May Announcements

POSTPONED: Annual NICHD Fellows Meeting

The 16^th Annual Meeting for Postdoctoral, Clinical, and Visiting Fellows and Graduate Students has been postponed until Friday, October 23, 2020. This year’s retreat will be held at The National Museum of the American Indian.

This meeting will allow you to step away from the lab for a day to network with your NICHD colleagues, participate in a career exploration session, and learn more about the recent developments in our intramural research programs. More details to follow!

New Virtual Coffee Fix Session on Self-Advocacy via Zoom

The NICHD Office of Education will host a new “Coffee Fix” on June 10 from 10–11 a.m. via Zoom. The inaugural “Coffee Fix” on work/life balance was a great success, and next we look forward to discussing topics related to self-advocacy. Zoom connection details will be circulated soon!

Please contact Ms. Monica Cooper (cooperm@mail.nih.gov) in the Office of Education if you are planning to attend.

Gain Programming Skills while Teleworking from Home

During this time of extended telework, the NICHD’s Bioinformatics and Scientific Programming Core (BSPC) is offering to help fellows gain valuable programming and data analysis skills. BSPC can provide several resources for learning the R programming language as well as develop custom learning plans using online resources to meet specific learning goals.

You can start learning the R programming language directly in a web browser at https://rstudio.cloud/learn/primers. If you want to progress further, you can use the free online book https://r4ds.had.co.nz as a guide.

If you are interested in programming and data analysis, please contact Dr. Ryan Dale at ryan.dale@nih.gov. He can work with you directly or coordinate with others in BSPC to schedule “virtual office hours” to help you understand how these skills fit into your research or to help with installation issues and coordination with IT.

Want to Write an Article while Working from Home?

The NICHD Connection has several writing opportunities for fellows in all stages of their careers—no experience required!

We are seeking fellows to contribute feature articles and articles for our regular columns, such as:

• Event Recaps – Our event recaps provide short summaries of workshops and seminars—perfect for fellows who couldn’t attend.
• Hot Off the Press – These feature articles cover recent publications, allowing fellows to practice writing about complex topics for a general scientific audience. 
• Interesting Opportunity – The first-person narrative of this column gives fellows a first-hand peek into various opportunities around campus and in our community. Consider sharing any interesting opportunities you’ve experienced.
• Life Outside Lab – Send us pictures of your life outside lab!
• The Arts – Once per year we focus on art in science. Interested in exploring the topic? Try writing a feature article for this annual issue!
• Thoughts of a Postbac – This column has served as an outlet for postbacs to share their thoughts about scientific training and future career opportunities. 
• Your ideas – We’re always on the hunt for fun, interesting ideas to cover in the newsletter!

Please contact The NICHD Connection Editor, Dr. Shana Spindler, at shana.spindler@nih.gov to learn more.

Japan Society for Promotion of Science Accepting Applications for NIH Intramural Fellowship

This NIH Intramural Fellowship was created in 1995 to promote bilateral cooperation between NIH and the JSPS Foundation. This partnership-based program is primarily funded by the JSPS Foundation with co-funding from the NIH host institute or center. JSPS is the largest government-supported foundation in Japan that provides fellowships to Japanese scientists.

The NIH-JSPS Intramural Fellowship provides a two-year stipend to Japanese postdocs to work at NIH intramural labs. This fellowship is awarded to about 10 postdocs annually. For more information about the fellowship and application documents, please visit https://jspsusa.org/wp/fellowship/kaitoku-nih. The application due date is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 29.

Mentor of the Year Awards: Accepting Nominations Now!

Do you have an outstanding mentor?

The time has come for you to nominate your fellow or PI for the 2020 NICHD Mentor of the Year Awards. This is your chance to recognize an individual in the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) or Division of Intramural Population Health Research (DIPHR) whose mentoring has made a difference in your life at the NIH!

Below is the link to obtain information about the NICHD’s two annual intramural Mentor of the Year Awards, one for a fellow and one for an investigator. Please submit your nomination form and a 500-word (maximum) narrative electronically to Ms. Monica Cooper (cooperm@mail.nih.gov).

The submission deadline is Friday, June 26.

Please contact the Office of Education if you have any questions about the nomination instructions or selection process. Information available at: Mentor of the Year Awards

Ongoing Events Around Campus

NIH-Wide Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) Events
For more information and registration, please visit Upcoming OITE Events.

NIH Library Training and Events
For more information and registration, please visit the NIH Library Calendar.

In-person classes are held in the NIH Library Training Rooms, Clinical Center, Building 10, and webinars are held online.