The National Institutes of Health
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
Division of Intramural Research
The Division of Intramural Research (DIR) in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides an extremely stimulating environment for conducting innovative cutting edge basic and clinical research. The purview of the research is broad, ranging from investigations of basic principles of molecules, cellular, and organ-level physiology to clarifying disease mechanisms to establishing new therapies for human diseases through clinical trials. A critical component of this scientific mission is a strong commitment to providing first-rate training of the next generation of biomedical research scientists through programs that train individuals at all levels, ranging from high school, college, and graduate students up to post-doctoral training for Ph.D.'s and physicians. NHLBI is also proud of its successful mentoring of junior faculty in both the basic and clinical sciences.
The Division of Intramural Research is importantly located on the Bethesda campus of the National Institutes of Health, which facilitates interactions with the broad range of talented individuals in other NIH institutes as well, collectively representing one of the largest and most prestigious biomedical research campuses in the world. The approximately 60 principal investigators in DIR, NHLBI span a remarkably diverse range of interests with expertise in medicine, physiology/systems biology, development, cell biology, genetics, biochemisty, immunology, protein structure/function, bioinformatics, computer modeling, bioengineering and biophysics. This scientific expertise within the DIR provides a unique environment for multidisciplinary research that is critical for successful state-of-the-art biomedical research in the 21st century.
Over the past 50 years, NHLBI DIR has been the home to numerous leaders in the biomedical research community. Currently active in the DIR are four members of the National Academies of Sciences and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Marshall Nirenberg who deciphered the genetic code in the DIR. Below are listed some of the major research interests within the DIR, which collectively reveal the true multi-disciplinary approach of the program. The clinical and basic sciences are listed separately but represent an integrated translational effort to bring new scientific innovations as quickly as possible to the bedside. This unique environment results in many Ph.D. trained scientists quickly seeing the clinical impact of their research efforts through collaborations with their more clinically-focused colleagues.
Major Research Interests:
Basic Sciences:
Oxygen free radicals in cell signaling and aging
Cell signaling including ADP ribosylation, calcium, cyclic nucleotides and cytokines
Intercellular material trafficking of lipids, proteins and complexes
Myosin function/structure/genetics
Mitochondria biology
T-cell activation
Structure/function relationships of Chromatin
Cardiovascular development
Stem cell biology
Epithelial ion transport
Myocardial energy metabolism
Optical X-Ray and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Computational biology/systems biology
Clinical research efforts include:
Nitrite and nitrous oxide as therapeutic agents.
Stem cell therapies for regeneration in cardiology and hematology.
Human hematopoiesis
Allogeneic immunotherapy and augmentation of the immune response against cancer
Aplastic anemia and bone marrow failure, pathogenesis and treatment
MRI guided cardiovascular guided surgery
Characterization and treatment of lymphangioleiomyomatosis
Bone marrow transplantation in gene and cell based therapies
To support these research efforts and to provide state-of-the-art technology to the faculty, numerous research support cores are in place to provide "big science" access to individual labs. These cores include: Proteomics, Flow Cytometry, Computational Biology, Animal MRI/Imaging, Light Microscopy, Transgenics, Pathology, Laboratory Animal Medicine and Surgery, and Micro-array cores. These core facilities have Ph.D.-level dedicated staff scientists to provide technical support and are available to all of the faculty. This structure permits any lab to have state-of-the-art support in these multidisciplinary fields to help them fulfill their research mission.
In addition to these programs, there are major active clinical research protocols conducted in the NIH Clinical Center, the largest clinical research center in the world with approximately 250 patient beds devoted to clinical research, as well as extensive active outpatient clinics. The new state-of-the-art NIH Clinical Center just opened in 2004 and is one of the most up-to-date patient care facilities in the entire world. In addition, NHLBI established the NIH Heart Center at Suburban Hospital, which supports a major research effort in cardiac surgery, interventional procedures, and non-invasive imaging in a community based hospital environment that is conveniently located immediately across the street from the Bethesda campus. This unique arrangement permits the interaction of NIH physicians and scientists with physicians in private practice at a high quality community hospital typical of many throughout the United States as well as allowing them full access to the types of studies and all of the advantages provided by the NIH Clinical Center. This innovative approach is intended to facilitate the transition of basic science developments to the "real world" clinical practice of medicine in order to benefit patients.
The "heart" of the Division of Intramural Research is its training program. The NHLBI DIR is an active participant in the Graduate Partnership Program at the NIH (http://gpp.nih.gov/) that partners with numerous academic departments around the world in graduate level education. This permits graduate students to work in collaboration with NIH scientists to attain a Ph.D. degree, providing a unique opportunity for a student to work within his/her home institution as well as at NHLBI during graduate education. At the post-doctoral level, the DIR has numerous opportunities for a variety of programs that are tailored to clinical and basic scientists from both the US and around the world. We maintain an active Office of Education (http://dir.nhlbi.nih.gov/oe/index.asp), which coordinates and can provide detailed information related to our extensive training programs.
In summary, the NHLBI DIR program represents a unique scientific endeavor dedicated to the study of the heart, lung and blood systems of the body from the most basic molecular mechanisms to clinical cases in a community hospital as well as research clinical protocols in the NIH Clinical Center. This program provides opportunities for scientists and trainees across a wide range of scientifi c interests ranging from medicine to physics, all working together towards a better understanding of molecular machines, the cell, the body and ultimately the treatment of human diseases. For more information on the NHLBI DIR programs. please visit our web site at http://dir.nhlbi.nih.gov/.
Robert S. Balaban Scientific Director
Warren Leonard, Deputy Scientific Director
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.