NICHD News Releases

2012 Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Annual Report
One of the largest intramural divisions within the NIH, the NICHD’s DIR studies a diverse range of topics from molecular and cellular processes, to developmental endocrinology and genetics, to obstetric and perinatal research, to pediatric imaging. These and other research areas are the focus of the 2012 DIR Annual Report.

Scientific Vision: The Next Decade
The NICHD embarked upon a collaborative process in 2011 to create a scientific Vision, identifying the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and its partners to pursue over the next decade. The newly published Scientific Vision statement presents the results of that process and outlines scientific goals for the coming decade.

NICHD reorganizes extramural program
​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

NICHD vision statement now available online
A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

Research for a Lifetime: Commemorating the NICHD’s 50th Anniversary
On October 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the legislation establishing the NICHD to examine “the complex process of human development from conception to old age.” The Institute marks its golden anniversary with Research for a Lifetime, an all-day scientific colloquium to highlight the Institute’s mission, accomplishments, and future research directions.

NICHD Research on Women's Health
The term "women's health" covers many topics ranging from disease prevention, to pregnancy and childbirth, to gynecological diseases, to illnesses that affect women uniquely. Following last week's celebration of National Women's Health Week, the NICHD highlights its diverse portfolio of research and collaborative efforts on the many aspects of women's health.

Minority Health Month & NICHD Activities
On April 25, 2012, the NICHD and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. will host a event at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va.–the "Asthma Capital" of the United States–to raise awareness about asthma and other health issues that affect children from minority groups. During this National Minority Health Month, the NICHD also highlights some of its other efforts to understand and improve minority health, especially among women and children.

Release of the 2011 Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Annual Report
​The NICHD's DIR recently released its annual research report, highlighting research achievements of DIR scientists during the last year.

Vitamin D shrinks fibroid tumors in rats
Treatment with vitamin D reduced the size of uterine fibroids in laboratory rats predisposed to developing the benign tumors, reported researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Audio Briefing: Annual Cost of Fibroid Tumors in the United States
Uterine fibroids are common non-cancerous tumors that affect the majority of American women at some point in their lives. Fibroids may be painful and result in such reproductive problems as infertility, miscarriage, and early labor.

Check Out the 2010 Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Annual Report
​Now available! The 2010 DIR Annual Report highlights the latest research conducted by DIR scientists at the NICHD and describes their recent research achievements.

NICHD Director’s Lecture Series: New Frontiers in Endometriosis
​​The NICHD Director’s Lecture Series showcases cutting-edge science relevant to the Institute’s mission. On January 24, 2011, the first Series lecture will focus on endometriosis and will feature Dr. Linda C. Giudice, international expert on reproductive health and the Robert B. Jaffe, M.D. Endowed Professor from the University of California, San Francisco.

Recovery Act Funds Key Reproductive Health Research
Millions of Americans with reproductive health disorders stand to benefit from new research funded by the National Institutes of Health. With funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the National Institutes of Health today announced grants totaling nearly $60 million for research into disorders that impair fertility, cut short a woman's reproductive years, and often cause intense pain.

New Intramural Report Available
​Does the circulatory system of a zebrafish develop in the same order as the circulatory system of a mouse or a human? How does the biology of a cell change in response to stress in the environment? How do color-vision circuits between the eye and the brain use chemicals to detect color? Why are the bones of people with Osteogenesis imperfecta so fragile? Are animals and humans “wired” to respond to an infant’s cry in the same way?

NICHD Study Shows Fibroid Tumors Unlikely to Respond to Conventional Hormone Treatments
A new study suggests that the conventional hormone therapies used to treat fibroid tumors are unlikely to produce much improvement and at best will only temporarily relieve symptoms. However, the study findings also suggest a strategy for developing a new, non-surgical treatment.

Fibroid Tumors Lack Crucial Structural Protein
Fibroid tumors-the sometimes painful uterine growths affecting many American women-lack a key protein that plays a role in holding tissues together, according to a study by researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

Scientists One Step Closer to Cause of Uterine Fibroids
Scientists at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the University of South Florida, Tampa, have come one step closer to identifying the cause of uterine fibroids - a condition that affects up to 70 percent of all reproductive age women and can lead to heavy menstrual bleeding, pain, and in some cases, infertility.

Home Uterine Monitors Not Useful for Predicting Premature Birth
Portable monitors that detect contractions of the uterus do not appear to be useful for identifying women likely to have a preterm delivery, according to a study by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Study Questions Common Practice of Steroid Administration to Induce Lung Development in Premature Infants
A new study conducted by researchers in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network suggests that the steroid dexamethasone, which is commonly prescribed to help premature infants get off mechanical ventilators, may have serious side effects.