Letter From the Director: Recognizing Contributions From Influential NIAMS Leadership
NIAMS Director Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., honors the work and contributions of Deputy Director Robert Carter, M.D., and Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives Susana Serrate-Sztein, M.D., who will retire soon. Read more.
News
White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research Workshop: Harnessing Innovation to Power Interdisciplinary Research (NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health [ORWH])
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) held a workshop on October 29, 2024, at the White House to showcase how NIH is harnessing interdisciplinary research and innovation to accelerate and improve health for all women. NIAMS Deputy Director Dr. Robert Carter presented “State of the Science and Opportunities in Osteoporosis and Post-Menopausal Bone Health.” NIAMS presented along with eight other institutes and centers. Sundeep Khosla, M.D., an osteoporosis researcher and NIAMS grantee from the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, also spoke at the event. Read the workshop summary [PDF–323KB].
More News:
NIH Issues New Policy to Speed Access to Agency-Funded Research Results (NIH)
The public comment period on the Plan for Metadata and Persistent Identifiers is open until February 21, 2025.
NIAMS’ Dr. Mariana Kaplan Explores Cardiovascular Risks in Autoimmune Diseases (NIH Record)
NIAMS Hosts 2024–2025 Climate and Health Scholar (NIH)
NIAMS Hosts Rheumatologists at Global Research Exchange Program (NIH Record)
The Office of Autoimmune Disease Research Announces 2024 R56 Awardees (NIH ORWH)
Resources
NIAMS Multimedia Library Showcase: Fusing Fibroblast Cells
Immature muscle cells fuse together during development to form long muscle fibers with many nuclei. To identify factors involved in the fusion process, scientists studied fibroblasts—cells that don’t normally fuse. As shown in the microscopic image, adding a gene that makes a protein named myomerger to fibroblasts causes them to fuse together in flower-like clumps of fluorescently stained cell nuclei. By gaining a better understanding of the processes involved in muscle development and regeneration, the research may help lead to new therapies for muscle disorders.
Photo Credit: Malgorzata Quinn, Ph.D., and Douglas Millay, Ph.D., Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Heart Institute
Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Funding Plan
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including NIH, operates under the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Public Law 118-83) signed by President Biden on September 26, 2024. This Act (CR) continues government operations through December 20, 2024, at the FY 2024 enacted level, with no reduction.
More Resources:
NIH Releases Nutrition Research Report 2022-2023 (NIH Office of Nutrition Research)
In the Lab With NIAMS: Flow Cytometry Section Video Now Available (Youtube)
Stay Updated About Funding Announcements
To get timely information about grants and funding opportunities, subscribe to funding-dedicated email newsletters, including periodic NIAMS Funding Alerts and a monthly NIAMS Funding News email. Also check out the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the primary source for information about NIH funding opportunities, and request a weekly Table of Contents from the NIH Guide. In addition, the NIAMS website provides comprehensive information on NIAMS-related grants and processes.
Events
NIAMS Advisory Council
Watch the videocast of the NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting from September 17, 2024. The next NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting will be held virtually on January 28, 2025.
NIH Science Lectures and Events
FDA-NIH Rare Disease Day 2025
February 27-28, 2025
NIH Campus/Natcher Conference Center
In-person registration – coming soon
Preliminary Agenda
Videocast: Day 1 and Day 2
In addition, look for past videocasts, including:
- Heart of the Matter: Unraveling Cardiovascular Disease in Autoimmune Disorders—November 2024
- The Cancer Autoimmune Connection: Decoding the Paradox—December 2024
NIH Disability Research Roundtable Events
Summaries are available for the following recent virtual Community Roundtables.
- Community Roundtable: Researchers [PDF–51 KB]
- Community Roundtable: Clinicians and Professional Associations [PDF–51 KB]
- Community Roundtable: People With Lived Experience and Advocacy Organizations [PDF–84 KB]
- Community Roundtable: Researchers [PDF–216 KB]
- Community Roundtable: Clinicians and Professional Associations [PDF–211 KB]
- Community Roundtable: People With Lived Experience and Advocacy Organizations [PDF–45 KB]
For additional online science seminars and events hosted by the NIH, view the NIH VideoCast Future Events and the NIH calendar.