The Merry Band Of Creating A “Spellchecker” For Genes .

THE TRAINING PAGENIH Fellows Editorial BoardInfluencing Science, One Manuscript at a TimeBRANDI CAROFINO, NCIBY BRANDI CAROFINO AND ERIKA GINSBURG, NCIMembers of the Fellows Editorial Board (from left): Amelia Parker, Brianna Daley, Manju Bhaskar, Alexis Carter (consultingmember), Iain Sawyer, Brandi Carofino, Lukas Bialkowski, Sarah Deasy, Anowarul Amin, Mariana Mandler, Shailesh Advani,Michelle Saré, and Erika Ginsburg (advisor).Th e N I H F e l l o w s E d i t o r i a lBoard (FEB) recently celebrated a bigmilestone: They edited their 1,000thsubmission. The FEB, founded in 2002,has edited an average of 60 manuscripts ayear for the past 16 years.Companies that offer professionalediting services often charge hundreds ofdollars to review a scientific manuscript.Luckily, fellows in the NIH intramuralresearch program and the FDA have abetter option—the free editing servicesoffered by the FEB. The service is forfellows and by fellows and provides free,fast, and confidential editing for a varietyof scientific documents including journalarticles, book chapters, and grant proposals.Editors highlight confusing sentences,identify where reorganization is needed,and provide suggestions on how to improvewriting skills. The editors do not, however,consider the scientific merit of manuscripts.All editing is performed by fellows whovolunteer to serve as board members. Theprocess of editing helps them hone theireditorial, writing, teamwork, and leadershipskills. Prior experience is not required, butnew editors are extensively trained by moresenior board members on the principle of4THE NIH CATALYST JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019“See one, do one, teach one.”The FEB is led by Senior Editor BrandiCarofino (National Cancer Institute, NCI).Each submission is managed by one offour associate editors, a team that includesAnowarul Amin and Manju Bhaskar (bothfrom the National Institute of NeurologicalDisorders and Stroke) and Iain Sawyer andSarah Deasy (both from NCI). The rest ofthe board includes 25 editors—representingnearly all the NIH institutes and centersas well as the FDA—who are postdocs,postbacs, and consulting members.Each submission is managed by anassociate editor, who solicits three or fourprimary editors from the board to lead thediscussion during the weekly FEB meetings,which take place on the Bethesda campusand is videocast to several other NIHlocations. The primary editors carefullyread and edit a submission and serve as theprimary contributors during the meeting.After an FEB meeting, primary teammembers each prepare a report for eachsubmission. The reports are then compiledinto a single document so that the reviewsare comprehensive but not redundant. Theprocess helps newer editors gain experienceunder the supervision of more practicededitors. The senior editor finalizes thereports; each author receives a letter thatsummarizes the board’s overall impressionsand a copyedited PDF version of thedocument. PDF annotation ensures thatauthors consider the rationale for the editsas they incorporate them into their finaldocument. Generally, the authors receivereports within 10 business days and mayalso request an in-person meeting with theeditors if desired.To evaluate and enhance the serviceprovided by the FEB, authors are askedto complete a feedback form for eachsubmission. The FEB frequently receivesthe highest marks for each query, whichincludes questions on timeliness, clarity,helpfulness, and likelihood of submittingfuture manuscripts to the FEB. FEBedited manuscripts have recently beenpublished in high-impact journals such asNature Communications, The Proceedings ofthe National Academy of Science, Cancer Cell,and The Journal of Biological Chemistry.Many members use the FEB as aspringboard to begin careers as professionalscience writers or editors. FEB alumni holdpositions at the Lancet, the Drug InformationAssociation, Ripple Effect Communications,the Susan G. Komen organization, andseveral NIH institutes. A recent alumna,Caeul Lim (National Institute of Allergyand Infectious Diseases), now an assistanteditor at Cell Press in Boston, said that her“experience with the FEB was instrumentalin getting the position.”The FEB is supported by the NCI Center forCancer Training’s Office of Training andEducation. For more information, visit the FEBwebsite at editorial-board or emailNCIeditors@nih.gov.

THE TRAINING PAGEBreaking Through the Petri Dish LidInstitutional and Personal Approaches to Enhancing DiversityBY SUSAN CHACKO, CITMentorship and institutionalchange were the main themes at thesymposium “Break ing through thePetri Dish Lid: Ways for Women andUnderrepresented Groups to AdvanceTheir Careers in Science,” held onOctober 5, 2018. The sy mposiumfeatured three panelists—KathrynZoon, Hannah Valantine, and NesrineTaha—who discussed personal andinstitutional approaches to changing theexisting paradigm.Debbie Hinton, a PI at the NationalInstitute of Diabetes and Digestive andKidney Disease, presented some soberingstatistics in her welcome address. In theearly 1990s, women made up 16.5 percentof senior investigators (PIs) at NIH, and in2018, the number has barely increased to 24percent, she said. There has been even lesschange in the upper leadership positions.During this same period the percent ofwomen getting Ph.D.s in the biosciencesincreased from 42 percent to 52 percent.The statistics for individuals fromunderrepresented groups are even morediscouraging. Nationwide, they receiveabout 12 percent of Ph.D.s but occupy fivepercent of tenured positions, according toValantine, NIH’s chief officer for scientificworkplace diversity.Zoon, a former scientific directorand now scientist emerita at the NationalInstitute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases, stressed the importance of goodmentorship—perhaps even having multiplementors—who can help in handling bothscientific and life challenges. She identifiedseveral leadership skills for women includingnetworking; having ethics and integrity;being creative and innovative in solvingproblems; having an awareness of thescientific environment; being f lexible;thinking strategically; listening to peopleand being willing to work as part of ateam; learning how to manage conflict;and most of all being resilient. Valantinerecommended that aspiring scientists find“sponsors,” a step beyond mentors, too.While individual efforts are part ofthe picture, Valantine pointed out thatthese approaches have had limited success.It’s now time to fix the institutions. Theculture has not changed over time; womenand people from underrepresented groupsdo not have access to an even playingfield, and there is no reward system forenhancing diversity in institutions. She hasan evidence-based approach to changingthis culture: For example, scientificdirectors are presenting metrics such asresource distribution, salary, and speakingengagement demographics to the NIHEquity Committee every two years.Valantine also suggested that there bemore rapid turnover of laboratory and branchchiefs at NIH. Although she acknowledgedthat achieving diversity and equity at the topscientific levels would take time, she wasfirmly of the belief that within two years,new scientific hires at NIH could be halfwomen. That’s because with new methodsof hiring that focus on broad, trans-NIHsearches with a deeper talent pool (suchas the Stadtman search), the percentageof women among new hires has exceededthe percentage of women applicants.Moreover, the proportion of women tenuretrack investigators in the NIH intramuralresearch program (IRP) is now 40 percent,a significant increase from even a few yearsago. In contrast, the percentage of womenin the tenured investigator pool has notincreased much over the past 10 years.Taha, a former pre-doctoral researcher(2013–2014) at the National Eye Instituteand now a nanoscale research scientist andentrepreneur, talked about how her fouryear career break to raise her family madeher realize the challenges facing womenwho return to the scientific workforce.She founded a nonprofit, the Foundationfor American Advancement, to providespecialized training and fellowships forwomen returning to science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM)workplaces as well as programs for schools.The panel also recognized that NIH’snew anti-harassment policies, which aimto create a culture of civility and respect—will foster a safe working environmentat NIH that is friendly to women andunderrepresented minorities. The NIHleadership is also looking into ways toinfluence change at universities, too.Audience members eagerly askedquestions about every aspect of diversityin science. “It’s critical to get multipleperspectives at the table and build diverseexperiences into policy,” said ValerieVirta, one of the NIH attendees, whosaid she had been very inspired by thesymposium.To sum up the conference, Zoonquoted Supreme Court Justice Ruth BaderGinsburg: “Fight for the things you careabout, but do it in a way that will leadothers to join you.”The event was hosted by the NIH WomenScientists Advisors (WSA) and the Bethesdachapter of the Association for Women inScience (AWIS). To watch a videocast, r more information, go to /alumni-outcomes/index.cfm or contactTammy Collins (984-287-3651 or t5

NEWS YOU CAN USEOffice of Patient RecruitmentExtending the Reach of NIH StudiesBY BRANDON LEVY, OIRIf researchers design agroundbreaking clinical study, and nopatients know about it, what’s the use?The scientists may have a supply closetbursting with test tubes and Petri dishes, aset of blank consent forms stacked two feethigh, and the latest cutting-edge analyticsoftware loaded onto their desktops. Butwithout any participants, all those test tubes,consent forms, and spreadsheets will remainempty. We are nothing without our patientvolunteers.Fortunately, the NIH Clinical Center’s(CC’s) Office of Patient Recruitment is eagerto help find participants for intramuralstudies. In fiscal year 2017, it assisted withrecruitment for 229 clinical trials performedat 19 of NIH’s institutes and centers.In addition to a staff of knowledgeablerecruitment specialists who work withscientists at all stages of the research process,the Office of Patient Recruitment overseesthe Clinical Research Volunteer Program,a database of more than 20,000 healthyvolunteers interested in participating in NIHresearch. The registry can be filtered based ondemographic criteria such as age and sex, aswell as by more specific characteristics suchas whether an individual is taking certainmedications. The combination of these tworesources can greatly reduce the difficulty offinding participants for intramural studies.Recently, the Off ice of PatientRecruitment joined forces with the CC’sOffice of Communications and MediaRelations. The technical and creativeexpertise of the two offices combinedmeans that patient-recruitment servicesare significantly enhanced.Using t hei r med ia sav v y a ndunderstanding of how biomedical researchis done, the office’s recruitment specialistswork with researchers to create recruitment6THE NIH CATALYST JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019NIH Clinical CenterOffice of Patient Recruitment (OPR)At the NIH Clinical Center, individuals who participate in clinical research arepartners in research and discovery. Our recruitment experts are available tohelp intramural investigators reach potential patient and healthy volunteers.Contact us for recruitment consultation, planning, and implementation.Some of our recruitment services include the following: (Check those you are interested in)Study Flyers(plus tear offs!)ResearchMatch An online registryof people interested in participating inresearch.Social Media Post a recruitmentmessage about your study on theClinical Center’s Facebook andTwitter (ask your IC to share the post ontheir IC’s social media!)Study forA Research ometriosisEndWomen withwithwomenis seekingstudy. PreviousspasmCenterpain and toxinClinicalin a researchof Health participatemay reduceif botulinumInstitutespain.pain to toxin injectionto testpelvicpelvicneededThe Nationalosis and that botulinumresearch is in women withmoreendometrihas shownfloor spasmresearchfloor. However,for pelvicpelvicif you:treatmentof theold.be eligibleyearsis an effectivewithYou may18 50pain.a woman,diagnosedpelvic Arebeen surgicallyhave persistent Haveosis andthe NIHinvolves:endometrivisits tomonth.if you:of oneoutpatienteligibleperiodor morenot bemy.over ace, fecal Twothe studyYou mayCenterhysterectoincontinenfollowinghad aClinicalof urinary Haveup visitsfollowa history pelvic prolapse. may be causingplacebo Twoical Havece, orwhichtoxin stinal,eitherany othergastrointefatigue Havereceive Receiving injection.such asmaypainyouia or chronicthe onepelvic(salt water)injection,duringfibromyalgtoxin.the studydisorders,toxin injection After.or botulinumsyndrometo albuminns areone botulinum period.medicatioan allergyyear follow up tests and HavetedStudy relacost. at noprovidedhospital,researchlineAmerica’sMetro redCenter,On theClinicalThe NIHMaryland.stop).Bethesda,Centeris in(MedicalStudy:1010)informationFor more 1222 (TTY: 1 866 411 1 800 411 es pa ño l.govse ha bla in e , c l inicaltrials83nl#: 12 CH 00or go oby studysearchNIH.TurningDiscoveryNIH Publications Into HealthLISTSERV Send out arecruitment message to oneof our LISTSERVs(over 30,000 subscribers)Post your recruitmentmessage in the NIHRecord and CCNewsClinical Research VolunteerProgram Request a list ofvolunteers who fit yourinclusion/exclusion criteria andpayment processingTelephone ScreeningCallers most closely matchingyour study’s requirements arereferred to your team for follow up.Flyer Distribution We’ll help post your flyer in:Office of Patient RecruitmentNIH Clinical CenterCall us: 301-402-6380Email us: PRPL@cc.nih.govNIH.Turning Discovery Into Health Buildings on NIH campusEnclosed cases in the Clinical CenterGIANT grocery storesUniversity librariesCommunity librariesDC/Metro area medical specialistsCommunity Clinics.and more!approaches tailored to studies’ specific targetpopulations. The specialists design flyers,postcards, and other printed materials; createnewspaper and radio ads; and draft messagesto post on social media and other websites.Although these services are provided for free,investigators do have to pay if they choose topurchase advertising space or request largerprinted materials such as banners.What’s more, the recruitment specialistscan leverage their knowledge of theInstitutional Review Board (IRB) approvalprocess to ensure that recruitment strategiesand materials move smoothly through it.“Some of our specialists have been here along time [and] can predict how the IRB willreact to recruitment materials and whether .something [should be] phrased or presenteda certain way,” said Molly Freimuth, themedia lead in the Clinical Center’s Officeof Communications and Media Relations.One of the researchers who is benefittingfrom the efforts of the Office of PatientRecruitment is Stephanie Chung,co-director of the Metabolic ResearchProgram in the National Institute ofDiabetes and Digestive and KidneyDiseases. She is conducting a clinical trialwith young African-Americans who havetype 2 diabetes. Recruiting for the studyhas been difficult because the condition israre in young people. And most patientsdon’t understand how biomedical researchcan benefit them. The recruitment team,in collaboration with specialists from theCC’s Office of Communications andMedia Relations, initiated a partnershipwith Children’s National Hospital inWashington, D.C. Children’s has the largestendocrinology program in the Northeast.Through the partnership, NIHdeveloped digital, video, and social-mediacontent for Children’s to distribute totheir physician and patient audiences. Alow-cost video about the trial is postedon several websites including YouTube.Chung routinely shows it to her patientsto encourage them to join her study. Inaddition, the NIH recruitment specialistsdeveloped a social-media strategy to targetthose patients directly and designed andmailed flyers to clinicians who work withthat population so they can make theirpatients aware of the trial.Representatives from these offices “reallyunderstood where we were coming from andwhat we were trying to do,” Chung said.“We wanted people to understand why this[study] is important and how it is going toaffect them and their families. I think partof the reason the campaign was so successfulwas that we had a great team.”To learn more about the Office of PatientRecruitment and how to submit a requestfor services, visit http://intranet.cc.nih.gov/recruit/index.html. A recruitment specialistwill respond within three business days. If youhave any questions, you can also call the officeat 301-402-6380.

NEWS YOU CAN USENIH Library ServicesSo Much More than BooksBY KATHLEEN MCGLAUGHLIN, ODNeed to know how to dev elopbibl iome t r ic s t h at w i l l he lp y o uevaluate written publications? Want tounderstand how to use informationsystems technology? How about gettingassistance with editing your manuscriptsor managing your data? The NIH Library,located in Building 10, is at your service. Inaddition to managing a vast collection ofbooks and journals and helping you withresearch questions, the NIH Library offersa variety of services to help you acquire andmanage the information you need. Here,four of them are highlighted.Bibliometrics ServiceThe NIH Library’s Bibliometrics Serviceprogram provides statistical analysis ofwritten publications produced by scientists,grant programs, and institutions at NIHand around the world. Such analytics canhelp NIH staff measure the productivity ofresearchers, detect collaborations, identifyresearch topics, and calculate citation-impactscores. Services include consultations ondesigning and using bibliometric analyses,customized analyses that will meet specificneeds, and training on bibliometrics theoryand techniques. In August 2018, the servicepresented a two-day “Bibliometrics andResearch Assessment Symposium,” whichprovided a forum to share expertise, ideas,and best practices in bibliometrics servicesvia a blend of keynote presentations, postersessions, and training sessions.Custom Information Solutions ServiceThe Custom Information Solutions(CIS) service brings together informationscience and technology to develop onlinetools and resources that help NIH staffshare their research and collaborate moreeffectively. The CIS team specializes inDrupal, an open-source web-contentmanagement framework, and managesa federally approved cloud-hostingsolution for the products they develop.The team uses their expertise in websitedevelopment, information architecture,and data management to develop innovativeinformation solutions. Examples include anonline portfolio of epilepsy research projects,a database of Alzheimer disease preclinicalstudies, a portfolio of Alzheimer diseasegrant-funding data, and a collaborativewebsite to share ideas and best practicesfor designing, constructing, operating, andmaintaining buildings.Among the events the team organizesare the annual NIH-Library-hosted DrupalGovCon event, one of the biggest Drupalconferences on the East Coast. Next year’sevent is scheduled for July 24–26, 2019.Editing ServiceThe NIH Library provides free lightand medium editin

system. The 12 independent IRBs will be transitioning to one IRB office, and the three different protocol and data-management systems are being consolidated into one. The goal is to improve the consistency of IRB review and the overall efficiency of the IRB system. This type of IRB reorganization has been deployed successfully at universities