NIH Record - National Institutes of Health
A long mobile van with a painted red heart and reads Rural Heart and Lung Study, Supporting Healthy Hearts and Lungs in the Rural South

February 2, 2024

  • Bertagnolli, seated at a conference table, gestures with her hands as she speaks.

    New Director Convenes 127th ACD Meeting

    By Carla Garnett

    The advisory committee to the director (ACD) convened for two days late last year for the first time under NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, who began by acknowledging the tremendous promise and challenges currently facing the greater biomedical science enterprise.
  • Vandebroek smiles softly in front of a leafy green plant. A red flower extends close to the right side of her face.

    Ethnobotany Health Options Explored in Caribbean, Latin Diasporas

    By myranda tarr

    We are lacking scientific knowledge about the breadth and range of plants used as medicines. Dr. Ina Vandebroek, an ethnobotanist at the University of the West Indies, Mona, in Jamaica, is working to bridge this research gap by studying the intricate relationship between people, culture and communities, and the use of plants as medicines.
  • Sears smiles against a dark blue-gray background. She wears glasses and a black jacket.

    Sears Reveals Microbiome’s Role in Colon Cancer

    By Amber Snyder

    Microorganisms in the human gut microbiome may contribute to the development of cancer. Johns Hopkins University professor of medicine Dr. Cynthia Sears explains her findings.
  • Samuel holding assay plates in a lab

    French Public Health Research Leaders Visit NIH

    Scientific collaboration crossed disciplines and borders late last year, as leaders from France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) met their U.S. colleagues in a tour of five NIH institutes, centers and programs.
A long mobile van with a painted red heart and reads Rural Heart and Lung Study, Supporting Healthy Hearts and Lungs in the Rural South

On the Cover

The Mobile Exam Unit or MEU, a high-tech research clinic on wheels, is a key part of the NHLBI's Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Cohort Study. This long-term research project aims to uncover the roots of health disparities in the rural south, where adults have some of the highest rates of heart disease in the country. The MEU brings the region health technologies that enable researchers to get the information they need. February is American Heart Month.

Rural Study Team / NHLBI

The NIH Record

The NIH Record, founded in 1949, is the biweekly newsletter for employees of the National Institutes of Health.

Published 25 times each year, it comes out on payday Fridays.

Assistant Editor: Eric Bock
Eric.Bock@nih.gov (link sends e-mail)

Staff Writer: Amber Snyder
Amber.Snyder@nih.gov (link sends e-mail)

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