National Institutes

North County High School freshman Jack Andraka stood on the auditorium stage, speaking about the invention that earned him the $75,000 grand prize at the recent Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Behind him stood Dr. Anirban Maitra, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University's department of pathology who gave Jack use of his lab to craft his invention, a cheap and effective "dipstick-sensor" method of testing blood or urine to identify early-stage pancreatic cancer and other diseases.

Going to the bank used to be sort of fun. Lollipops for the little ones. The local manager you had known for years. Depositing your paycheck with the same tellers every Friday afternoon. Such patterns provided a rhythm to daily life and also helped to create a sense of virtuous wealth-building. How different it is today. When we think of "bankers" now, we are more likely to think of bean-counting downsizers, who don't know us and never will, receiving gargantuan bonuses each year.

A NEWCOMER TO the architectural scene in Maryland, the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership of Portland, Ore., has won an international competition to design one of the most coveted health care projects in the United States, a $300 million addition to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.The NIH project, called the Clinical Research Center, is the first major commission in Maryland for the highly regarded West Coast group, which was named the 1991 Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects.

Gliknik Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based at the University of Maryland's BioPark in downtown Baltimore, said Monday it had won a $1.5 million contract from the National Cancer Institute to continue development of its cancer-fighting technology. The grant places the company on a path that could lead to clinical trials in two years, said David S. Block, Gliknik's chief executive. Since its formation in 2007, Gliknik has raised $10 million from investors, largely with the help of Maryland's biotechnology tax credit.

Did you know?--At least 20 million Americans have been infected with human papillomavirus. - National Institutes of Health

This is a weekly summary of selected prime contracts recently awarded by the federal government to companies and other vendors in Maryland.Maryland contractsMSM Security Services Inc. in Greenbelt won a $37,106,85 contract from the U.S. Customs Service to provide background investigation services for fiscal year 1991 with options for fiscal year 1992 through 1994.OMNI Contractors Inc. in Bethesda won a $10,528,500 contract from the Army to demolish and replace two existing basins.Leonard Paper Co. in Baltimore won a $193,584 contract from the National Institutes of Health to supply industrial paper utility towels.

Dr. Lawrence E. Shulman, former director of the connective tissue division of the Johns Hopkins Medical School who later became the founding director of the National Institutes of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, died of bladder cancer Oct. 10 at his home in Washington. The former longtime Bellemore Road resident was 90. The son of a physician, Dr. Shulman was born and raised in Brookline, Mass. He was a graduate of Boston Latin School and earned his bachelor's degree in 1941 from Harvard University.

A play written by four Northeast High School juniors took first-place honors this month in a national competition sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.As part of the prize, the play, "Fingerprints," will be staged at five locations in April and May.Written by Jennifer Barrett, Erin Harry, Brad Shellhammer and Jennifer Ward, the play is a one-act courtroom drama that shows how science can affect everyday life and includes the science components on DNA and the Huntington's disease gene.

WASHINGTON -- Two brain scientists have emerged as the leading candidates to be director of the National Institutes of Health at a time when Congress is pouring money into the agency in hopes of unlocking the secrets of many diseases. Administration officials said yesterday that Donna E. Shalala, the secretary of health and human services, had identified the two neuroscientists as her candidates to lead the agency, the chief sponsor of biomedical research in the United States. The contenders are Dr. Gerald D. Fischbach, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and Dr. Steven E. Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

LOS ANGELES -- Under pressure from African-American doctors, federal officials say they plan to take a fresh look at an experimental anti-AIDS drug that the physicians contend has been ignored for years because of racism.The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases agreed yesterday to design clinical trials to study low-dose oral alpha interferon, said Dr. Jack Killen, deputy director of the NIA division of AIDS.Previously, the World Health Organization and U.S. National Institutes of Health reported finding no proof that the drug is effective against acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

To build on our existing economic strengths and usher in a new era of prosperity, Maryland must strengthen our already impressive roster of enterprises devoted to medical innovation. Medical research drives much of Maryland's economy, and the state can produce new jobs through efforts to upgrade its education system, seek federal help in focusing more state resources on innovation, and head to Washington to make the case for medical innovation. A new report from research firm Battelle and the Council for American Medical Innovation (CAMI)

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers received nearly $5 million in federal stimulus money from the National Institutes of Health to create two programs to improve health for minority and rural communities. A $2.4 million grant will create a national Bioethics Research Center, which aims to confront ethical issues in research and how those concerns affect minority health. The center, a partnership with Bowie State University, will address a historic lack of trust that some minority groups have when it comes to medical research by seeking ways to increase minority participation in clinical trials.

Dr. Lawrence E. Shulman, former director of the connective tissue division of the Johns Hopkins Medical School who later became the founding director of the National Institutes of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, died of bladder cancer Oct. 10 at his home in Washington. The former longtime Bellemore Road resident was 90. The son of a physician, Dr. Shulman was born and raised in Brookline, Mass. He was a graduate of Boston Latin School and earned his bachelor's degree in 1941 from Harvard University.

National Institutes of Health officials unveiled their new laboratory building in Southeast Baltimore during a carefully choreographed tour yesterday, saying the vibration and other problems that affected the facility are behind it. "We overcame a lot of challenges," said Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health. He dismissed the troubles as a natural part of constructing a complex laboratory and said building vibrations are now low enough that they are "not a real problem."

Lady Hazel S. Whittle, a registered nurse who had worked at the National Institutes of Health and was the widow of Sir Frank Whittle, who is considered one of the fathers of jet propulsion, died Monday from complications of Parkinson disease at her Columbia home. She was 91. Hazel Steenberg was born and raised in West St. Paul, Minn., and received her nursing diploma in 1937 from the Kahler School of Nursing, which is affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. After working as a private-duty and hospital nurse, she attended the Patricia Stevens School of Modeling in Chicago.

Did you know?--The number of women who die from heart disease has shifted from 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 - a decrease of 17,000 deaths. - National Institutes of Health

Looking for new ways to unravel the mysteries of the human body and the origins of disease, Johns Hopkins University has launched a new organization to harness the power of high-performance computers and mathematical modeling in the service of medical research. School officials said the new Institute for Computational Medicine will link experts in Hopkins' Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Medicine. Together, they will work to analyze and model disease mechanisms, predict risk and test the most effective therapies as mathematical models.

Scientist made deal with drug firm A senior government scientist originally from Baltimore pleaded guilty yesterday to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees from the same drug manufacturer whose public-private research collaboration he oversaw. As part of his agreement with federal prosecutors, Pearson "Trey" Sunderland III, chief of the geriatric psychiatry branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, is expected to receive a sentence of two years' supervised probation and must forfeit $300,000 in illegal proceeds and reimbursements.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski asked the National Institutes of Health to explain how much of the medical research planned for its new $250 million building in Southeast Baltimore will have to be moved elsewhere because of the vibrations creating problems at the government lab. Scientists at the federal research agency were supposed to have relocated to the building this fall but are awaiting word whether they can make the move or...