CCR Grand Rounds July 18: Dr. Giorgio Trinchieri, NIH Fogarty Scholar, NIH. "Toll-Like Receptors and Cancer: Role in Inflammation, Proliferation, and Apoptosis." July 25: Dr. Stuart Schreiber, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Morris Loeb Professor and Chair, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology; Director of Chemical Biology, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. "NCI's Initiative for Chemical Genetics." 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. Note: CCR Grand Rounds will not be held during the month of August. They will resume on Tuesday, September 12.

Dr. Malone earned a nomination from his pioneering work in the field of cancer prevention research. In the early 1980s, he created a program to evaluate agents with the potential to prevent, reverse, or delay the process of carcinogenesis. He also contributed to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and its Science Advisory Board.

This year's award recipients will be announced on September 27 in Washington, D.C. Additional information is available at http://www2.govexec.com/SAM/.

Monograph on Uses of Dosimetry in Radiation Epidemiology Now Available
The Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB) of NCI's DCEG has produced a monograph, Uses of Dosimetry in Radiation Epidemiology, which was recently published as a special supplement to the journal, Radiation Research. It describes the application of radiation dosimetry methods to epidemiological studies in order to fill a significant void in the technical literature. The collection of 12 papers authored by 60 dosimetry and epidemiology experts from the United States and several other countries describes a wide range of radiation dosimetry methods.

All of the studies described have been associated with the REB research program. Featured are papers on dosimetry methods for studies of populations exposed to medical radiation, reconstruction of doses from radioactive fallout from nuclear testing, dosimetry for exposures from the Chornobyl accident, occupational radiation exposures including exposure to radon, A-bomb survivor dosimetry, biodosimetry, and statistical methods to evaluate and account for uncertainty in dose estimates. The monograph is available online at http://www.rrjournal.org/perlserv/?request=get-archive.

FDA Launches New Monitoring Initiative
On June 26, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a new initiative to modernize the regulation of clinical trials and bioresearch monitoring. The Human Subject Protection and Bioresearch Monitoring (HSP/BIMO) Initiative focuses on the protection of patients and the integrity of data in clinical trials. The new program addresses the operational changes in clinical trial studies such as expansion of sites, electronic record keeping, and increased participation of vulnerable subjects. HSP/BIMO is part of a Department of Health and Human Services initiative to develop effective therapies and facilitate individualized care management for patients.

FDA Deputy Commissioner for Operations Dr. Janet Woodcock will chair the HSP/BIMO steering committee comprising representatives from the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Center for Food, Safety, and Nutrition; Center for Veterinary Medicine; Office of Regulatory Affairs; and the Office of the Commissioner. HSP/BIMO will collect additional information from industry, academic, and government organizations to improve and expand the program. Additional information is available at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01396.html.