Duane Alexander, M.D., a former director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), died on February 16, 2020, from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 79 years old.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Item of Interest: Stanley Cohen, Nobel Winner and Longtime NICHD Grantee, Dies
NICHD funded Cohen’s award-winning work on growth factors for most of his career.
Spotlight: A Decade of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) Research
NICHD marks a 10-year partnership with WALTHAM® PetCare Science Institute, a division of Mars, to support research exploring the impact of interactions between animals and human companions.
Item of Interest: Four NICHD Grantees Honored with PECASE Award
Four NICHD grantees will be honored July 25 in Washington, DC, with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. More than 300 researchers across the country are award recipients, the White House announced July 2.
Spotlight: How artificial intelligence and other new technologies are advancing healthcare
Scientists and engineers are pioneering new tools and methods to advance healthcare in revolutionary ways. Learn about emerging technologies funded by NICHD.
Item of Interest: Interested in Medical Rehabilitation? NIH Wants to Hear from You
NIH invites comments on its Plan of Rehabilitation Research to help update the plan.
Science Update: NIH-funded researchers develop implants that help heal spinal cord injuries in rats
Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have partially restored limb function to spinal-cord-injured rats. They used a rapid 3D printing technology to create scaffolds that precisely fit the injury site. Each of these implants contain small conduits through which regenerating nerve fibers can reconnect. The researchers have also generated prototypes of these implants for humans.
Media Advisory: NICHD chronicles its major research advances of 2018
As 2018 winds down, a new slideshow highlights a selection of initiatives, therapies, and scientific advances supported by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2018
In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.
Release: NIH to fund national data collection on new mothers with disabilities
Collaboration with CDC aimed at evaluating pregnancy initiatives and outcomes
Release: NIH, DoD to Develop Limb Loss and Preservation Registry
National repository aims to improve rehabilitation and quality of life for people who have lost a limb.
Podcast: Boosting Mobility for People with Disabilities
A computerized skateboard, a self-motorized toy car, and a robotic prosthetic arm are just a few of the research projects supported by NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. Listen to the latest podcast.
Science Update: Brain stimulation treatment may help children with cerebral palsy recover limb function, NICHD funded study suggests
Using a mild electrical current to either boost or inhibit the brain’s own electrical impulses may one day help rehabilitate its function, according to researchers funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2017
Over the past year, NICHD contributed to numerous scientific advances and key initiatives.
NIH-funded rehabilitation technologies receive FDA clearance
Devices bolster function and ability for people with disabilities or injuries.
Monitoring brain electrical activity after head injury may help predict decline in function
A technique that monitors the brain’s electrical activity could one day be used to predict which children who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are likely to suffer progressive brain damage, according to a small study funded in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a component of the National Institutes of Health.
Biomarker in blood may help predict recovery time for sports concussions
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that the blood protein tau could be an important new clinical biomarker to better identify athletes who need more recovery time before safely returning to play after a sports-related concussion.
Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2016
NICHD had a very productive year in 2016. Staff responded quickly to Zika virus and led the effort to develop the NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation. The following snapshots are examples of the many advances made possible by NICHD this year.
Getting to Know the New NICHD Director
NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi shares some thoughts about joining NICHD.
NIH to host scientific workshop on Zika virus and child development
NICHD will host a workshop on September 22-23, 2016 to identify the best approaches for treating and caring for children exposed to Zika virus in the womb. Participants from the United States, Brazil and Puerto Rico, who are experts in obstetrics, maternal and pediatric infectious diseases, child development, rehabilitation and vaccine research, will deliver lectures and lead panel discussions.