The Scientist - Home

Minorities at the agency work largely on their own to help their peers land high-level science jobs BETHESDA, Md.--Ron King wants to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. But King, an intramural research fellow in the laboratory of molecular biology at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, thinks that it's even more important to encourage other blacks to enter science fields. That's why he takes precious time out from his work in the lab

Bioscientist Royston turns his attention to creating a center in San Diego's crowded research community WASHINGTON--The debate is over, says presidential science adviser Allan Bromley. The federal science budget is a question of priorities. And for members of the United States scientific community, this means that from now on they must persuade the politically powerful that their cause is more worthy of precious federal dollars than the other domestic needs facing the country. Throughout the

The Scientist 4[24]:0, Dec. 10, 1990 News Profiles of Black Scientists JOHN DIGGS Background: Raised in rural Tennessee. B.S. in biology, Lane College, Jackson, Tenn., 1956; Ph.D. in physiology, Howard University, 1972. Came to NIH extramural program in 1974, spent eight years as director of extramural activities, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Current position: NIH deputy director for extramural research. "When I first came to NIH, there were a

Bioscientist Royston turns his attention to creating a center in San Diego's crowded research community Ivor Royston, who at the age of 33 founded Hybritech Inc., the first company in the United States to exploit monoclonal antibodies commercially, and who became a millionaire in the process, is taking his vision for enterprise to a new nonprofit venture. Among the palm trees, a handful of research institutes, and the 90 biotechnology companies that make San Diego an idyllic place for scient

SIMON SILVER Department of Microbiology & Immunology University of Illinois Chicago The hype is out of proportion, but the 12 October issue of Science spotlights the Human Genome Project with an attractive cover montage, a removable centerfold of current human chromosome maps (intended for wall display), and a status report. Real progress is being made, however, as exemplified by the promising new approaches presented in the same issue. J.C. Stephens, M.L. Cavanaugh, M.I. Gradie, M.L. Mador,

U.S. students found their summer in Japanese labs professionally as well as culturally productive, but not many plan to return WASHINGTON--A National Science Foundation program to forge closer ties with Japanese scientists is gaining popularity among the next generation of United States scientists, say NSF officials. The Summer Institute in Japan, which sent 25 U.S. graduate students in science and engineering to Japanese research facilities last summer, will support 50 such students this com

Pounding Out A Victory Walgren Dumped, Brown Survives Both Sides Now Carrying On A Tradition Full-Speed Ahead At OSTP The residents of California's San Diego County have voted by a 2-to-1 margin to continue to allow unclaimed pound animals to be used in medical research. More than 600,000 voters cast ballots November 6 in the largest-ever electoral rebuff of the animal rights movement's efforts to curb the use of pound animals in research. Supporters spent $130,000 to campaign for the r

Minority scientists say that the agency must do more to hire, promote, and reward them in the lab and in administrative jobs BETHESDA, Md. -- The voices of black scientists at the National Institutes of Health are filled with pride, anger, and frustration. Pride in working hard at jobs that they love. Anger that there are so many obstacles in their path and so few people willing to help them. And frustration that the situation has changed little over the past 30 years and isn't likely to get b

NIDA offers financial and regulatory incentives, but reluctant pharmaceutical companies are worried about the legal risks WASHINGTON--The federal government wants to persuade the pharmaceutical industry to join its war on illegal drugs. At a two-day conference here this week the two sides will discuss financial and regulatory inducements to drug companies that create medications to fight mental illness to join the battle. Agencies within the Public Health Service are hoping that pharmaceutica

When scientists are wed to their labs as well as to each other, they can encounter extraordinary personal and professional challenges In 1939, on the eve of war in Europe, Gertrude Scharff felt that marriage to a fellow scientist working in the United States offered her the best chance to survive as a physicist. Her husband, she hoped, represented her ticket to greater opportunities to carry out research. Forty years later, the tables were turned for neurobiologist Patricia Goldman. Goldman w

Augmenting old devices and procedures with the latest computer-based techniques yields new opportunities for today's neuroscientist ST. LOUIS--In 1984, five fighter pilots spent three days hooked up to one of the world's most sophisticated machines for probing the brain's electrical impulses. But it was only last month that San Francisco neuroscientist Alan Gevins presented his results from that experiment. The project, hailed by colleagues as a synthesis of various research techniques, was a

Ford Foundation Supports Postdocs Each year the Ford Foundation supports 25 young minority Ph.D. scholars as part of its Postdoctoral Fellowships for Minorities program. Minority investigators who have received their doctorates in the past seven years and who show great promise as academics can apply for nine- or 12-month fellowships. Scientists, mathematicians, engineers, social scientists, and humanists are eligible. Applicants must belong to one of the following ethnic groups: Native Americ