing. He’s like the superman of scientists,” said CRTP fellow Hari Trivedi 

from the Medical College of Georgia.Above all, 

for many of the forum attendees, though, was the 

chance to walk away with new contacts. 

“These are going to be my future colleagues, future 

collaborators, and people who I’ll be seeing over 

and over again. So getting to know them now, 

at this early stage, is going to be beneficial for 

fostering those relationships,” said Shah Ali of the 

Stanford University School of Medicine, a Howard 

Hughes Medical Institute fellow. NIH Director Dr. Francis S. 

Collins serenaded CIST Forum 

attendees with a personalized 

version of “Runaway” after his 

keynote speech. 

Former CRTP fellow reflects on influence of program 

The NIH Clinical Research Training Program 

(CRTP) aims to prepare the next generation of 

clinician-scientists through a year of immersion 

in the NIH intramural program. One alumna of 

the program recently returned to speak on her 

experience and to inspire her successors. 

Karen Hoffman, assistant professaor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, spoke 

on a panel of graduates of the year-long research 

programs represented at the Clinical Investigator 

Student Trainee Forum, which was held in the 

Clinical Center in November. She was part of the 

CRTP class of 2001-2002.The CRTP competitively selects participants, known as fellows, 

to spend a year engaged in a mentored clinical 

or translational research project in an area that 

matches their clinical research interests and goals. 

Hoffman did her undergraduate work at the 

University ofVirginia and earned her medical 

degree from Duke University. She also holds a 

Master of Public Health from the Harvard School 

of Public Health and Master of Health Science in 

Clinical Research from Duke University.While 

in the CRTP, Hoffman researched the late effects 

of treatment in long term survivors of pediatric 

sarcoma with Dr. Patrick Mansky, formerly of 

the National Center for Complementary and 

Alternative Medicine, and genetic and hormonal 

regulation of osteosarcoma metastasis with Drs. 

Lee Helman and Chand Khanna of the National 

Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research. 

“My experience here in the CRTP helped 

launch my career,” she said.“It really helped me 

develop the thought process to formulate research 

questions and provided the skills to pursue my 

independent work.” 

At MD Anderson, Hoffman conducts prostate 

and breast cancer clinical research. Her time is 

split with 75 percent devoted to clinical practice and 25 percent to research. She enjoys the 

interaction with patients this balance allows her, 

Hoffman said. 

Dr. Karen Hoffman, 

part of the 2001-2002 

Clinical Research 

Training Program class, 

is now assistant professor in the Department of 

Radiation Oncology at 

the University of Texas 

MD Anderson Cancer 

Center. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 47 
(upper right) 

Kerry Bruton sends a box of 

surgical gloves to a patient 

unit using the tele-car system. 

Smaller items travel through 

the CC’s tube system. 

(lower right) 

Connie Williams, sterile 

supply technician, organizes 

metal instruments for sterilization with heat/steam. Staff 

also manage sterilization of 

items using low temperature 

methods such as ethylene 

oxide gas and vaporized hydrogen peroxide. 

Organizational Improvement/Teamwork 


WEEK CELEBRATES VOLUNTEERS’ TIME AND TALENTS
 

The CC volunteer squad The CC volunteer squad 

includes (back, from left) 

Janet Logan, Victor Canino, 

Vickie Campbell, and (front, 

from left) Kristopher Yoon, 

Louise Gorman, and 

Jeanette Ferris. 

Volunteers Mark and Michelle 

Cohen (from left) with progrm 

coordinator Courtney Duncan. 

Volunteers contribute about 30,000 hours a year 

to the Clinical Center and the CC honored 

them during NationalVolunteer Week in April 

2010.“Volunteers add a tremendous amount of 

support to the Clinical Center,” said Courtney 

Duncan,Volunteer Services coordinator. 

“They bring excitement, genuine interest, 

and willingness to learn.” 

The 17th annual CC volunteer appreciation 

event on April 22 included presentation of special 

recognition awards to nine volunteers based on 

consistency, reliability, hours spent, or “general 

overall wonderfulness,” as Duncan said. Honored 

were: Mark and Michelle Cohen, animal-assisted 

therapy program; Eileen De Santillana and Monica 

Sullivan, language interpreters program; Joanne 

Hill, Armen Thomasian, and Cynthia Kim, patient 

ambassador program; Saroja Kanesa-Thasan, Red 

Cross; and Janet Logan, volunteering in Outpatient 

Clinic 12 for 14 years. 

48 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 

Tools of the trade 

Bandages, needles, sterile equipment, and isolation 

carts are necessary items in any hospital, and the 

Clinical Center is no different.The group that 

assures such specialized items are provided is 

Central Hospital Supply (CHS). 

“We are the hub of this Clinical Center.The doctors 

and nurses couldn’t do their job without supplies,” 

said medical supply technician Kerry Bruton. 

To use the system, clinical staff log on to the station 

and press a take or return button on the bin of their 

selected item.This crucial step links to the CHS 

inventory to alert staff when they need to replenish 

the machine’s supply. Completing this step rather 

than simply taking an item or putting one back 

without registering the action is crucial to help CHS 

equip the units with what they need. 

“CHS, in a team effort, achieves excellence in 

customer service by providing safe medical-surgical 

supplies in a cost-effective and timely manner for 

clinical care and protocol support,” said Paula Wrenn, 

chief of CHS. 
Some volunteers use their contribution as a way 

to try out an area of interest.Tiffany Murray (at 

right, with her supervisor Justine Harris) worked 

as a pharmacy technician in a retail setting, but 

wondered if she would prefer work in a hospital 

setting. Murray offered some advice to those 

looking to get the most out of their volunteer 

opportunity:“Be dependable and committed ... 

Grasp everything.Ask questions.” 

Post-baccalaureate Intramural Training Research 

Award fellows (post-bac IRTAs to NIH insiders) 

spend a year or two at NIH between their 

undergraduate studies and pursuit of an advanced 

degree. For those with plans to apply to medical 

school, the CCVolunteer Program offers patientcare experience. Volunteering in patient-care areas 

supplements IRTAs’ laboratory or administrative 

assignments to humanize translational research 

and develop skills not found in a textbook. 

“I think one of the most important parts of 

being a doctor, no matter your specialty, is 

knowing how to communicate,” said Nizar Dowla 

(at right with microphone), a fellow with the 

CC Rehabilitation Medicine Department who 

plans to pursue a career in pediatrics. Dowla 

spent two hours a week in the department’s 

main playroom, interacting with kids. 

MORE ABOUT 

VOLUNTEERS 

To learn about volunteer 

openings and to apply, 

visit http://clinicalcenter. 

nih.gov/volunteers. 

SWEET TREATS WIN SMILES 

The Seventh Annual Clinical Center Gingerbread House Contest made a sweet 

appearance again in 2010. Entries were displayed in the Hatfield Building atrium 

through the December holiday season. Patients, staff, and visitors cast ballots for their 

favorite.This year’s competition drew 28 entries and more than 2,500 ballots cast. 

First place went to the 3NE Disney firehouse, with the 3SE North Toy Story 3 in 

second, and 7SE Alice in Wonderland taking third.WJLA featured the Clinical Center’s 

gingerbread house competition in a “Good Morning,Washington!” segment with 

Dr. Clare Hastings, chief nursing officer, leading the welcoming cheer. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 49 
 

 

 

 

 

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PARTNERSHIP PUT TO THE TEST IN DRILL
 

Mary Beth Price (right) from 

Nursing and Patient Care 

Services welcomed mock 

patient Lynne Spivack to the 

Clinical Center as Adam 

Russell of Hospitality Services 

took her to the triage area. 

Jacqualine Reid (far right), 

CC director’s office, managed 

the flow of electronic patient 

data through the medical 

information transfer system 

at the drill. 

Clinical Center staff prepared for the worst on 

October 14, 2010, with the sixth-annual multiagency Emergency Preparedness Exercise.The 

drill is a simulation of how area medical facilities would handle a catastrophic event.The CC 

practiced managing an overflow of patients from 

DC hospitals that were “full” after a fictional event 

caused a large volume of casualties. 

The Bethesda Hospitals’ Emergency Preparedness 

Partnership—consisting of the National Naval 

Medical Center, Suburban Hospital Health Care 

System, the CC, the National Library of Medicine, 

and the NIH Fire Department and Hazardous 

Response Units—was formed in 2004 to stand 

ready to provide a rapid and sustained medical 

response to the community during a catastrophic 

event in the National Capital Region. 

For the first time CC employees simulated triaging and admitting stable patients from both the 

National Naval Medical Center and Suburban 

Hospital Health Care System. In prior years, mock 

patients were transported only from Suburban 

Hospital. 

Command centers communicated clearly and 

efficiently through a variety of avenues, from 

radio communication compliments of the NIH 

Radio Amateur Club to videophones that allowed 

callers to speak “face-to-face” on small screens in 

each command center. 

Members of the NIH community— 

staff from across institutes and 

centers and their families—banded 

to form Team NIH at the Susan G. 

Komen Global Race for the Cure on 

the National Mall in Washington, DC, 

on June 5, 2010. 

50 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
HOSPITAL WELCOMES PROJECT SEARCH INTERNS 

Twelve new interns arrived at the Clinical Center 

in September 2010 through a partnership with 

Project SEARCH, an international organization, 

for a 30-week unpaid internship. 

Project SEARCH works with hospitals and businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, 

and Australia to provide opportunities for young 

adults with disabilities to learn employability skills 

and gain work experience. 

The CC launched this intern program as a pilot 

under the management of Denise Ford, chief of 

the Office of Hospitality Services, and as part of 

the CCVolunteer Program. 

“This will help people see beyond the disability 

and understand the interns as contributing members of our workforce,” Ford said.“It’s a win all the 

way around.” 

The ultimate aim for young people in the Project 

SEARCH program is competitive employment. 

Chief of the Office of Hospitality 

Services Denise Ford led a 

tour in July 2010 for some of

the 12 interns who now work 

at the Clinical Center through 

a partnership with Project 

SEARCH. From left are Van 

Berg, Aamer Khan, Ricky Day, 

Crystal Battle, Ashton Bell,

Amethyst Thornton, and 

Justin Haynes. 

NURSES WEEK 2010 CELEBRATES CREATING A CLINICAL RESEARCH SPECIALTY 

At the opening ceremony of 2010 Nurses Week, 

Clinical Center Chief Nurse Officer Dr. Clare 

Hastings referenced the influence the CC has 

in the network of Clinical Translational Science 

Awards consortium institutions and NIH-funded 

centers across the country that perform clinical 

research.“We represent the flagship that people 

look to for leadership in this whole structure,” 

she said. 

Hastings thanked the nurses for their development 

of the domain of practice for the specialty of 

clinical research nursing as part of the Clinical 

Research Nursing 2010 initiative. Depending on 

their role—for example, clinical research nurse, 

research nursing coordinator—nurses balance their 

days among the different dimensions, Hastings said. 

The five foci of the specialty of clinical research 

nursing are clinical practice, study management, 

human subjects protection, contributing to the 

science, and care coordination and continuity. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 51 
 

 

 

 

PATIENT CARE PERSEVERES THROUGH SNOWPOCALYPSE
 

Patient care and research 

continued at the Clinical 

Center through the twin 

blizzards of February 2010. 

CRTP fellow Zachary Dezman 

snapped this as he skied to 

the hospital. 

It may have seemed that the Washington, DC, metropolitan area shut down for a week in early February as two snowstorms rendered roads impassable 

and left hundreds of thousands without power. 

The needs of Clinical Center patients remained 

constant, though, even as the weather patterns of 

the mid-Atlantic did not. 

CC staff banded together to provide round-theclock care for more than 170 patients over the 

federal government closure from noon Friday, 

February 5, through Thursday, February 11. 

This area has faced storms before that have complicated operations, but the twin blizzards of 2010 

posed a greater challenge.“It was worse for two 

reasons,” said Dr. John I. Gallin, CC director. 

“One, the duration and severity of the storm. 

And two, we had more patients in the hospital 

than we’ve had in the past.” 

Staff stayed overnight and worked double shifts to 

keep patients safe and on track with their treatments.The CC provided beds for 304 employees, 

andThe Children’s Inn lent their few vacancies. 

More than 54 staff with four-wheel drive vehicles 

volunteered to transport those without between 

their homes and the hospital. 

“I was just astounded by the level of energy, the 

commitment, and the cooperation. Even with a 

blizzard outside, there wasn’t anything going on 

inside that would indicate people were doing 

anything but focusing on patients,” said Maureen 

Gormley, chief operating officer 

Fantastic voyage 

The Clinical Center hosted multiple 

events on Take Your Child to Work 

Day on April 22, 2010, including an 

inside look at imaging, veterinary 

services, and anesthesia. Department of Laboratory Medicine staffer 

Tor Moore (right) led “Fantastic Voyage Through the DLM” where visitors 

dressed up like medical technologists; performed laboratory tests; 

used microscopes to view microorganisms, parasites, and blood cells; 

learned how to collect specimens; 

and practiced using different laboratory equipment. 

52 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
CLINICAL CENTER RUNNERS SPEED THROUGH THE NIH RELAY
 

Six Clinical Center teams participated in the 

27th NIH Relay in September 2010. The best 

time from a CC team came from Rehab Medicine’s Push(1)ng our Gluteus to the Maximus, 

one of the department’s three teams in the competition. They came in 10th overall by finishing in 

15:47. The CC Cheetahs enter 1 ed for the first year 

with runners from across Clinical Center. 

(Left) Cells R Us from the Department of Transfusion Medicine Cell Processing Section entered 

(fr om left) Luciano Castiello, Angela Pickett, Jean 

Gildner G , Hugo Luizaga Diaz, and Thai Truong. 

The Drug Runners from the Clinical Center 

Pharmacy Department included (from left) 

Schaun Norman, Thomas Dorworth, Sara 

Abshari, Jordan Petit, and Rose Pauline. 

NEW CORRIDOR STREAMLINES 

BUILDING TRANSITION 

After more than a year of detours and construction, a new main corridor 

from the Clinical Center south entrance to the Hatfield Building makes 

navigating the hospital easier.Additionally, the updated Phlebotomy and 

EKG Heart Station units (two of the Clinical Center’s most frequented 

patient-care areas) now enjoy a larger, brighter waiting area. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 53 
 

5 

Noteworthy 

Maryland governor visits 

Governor Martin O’Malley (right) met with NIH 

leaders and toured the Clinical Center before addressing the Federal Facilities Advisory Board on 

November 18, 2010.The governor appointed the 

board last year to develop a comprehensive assessment of how Maryland can best support and 

leverage the vast potential of its more than 50 

federal facilities and help connect Maryland 

companies with federal opportunities to create 

jobs. Greeting him were (from left) CC Director 

Dr. John I. Gallin; Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director 

of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive 

and Kidney Diseases; and Dr. Francis S. Collins, 

NIH director. 

5 4 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 

2010 NIH director’s awards 

Receiving 2010 NIH Director’s Awards were: 

The CC Blizzard Response Team, for extensive 

efforts behind the scenes that kept the hospital 

operational during winter 2010 blizzards.Team 

members were Tannia P. Cartledge, Sean D. Dancy, 

Beverly Farrington, Monique Harrison, Rodney 

Higginbotham, Ronald Jones, Karen Kaczorowski, 

Travis Palmer, James Rowe, Michael Sandifer, and 

Yvonne O. Scypion. 

As part of the Traumatic Brain Injury Team 

honored for effective collaboration in early 

implementation of the Congressionally established 

research initiative in traumatic brain injury, Dr. 

David A. Bluemke, director of Radiology and 

Imaging Sciences, and Dr. Leighton Chan, chief 

of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department, 

were given director’s awards. 

Patricia Coffey, director of the Medical Record 

Department, was honored for shepherding the 

CC toward an electronic patient record. 

A Ruth L. Kirschstein Mentoring Award went 

to Dr. Juan Lertora, director of the Clinical 

Pharmacology Program, for exemplary 

performance while demonstrating significant 

leadership, skill, and ability as a mentor. 

Dinora Dominguez and Frinny Rocio Polanco 

were among those noted for participation in 

theVolunteer Program for English Proficiency 

that creates an opportunity for NIH nonprofessional/non-scientific staff to improve 

their communication skills. 

The Long-Term Administrative Services 

Contract Team honored for contributions to 

the goal of reducing the need for multiple 

individual contracts included Lynda Ray. 
Marincola leads international society 

Dr. Francesco Marincola 

Dr. Francesco Marincola, 

chief of the Infectious 

Disease and Immunogenetics Section in the 

Department of Transfusion Medicine, is serving 

as vice president of the 

International Society 

for Biological Therapies 

for Cancer (iSBTc) and 

will become president 

in 2012. He has been a 

member of iSBTc since 

2000 and sat on the board of directors from 2004 

to 2007. During his tenure, he hopes to support 

the continued advancement of immunotherapies 

for malignancies and to increase participation 

from members outside the United States. 

“It’s a year where things are really happening in 

the field,” Marincola said.“Being president, you 

have an ability to influence.” 

Marincola’s research focuses on at what makes 

some people respond to immunotherapies, such 

as interleuken-2, while others do not. Only about 

10 percent of patients see an advanced positive 

response to such treatment, Marincola said. 

The iSBTc held the Symposium on ImmunoOncology Biomarkers, 2010 and Beyond: Perspectives from the iSBTc Biomarker Task Force in 

Masur Auditorium on September 30, 2010. 

Informatics staff recognized 

The Clinical Center Department of Clinical 

Research Informatics received a 2010 Circle of 

Excellence Award from health-care company 

Allscripts for achievements in using advanced 

technology to improve patient-care quality. 

The department responded to the CC goal of 

improving the percentage of doctors who signed 

their orders within 72 hours of entry from 50 to 

90 percent. In mid-2010, the department deployed 

a medication logic module within the Clinical 

Research Information System.The new module 

presents the signature manager screen to physicians 

with unsigned orders at login. Countersignature 

compliance almost immediately rose to 90 percent 

and has remained there 

since implementation. 

This capability improved 

regulatory compliance 

and patient safety by 

ensuring that orders are 

promptly reviewed by 

the appropriate provider. 

The Circle of Excellence 

Award recognizes healthcare organizations for 

demonstrating significant 

achievements in the areas 

of process improvement, 

clinical adoption, and 

collaboration.Additionally, Lincoln Farnum, CC 

developer and clinical analyst, was recognized for 

his participation in the Allscripts ClientConnect 

program and advisory group. 

“Chefs Move to Schools” campaign 

There are two ways to get kids to eat healthy food, 

says Robert Hedetniemi, certified executive chef 

for the Clinical Center’s Nutrition Department— 

you can trick them or you can teach them. 

“It’s tough to get kids to eat stuff they aren’t accustomed to.The way I see it, you can either hide it in 

things that they like, or you can get them involved 

in the cooking process,” he said. 

Hedetniemi has recently joined the ranks of individuals and organizations supporting First Lady 

Michelle Obama’s Lets Move! campaign to solve 

the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. He is one of hundreds of chefs from across 

the country who have signed up to be part of the 

“Chefs Move to Schools” initiative, a program that 

pairs chefs with community schools to help teach 

young people about nutrition. 

Run through the US Department of Agriculture, 

“Chefs Move to Schools” asks culinary professionals to create healthy meals that meet the schools’ 

dietary guidelines and budgets.The chefs and 

schools—kindergarten through grade 12—will 

also work together to teach young people about 

nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 55 

CC executive chef Robert 

Hedetniemi turns up the 

heat in a demonstration for 

Nutrition Department staff 

members Janet Hoey (left) 

and Christina Johnson. 
In her opening remarks at the kickoff rally, First 

Lady Michelle Obama explained the severity of 

the problems associated with childhood obesity. 

“You all know the statistics when it comes to the 

health of our kids—and they’re staggering, every 

time we talk about it—how nearly one-third of 

children in this country are now overweight or 

obese.That’s one in three. Just think about that. 

That means that these kids are at greater risk of 

obesity-related diseases—you name them, cancer, 

heart disease, stroke,” she said. 

Hedetniemi agrees.“If we don’t do something 

about it now, we are going to have a generation 

of kids with extreme health problems who are 

going to grow up into adults with extreme health 

problems,” he said.“We have an opportunity now 

to intervene, and from my little role I think I can 

expose some kids to some really cool products to 

help them get excited about nutrition.” 

Murray receives microbiology award 

Dr. Patrick R. 

Murray, chief of the 

Clinical Microbiology 

Service in the Clinical 

Center Department of 

Laboratory Medicine, and 

an American Society of 

Microbiology (ASM) 

member since 1974, was 

chosen to receive the 

Dr. Patrick R. Murray ASM Founders Distinguished Service Award. Murray has been an 

active ASM volunteer since 1981 and is honored 

for his years of service to multiple programs. 

He was editor-in-chief of four consecutive 

editions of the Manual of Clinical Microbiology and 

served for 15 years on the editorial board and as 

an editor of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 

Henderson gives SHEA lecture 

Clinical Center Deputy 

Director for Clinical 

Care Dr. David Henderson gave the Society for 

Healthcare Epidemiology 

of America (SHEA) Lecture on March 20, 2010, 

at the Fifth Decennial 

International Conference 

on Healthcare-Associated 

Outcomes.A member of 

SHEA for the last two 

decades, Henderson was chosen by the society’s 

board of trustees.The SHEA Lectureship recognizes the career contributions of one senior investigator in infection prevention and control and 

health-care epidemiology each year. Henderson’s 

presentation “Opportunists and Opportunities” 

reviewed his 30 years as a hospital epidemiologist 

at the CC and commented on options for and 

barriers to the society’s success. 

Former recipients of the SHEA Annual Lectureship include such distinguished hospital epidemiologists as Dr. Robert Weinstein of Rush Medical 

Dr. David Henderson 

Lasker Foundation directors tour 

unique space 

The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation— 

dedicated to the support of biomedical research 

toward conquering disease, improving human 

health, and extending life—held its board of 

directors meeting at the NIH on April 20, 2010. 

Clinical Center Director Dr. John I. Gallin (in 

lab coat) gave the visitors a tour of the hospital, 

including its interstitial space between floors. 

This unique feature of the CC allows for adjustments and repairs to be made to settings such 

as air flow and water supply without disrupting 

clinical care and research. 

56 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
College; Dr. Dennis Maki of the University of 

Wisconsin; Dr. Didier Pittet from Geneva, Switzerland; Dr. Richard Wenzel of the Medical College of 

Virginia; and Dr. Glen Mayhall from the University 

of Texas. 

In addition to his lecture, Henderson gave three 

platform presentations at the conference, including an opening plenary talk titled “Charting the 

Course for the Future of Science in Healthcare 

Epidemiology” and a symposium presentation 

about managing providers infected with bloodborne pathogens. He also conducted a workshop 

on occupational health. Conference co-sponsors 

were SHEA; the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention; the Association for Professionals in 

Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.; and the 

Infectious Diseases Society of America. 

Ognibene honored 

Dr. Frederick P. Ognibene (below right), deputy 

director for educational affairs and strategic partnerships, received the Society of Critical Care 

Medicine (SCCM) 2009 Distinguished Service 

Award for exceptional leadership contributions to 

the society. Dr. Mitchell Levy, 2009 SCCM president, presented the award. Ognibene was president 

of the SCCM in 2007 and served nine years on 

its governing council and executive committee. 

In 2010, Ognibene was one of 59 individuals 

elected to the Association of American Physicians. 

The goals of the association include the pursuit of 

medical knowledge and the advancement through 

experimentation and discovery of basic and clinical 

science and their application to clinical medicine. 

Each year, individuals having attained excellence in 

achieving these goals are recognized by nomination 

for membership by the council of the association. 

A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 • 57 

Patient Advisory Group member 

Susan Lowell Butler remembered 

The Clinical Center lost a longtime friend 

when Susan Lowell Butler died on December 

18, 2010.Active with the CC since she sought 

treatment here for a simultaneous diagnosis of 

breast and ovarian cancer in 1995, Butler was 

an original member of the Patient Advisory 

Group and the consumer representative on the 

NIH Advisory Board for Clinical Research. 

She received the 2004 CC Director’s Award 

for commitment to enhancing patient care. 

Butler was a keynote speaker at the dedication ceremonies for the new Mark O. Hatfield 

Clinical Research Center in 2004 and was 

selected to be the patient greeter of President 

Barack Obama during his 2009 visit. She 

served as a faculty lecturer for the CC course 

Introduction to the Principles and Practices of 

Clinical Research and contributed the only 

patient-written chapter to the course’s 

textbook. 

“Susan gave her time, her energy, and her love 

to the Clinical Center and to all of us,” said 

CC Director Dr. John I. Gallin.“Her words at 

the dedication of the new Hatfield Building 

included the phrase ‘the house of hope’— 

words repeated many times since. Her courage 

and strength touched and inspired all who 

knew her and we will miss her terribly.” 

One of the first faces 

President Barack Obama 

saw upon entering the 

Clinical Center on 

September 30, 2009, was 

that of longtime patient 

advisory group member 

Susan Lowell Butler. 
Organization and Governance 

ADVISORY BOARD FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (2010)* 

Governance 

The NIH Advisory Board 

for Clinical Research oversees the Clinical Center’s 

resources, planning, and 

operations.The Board also 

advises on NIH’s overall intramural program, including 

priority setting, the integration and implementation 

of research programs of the 

individual institutes and 

centers, and overall strategic 

planning for the intramural 

program. 

Comprised of NIH clinical 

and scientific leaders and 

outside experts in management of health care and 

clinical research, the 

Board advises the NIH deputy director for intramural 

research and the Clinical 

Center director and reports 

to the NIH director. 

CHAIR: Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH 

Dean 

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 

School of Public Health 

VICE-CHAIR: Martin Blaser, MD 

Chairman, NewYork University 

Medical Center Department of Medicine 

Frederick H. King Professor of Internal Medicine 

Josephine Briggs, MD 

Director, National Center for Complementary 

and Alternative Medicine 

Elizabeth B. Concordia, BA, MAS 

ExecutiveVice President 

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center 

President 

Hospital and Community Services Division 

Michael Rutledge DeBaun, MD, MPH 

Professor of Pediatrics 

Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs 

Director forVanderbilt-Meharry Center of 

Excellance in Sickle Cell Disease 

Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital 

Joe G. N.“Skip” Garcia, MD 

Vice Chancellor for Research 

Professor of Medicine 

University of Illinois at Chicago 

Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD 

Scientific Director 

National Human Genome Research 

Institute 

Stephen I. Katz, MD, PhD 

Director 

National Institute of Arthritis and 

Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases 

Crystal Mackall, MD 

Chief, Pediatric Oncology Branch 

Head, Immunology Section 

National Cancer Institute 

Peter Markell 

Vice President of Finance 

Partners HealthCare System, Inc. 

Sharon O’Keefe, RN, MSN 

President 

Loyola University Hospital 

Maryland Pao, MD 

Clinical Director 

National Institute of Mental Health 

L. Reuven Pasternak, MD, MPH, MBA 

CEO, Inova Fairfax Hospital Campus 

ExecutiveVice President,Academic Affairs 

Inova Health System 

Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD 

Chief, Surgery Branch 

National Cancer Institute 

Neal S.Young, MD 

Chief, Clinical Hematology Branch 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 

Ex Officio Members 

John I. Gallin, MD 

Director 

Clinical Center 

National Institutes of Health 

Michael M. Gottesman, MD 

Deputy Director for Intramural Research 

National Institutes of Health 

H. Clifford Lane, MD 

Chair 

Medical Executive Committee 

Clinical Director 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

Executive Secretary 

Maureen E. Gormley, RN, MPH 

Chief Operating Officer 

Clinical Center 

National Institutes of Health 

Senior Staff Support 

Richard G.Wyatt, MD 

Executive Director 

Office of Intramural Research 

National Institutes of Health 

*As of December 31, 2010 

There are two pending vacancies 

58 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 
MEDICAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS (2010)* 

NIH Clinical Center

The Medical Executive Committee is made up of clinical directors of the NIH intramural clinical research programs 

and other senior medical and administrative staff.

H. Clifford Lane, MD 

(Chair) National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

Maryland Pao, MD 

(Vice Chair) 

National Institute of Mental Health 

James E. Balow, MD 

National Institute of Diabetes and 

Digestive and Kidney Diseases 

Richard O. Cannon, III, MD 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 

Carlo Contoreggi, MD 

National Institute on Drug Abuse

William L. Dahut, MD 

National Cancer Institute 

Josephine M. Egan, MD 

National Institute on Aging (Acting) 

Frederick L. Ferris, III, MD 

National Eye Institute 

Mary Kay Floeter, MD 

National Institute of Neurological 

Disorders and Stroke (Acting) 

William A. Gahl, MD, PhD 

National Human Genome Research Institute 

Clare E. Hastings, PhD, RN, FAAN 

NIH Clinical Center 

Markus Heilig, MD, PhD 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse

and Alcoholism 

David K. Henderson, MD 

NIH Clinical Center 

Henry Masur, MD 

NIH Clinical Center 

James E. Melvin, DDS, PhD 

National Institute of Dental and 

Craniofacial Research 

Deborah P. Merke, MD, MS 

NIH Clinical Center 

Robert Nussenblatt, MD 

National Center for Complementary 

and Alternative Medicine (Acting)

Forbes D. Porter, MD 

National Institute of Child Health 

and Human Development (Acting) 

Steven A. Rosenberg, MD 

National Cancer Institute 

Leorey Saligan, PhD, RN, CRNP 

National Institute of Nursing Research

Richard M. Siegel, MD, PhD 

National Institute of Arthritis and 

Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (Acting) 

Elad Sharon, MD, MPH 

Clinical Fellow 

National Cancer Institute 

CarterVan Waes, MD, PhD 

National Institute on Deafness and 

Other Communication Disorders 

Darryl C. Zeldin, MD 

National Institute of Environmental 

Health Sciences (Acting) 

Ex Officio Members

John I. Gallin, MD 

NIH Clinical Center 

Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD 

Deputy Director for Intramural Clinical Research

Patricia A. Kvochak, JD 

Deputy NIH Legal Advisor 

Richard G.Wyatt,MD 

Office of Intramural Research, NIH

Laura M. Lee, RN 

NIH Clinical Center 

*As of December 31, 2010 

ANNUAL REPORT 2011 • 59 
DIRECTOR 

John I. Galin, MD 

Chief Operating Officer
 

Maureen E. Gormley, MPH, RN
 

Assistant Director for Ethics and 

Technology Development 

Lisa Marunycz, RN, MBA 

Deputy Director for Educational Affairs 

and Strategic Partnerships 

Frederick P. Ognibene, MD 

Diversity Management and Minority Outreach 

Walter Jones, MS 

Office of Purchasing 

and Contracts 

Sydney Jones 

Housekeeping 

Department 

Robert Mekelburg, 

MBA 

Materials 

Management 

Department 

Francis LaBosco, 

MS, PD 

Social Work 

Department 

Adrienne Farrar, PhD 

Spiritual Ministry 

Department 

John M. Pollack, MDiv, 

BCC 

Office of 

Communications, 

Patient Recruitment 

& Public Liaison 

Sara Byars 

Office of Facility 

Management 

Debra A. Byram, 

RN, MSN 

Office of Hospitality 

Services 

Denise Ford, MS, RD 

Edmond J. Safra 

Family Lodge 

Lawrence Eldridge, 

MSHA 

Chief Operating 

Officer 

Maureen E. Gormley, 

MPH, RN

 Deputy for 

Administration/

 Office of 

Administrative 

Management

 Lynda Ray 

Deputy for 

Operations and 

Workforce 

Management/ 

Office of Workforce 

Development 

Hillary J. Fitilis, JD 

Nutrition 

Department 

David Folio, MS, RD 

Chief Nurse Officer 

Clare Hastings, 

PhD, RN, FAAN

 Deputy Chief

 Ambulatory Care 

Services

 Karen Kaczorowski, 

MHSA, RN

 Deputy Chief 

Inpatient Services

 Tannia Cartledge, 

MS, RN 

 Chief, Research 

& Practice 

Development 

Service

 Gwenyth Wallen, 

PhD, RN 

60 • A N N UA L R E P O RT 2 0 1 1 

Chief Financial 

Officer 

Maria Joyce, MBA

 Office of Financial 

 Resource 

Management

 Daniel P. Rinehuls 

Office of 

Management

 Analysis & Reporting

 Melissa B. Moore, 

 MSW, MBA

 Office of Protocol 

Services

 Kim Jarema, RHIA

 Department of 

 Clinical Research 

Informatics and 

Chief Information 

Officer

 Jon W. McKeeby, 

DSc 

Bioethics Department 

Ezekiel Emanuel, 

MD, PhD 

Laboratory 

for Informatics 

Development 

James J. Cimino, MD 

Radiology 

and Imaging 

Sciences
 

David A. Bluemke,


MD, PhD, MsB 

Deputy Director for 

Clinical Care 

David K. Henderson, 

MD

 Department of 

Perioperative Medicine

 Acting, Julie Labovsky, MD

 Department of 


Laboratory Medicine
 

Thomas A. Fleisher, MD
 

Critical Care Medicine 

Department

 Henry Masur, MD

 Pharmacy 


Department
 

Robert DeChristoforo,
 

MS


 Rehabilitation 

Medicine 

Department

 Leighton Chan, MD

 MPH

 Department of

 Transfusion 

Medicine 

Harvey Klein, MD

 Positron Emission 

 Tomography 

Department

 Peter Herscovitch, 

MD 

 Medical Record 

Department 

Patricia Coffey, RHIA

 Office of

 Credentials

 Servicies 

 Joseph Hendery, 

RHIA

 Pain and Palliative 

 Care Service

 Ann Berger, MSN, MD

 Internal Medicine 

Consult Service

 Fred Gill, MD

 Pediatric Consult 

Service

 Deborah Merke, MD

 Veterinary Care 

 Program

 Lisa Portnoy, VMD 

Hospital 

Epidemiology Services 

David K. Henderson, MD 

Clinical Epidemiology & 

Biostatistics Service 

Robert Wesley, PhD 
 

 

 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
 

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
 

National Eye Institute (NEI)
 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
 

National Human Genome Research Institute 


(NHGRI) 

National Institute on Aging (NIA) 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 

(NIAAA) 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

(NIAID) 

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and 

Skin Diseases (NIAMS) 

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging 

and Bioengineering (NIBIB) 

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of 

Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 

National Institute on Deafness and Other 

Communication Disorders (NIDCD) 

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial 

Research (NIDCR) 

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and 

Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) 

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) 

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 

(NIEHS) 

National Institute of General Medical Sciences 

(NIGMS) 

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and 

Stroke (NINDS) 

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) 

National Library of Medicine (NLM) 

Center for Information Technology (CIT) 

Center for Scientific Review (CSR) 

John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC) 

National Center for Complementary and 

Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) 

National Center for Minority Health and 

Health Disparities (NCMHD) 

National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) 

NIH Clinical Center (CC)