NICHD News Releases

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.

NIH Study Links High Levels of Cadmium, Lead in Blood to Pregnancy Delay
Higher blood levels of cadmium in females, and higher blood levels of lead in males, delayed pregnancy in couples trying to become pregnant, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other academic research institutions.

NICHD Recruits Associate Director for Extramural Research
The NICHD is conducting a national search for an Associate Director for Extramural Research. This position offers a unique and exciting opportunity for an extremely capable individual to develop and implement an overall vision for the Institute's extramural research activities, which include more than 3,100 projects and involve 130 staff members.

Two NICHD Grantees Awarded National Medal of Science
Two grantees of the NICHD's Reproductive Sciences Branch were among the seven researchers named by President Obama as recipients of the National Medal of Science, an honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers, and inventors.

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.

Gene Variations That Alter Key Enzyme Linked to Prostate Cancer
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found that variations in a gene for an enzyme involved in cell energy metabolism appear to increase the risk for prostate cancer.

NIH-Funded Researchers Transform Embryonic Stem Cells into Human Germa Cells
Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have discovered how to transform human embryonic stem cells into germ cells, the embryonic cells that ultimately give rise to sperm and eggs. The advance will allow researchers to observe human germ cells--previously inaccessible--in laboratory dishes.

Second Gene Linked to Familial Testicular Cancer
Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man's risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, the most common form of this disease, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. This is only the second gene to be identified that affects the risk of familial testicular cancer, and the first gene in a key biochemical pathway. The study appears in the July 2009 Cancer Research.

Tracking Down Genes for Cancer Risk
​Even though testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer to strike young men, ages 15 to 35, most people knew little about the disease until world-class U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with it in the 1990s.

Male Fat Distribution Pattern & Coronary Risk Profile Linked to X Chromosome
Two risk factors that place males at greater risk for heart disease than women appear to be influenced by genes on the X chromosome, report researchers at the NIH and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. The finding appears in a Research Letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a separate Research Letter, the researchers at the NIH and at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia also report that women who lack functioning ovarieseither because of a hereditary condition or due to an illnessare more likely than are other women to experience shyness and anxiety in social situations.

Enzyme Essential To Sperm Movement Provides Target for New Contraceptive Approach
A team of researchers has determined that an enzyme in sperm is necessary for sperm movement. Mice bred to lack this enzyme produce sperm that cannot swim toward egg cells to fertilize them.

Researchers Grow Sperm Stem Cells in Laboratory Cultures Advance Could Lead to New Infertility Treatments, Source of Adult Stem Cells
A team of researchers working with cells from mice has overcome a technical barrier and succeeded in growing sperm progenitor cells in laboratory culture. The researchers transplanted the cells into infertile mice, which were then able to produce sperm and father offspring that were genetically related to the donor mice.

New Study Finds Vasectomy Does Not Increase Prostate Cancer Risk
Contrary to some earlier studies, a new study funded in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) found that men who undergo vasectomies are no more likely to develop prostate cancer than are men who do not.

New Recommendations to Assess Male Fertility Question Previous Standards
New recommendations from an NICHD study question current standards for determining whether a semen sample is normal or abnormal.

NICHD-Sponsored Fertility Study Seeks Male Subjects
Fertile men are needed to participate in a large study of male fertility and infertility.