CCR Grand Rounds June 22: Dr. Ronald D.G. McKay of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, will present "The Importance of Embryonic Stem Cells in Science and Medicine." June 29: Dr. James C. Yang of NCI's Center for Cancer Research will present "Biological Approaches to the Treatment of Metastatic Renal Cancer." CCR Grand Rounds are held 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md. in the Clinical Center's Lipsett Amphitheater.

"The NAGC is a network of federal, state, and local government employees who disseminate information within and outside government. Its Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards recognize excellence in written, filmed, audio/videotaped, published, and photographed government information products.

DCEG Scientists Receive Departmental Service Awards
Drs. Shelia Zahm and Robert Hoover are recipients of the 2004 Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service, which will be presented by Secretary Thompson on July 14. The award recognizes individuals for outstanding abilities, leadership skills, and exceptional contributions to the mission of the department.

Dr. Zahm, deputy director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), was cited for her leadership and coordination of national research programs in environmental and occupational cancers. She has played a key role in sustaining and strengthening a collaborative program of epidemiologic and interdisciplinary research into the environmental and genetic determinants of cancer.

Dr. Hoover, director of DCEG's Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, was cited for research in identifying environmental and genetic determinants of cancer, as well as his contributions to epidemiology and public health. Dr. Hoover conducted the first study linking hormone replacement therapy to breast cancer.

IOM Releases Breast Cancer Screening Report
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies last week released "Saving Women's Lives: Strategies for Improving the Early Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer." In this new report, an IOM committee concludes that access to breast cancer screening by American women is decreasing because fewer radiologists are entering the field and the number of mammography facilities is decreasing. In 2003, for instance, there were 8,600 mammography facilities operating in the United States, compared with 9,400 in 2000.

Training nonphysician health care professionals to prescreen or double-read mammograms may help expand facilities' capacity, while providing the same accuracy as radiologists, IOM suggests. Practices that help other countries to have lower rates of false-positive results than the United States should also be instituted here, the report recommends.

Though new methods of breast cancer detection are being evaluated, "improving and increasing the use of current mammography technology is the most effective strategy we have right now for further reducing the toll of breast cancer," said Dr. Edward Penhoet, chair of the IOM committee.

The full report can be found at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11016.html.

Science Writer Seminar Rescheduled
The Science Writer Seminar originally scheduled for June 11 will take place on Friday, June 18 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., at the IOM, Keck Center of the National Academies, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Room #201, Washington, D.C. This seminar, sponsored by NCI and IOM, will offer insights and details beyond the scope of the IOM Report on breast cancer screening, particularly as they relate to techniques and technologies beyond mammography.