National Institutes of Health

Feds@Work: Getting To The Bottom Of An Epidemic

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Science & Environment medal Barbara Linder, Senior Advisor, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

More than a decade ago, pediatricians across the country began seeing an alarming increase in children with type 2 diabetes, particularly among minorities and youngsters from low-income families. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 9, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Feds@Work: NIH’s Neal Young,World Expert On Bone Marrow Failure

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This is the first in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Science and Environment Medal, Dr. Neal Young, Chief of the Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Neal Young is the world’s leading expert in the field of bone marrow failure, engaging in groundbreaking research that has led to life-saving treatments for a rare and deadly blood disorder known as aplastic anemia. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 1, 2012 at 10:57 AM

Why We Need A Different Response To Government Workforce

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There is no doubt that the lavish spending by General Services Administration‘s Las Vegas conference planners and the dishonorable behavior by Secret Service agents in Colombia have earned the public’s contempt, but the irresponsible actions of a few don’t define the many.

These incidents made headlines because they are the exception, not the rule. We would do well as a nation not to simply berate and punish the wrongdoers, but also to recognize that our government and the vast majority of its 2.1 million employees each day are honorably serving the nation, and in many cases, accomplishing amazing feats. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 1, 2012 at 10:38 AM

Defense Department Bets Big On Big Data

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First Todd Park, former Department of Health and Human Services chief technology officer, bet on health data in a big way; got his upcoming Health Data Palloza, and then became our new Federal CTO.

Then Gus Hunt, CIA CTO, bet on big data for the Intelligence Community and got its budget increased by Congress, reflecting a governmental shift in IT priorities, from a Defense Department style network-centric focus toward the IC’s big data-centric focus.

Now the Defense Department is in the big data game with their big bet to the tune of $250 million announced Thursday at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Big Data Research and Development Initiative.

The assistant secretary of Defense, in a letter released yesterday, said “We intend to change the game and plan to be the fist to leverage big data across the full scope of military operations in new and unconventional ways.”

There are five other agencies who were present at the AAAS Auditorium event which are contributing much smaller (or non-disclosed amounts) as follows:

  • National Science Foundation: $10 million, plus several smaller grants
  • DARPA: $25 million annually for four years
  • National Institutes of Health: No money, but the world’s largest set of data on human genetic variation freely available
  • Department of Energy: $25 million
  • USGS: New grants for unspecified amounts
But where does this new initiative leave us?

I think it leaves us with a disconnected federal big data program between the science and intelligence communities with the former considerably behind the latter.

The report, “Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information Technology,” prepared by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), said: “Every federal agency needs to have a “big data” strategy.

I did not hear that today either from every agency or across all the agencies. The recent 2012 Big Data Government Forum provided a much more comprehensive view of best practices around Big Data technology, trends, and issues from senior government executives, data scientists, and vendors.

As Professor Jim Hendler, RPI Computer Scientist, commented during the meeting: “Computer scientists like us have to move to the social science side of things to really do big data.”

This new White House Initiative needs Todd Park’s entrepreneurial spirit, Gus Hunt’s experience, and DoD’s new money, spent in a coordinated way with the IC and civilian agencies to make big data across the federal government a reality.

 /  Published March 30, 2012 at 3:58 PM

Who’s Paid The Most In Government – New Service Lists Top 1000

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A new online service has put a spotlight on the 1000 most highly paid federal civil servants, renewing the debate on whether government employees are overcompensated.

The list of highest paid civil servants, issued by an Internet start-up firm, WikiOrgCharts, provides a new perspective on the extent to which doctors, lawyers and banking professionals hold top paying government jobs and the sizable incomes that the federal government pays to attract senior management talent. Keep reading →

Post a comment  /   /  Published December 16, 2011 at 7:24 AM

Government Contracting Opportunities Remain Vibrant Despite Budget Cuts

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UPDATED Dec. 13 with video synopsis. Despite the looming threat of significant, across the board budget cuts for federal agencies, there are still major government contracting opportunities that will remain vibrant into the near future. And regardless if you’re a large government contractor, small business or agency program manager, you need to know where to look before you can take advantage of these opportunities.

That was the underlying message at a monthly luncheon forum on Government Acquisition Trends and Techniques Dec. 8, hosted by the Association For Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM). Keep reading →

 /  Published December 12, 2011 at 3:34 PM

Dr. C. Norman Coleman: Preparing For The Unthinkable

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This is the fifth of a series of profiles on the nine standout public servants who received Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies) honoring their high-impact contributions to the health, safety and well-being of Americans at a Washington, D.C. gala September 15. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, are among the most prestigious honors given to America’s civil servants. This profile features the winner of the homeland security medal, Norman Coleman, associate director of the Radiation Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute.

Dr. C. Norman Coleman, a renowned radiation oncologist, developed a comprehensive roadmap to help the U.S. government and emergency responders prepare for a dreadful scenario-a terrorist attack involving radiological or nuclear materials. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 22, 2011 at 2:30 PM
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