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NIH Record - National Institutes of Health
Scientific illustration of purple orb with branches extended with gold and blue squiggles floating alongside

April 2, 2021

  • Dr. Collins, assistant fire chief Mike Gilroy and ORS director Colleen McGowan thank staff.

    Collins Reflects on Past Year, Looks Ahead with Optimism

    After a year of pandemic, there is hope on the horizon, as more people get vaccinated every day. On Mar. 17, NIH director Dr. Francis Collins marked the 1-year anniversary of NIH's car-line Covid testing operation by visiting the site and thanking frontline employees.

  • NIMH Investigators Discuss How to Power Through Pandemic, Move Beyond

    By Eric Bock and Dana Talesnik

    As we mark a year since the pandemic began, we look back on a year filled with long bouts of social isolation, seemingly endless Zoom meetings and virtual chats with people we miss seeing in person, and the persistent stress of navigating through not-normal times.
  • Anna Verschoore

    Employee Needs, Support Systems Evolve

    By Carla Garnett

    Looking back over the past year of work life amid a historic worldwide health crisis, professionals who help people navigate “Employee World” can now describe the textbook shifts in terrain we’ve experienced.
  • Collins greets several other employees standing in a semi-circle, with masks on.

    ORS’s Taylor Lauded for Work Ethic

    By Carla Garnett

    In a normal year, Rodney Taylor works a regular daily schedule. He took the past year to next-level extraordinary: Staffing the on-campus car line for Covid-19 testing, he has missed only 2 work days since Mar. 18, 2020.
Scientific illustration of purple orb with branches extended with gold and blue squiggles floating alongside

On the Cover

Illustration of brain inflammation from Alzheimer’s disease. Research suggests that chronic inflammation may be caused by the buildup of glial cells normally meant to help keep the brain free of debris. Microglia (purple), a type of glial cell, engulfs and destroys waste and toxins in a healthy brain. In Alzheimer’s, microglia fail to clear away waste, debris and protein collections, including beta-amyloid plaques. Astrocytes (blue), another type of glial cell, are signaled to help clear the buildup of plaques and other cellular debris left behind. These microglia and astrocytes collect around the neurons but fail to perform their debris-clearing function. In addition, they release chemicals that cause chronic inflammation and further damage the neurons they are meant to protect.

Photo: NIA

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