Media Advisory

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

NIH launches blog on behavioral and social sciences research

Who

NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) launches The Connector, a new blog featuring OBSSR Director Dr. Robert M. Kaplan’s commentary, Director Connection.

What

Dr. Kaplan’s blog will explore a broad range of topics such as mHealth, systems science, dissemination and implementation research and the NIH Toolbox. It will also explore achieving better population health through improved dissemination of evidence-based interventions.

The Connector will keep readers informed of the office’s activities, trainings, educational resources and funding opportunity announcements, as well as podcasts and videos of conversations with engaging behavioral and social sciences. These include:

  • Dr. Andrea Gielen on "The Science of Injury Prevention Research"
  • Dr. Charlene Quinn on the promise of mobile health technologies in managing diabetes
  • Dr. Brian Wansink on “mindless eating,” why we eat more than we think
  • Dr. Shu Chien, National Medal of Science Laureate, Director, Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego
  • Dr. Francis Collins, National Medal of Science Laureate, NIH Director
  • Dr. Hedvig Hricak, M.D., Ph. D., Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair, Chairperson, Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
  • Jeffrey Immelt, CEO and Chairman, General Electric
  • Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, NIBIB Director
  • Dr. Carla Pugh, PECASE Awardee, Department of Surgery University of Wisconsin School of Medicine
  • Dr. Phillip Sharp, Nobel Laureate, Institute Professor, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT
  • Dr. Hari Shroff, PECASE Awardee, NIBIB Intramural Research Program
  • Dr. Roger Tsien, Nobel Laureate, HHMI Investigator and Professor of Pharmacology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego
  • Dr. Charles Vest, National Medal of Science Laureate, President of the National Academy of Engineering

Why

Half of all premature deaths in the U.S. can be attributed to a few modifiable behaviors such as smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity. Behavioral and social sciences research is a critical part of NIH’s mission to improve public health.

When/Where

Tuesday, January 22, 2013; please visit http://connector.obssr.od.nih.gov

The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) opened officially on July 1, 1995. The U.S. Congress established the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) in the Office of the Director, NIH, in recognition of the key role that behavioral and social factors often play in illness and health. The OBSSR mission is to stimulate behavioral and social sciences research throughout NIH and to integrate these improving our understanding, treatment, and prevention of disease. For more information, please visit http://obssr.od.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

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