NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

Autumn Brings NIH Research Festival and WALS 30th Anniversary Season

Prakash, silhouetted against a blurry lab background, smiles at the camera.
Dr. Manu Prakash, creator of the Foldscope, is the WALS speaker on Sept. 25.

Mark your calendars. The NIH Office of Intramural Research (OIR) invites the entire NIH community to come together for a pair of familiar events: the NIH Research Festival, a homecoming of sorts, and the return of the NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS).

The 2024 NIH Research Festival is Sept. 23–25 in and around Building 10 on the NIH Bethesda campus. Look forward to a lively three days of poster sessions, lectures, workshops, and information tables highlighting research within and services for the NIH Intramural Research Program.

Consider attending the in-person poster sessions throughout the day on Monday and the virtual poster session on Tuesday. The scientific input generated from attendees during these sessions has been invaluable to intramural researchers in years past.

Plan your festival week and see the full schedule of events posted at https://researchfestival.nih.gov.  All lectures will be viewable via NIH videocast.

The WALS, the highest profile lecture series at the NIH, is now in its 30th year. Another stellar lineup is in store for the 2024–2025 season. Refer to https://oir.nih.gov/wals for the full schedule. 

The first WALS lecture on Sept. 11 featuring Dr. Eve Marder, in case you missed it, is archived at https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=55003. The next lecture, on September 18, will be on biospecific chemistry by Dr. Lei Wang.

Also, be on the lookout for the annual call for WALS speakers in November. The OIR welcomes nominations from the entire NIH community.

For weekly reminders about WALS speakers, please consider joining the WALS listserv at https://go.nih.gov/sgVrndf. Contact walsoffice@od.nih.gov if you have any questions about the Research Festival or the WALS.

The NIH Record

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Associate Editor: Dana Talesnik
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Assistant Editor: Eric Bock
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Staff Writer: Amber Snyder
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