House Delegation Visits NIH

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NIMH director Dr. Joshua Gordon (l) gives a briefing on the BRAIN Initiative.

Photo:  Ernie Branson

House Labor, HHS and Education appropriations subcommittee chair Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) led a visit to NIH of several members of the subcommittee and staff on Feb. 6 to tour laboratories and interact with researchers. In addition to Cole, the delegation included Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who is also a physician; Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA); Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI); Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY).

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and NIH director Dr. Francis Collins look through a magnifying glass at a microelectrode array used to record the activity of many neurons simultaneously from the living brain.

Photo:  Ernie Branson

Welcomed in the Clinical Research Center by NIH director Dr. Francis Collins, the group spent an afternoon in various meetings with NIH leadership, scientists and trainees. The visit included stops at the Porter Neuroscience Research Center for a tour of NIA’s Laboratory of Neurogenetics and a conversation about the BRAIN Initiative with NINDS director Dr. Walter Koroshetz and NIMH director Dr. Joshua Gordon; NCI’s Molecular Imaging Clinic for a briefing on cutting-edge prostate cancer diagnostics and treatment; and the metabolic unit for demonstrations of obesity-related exercise equipment and instrumentation.

Rounding out the visit, the congressional delegation sat down with several research fellows, postdocs and other trainees to hear firsthand about their NIH experiences.