About the Intramural Research Program at NIDDK
Message from the Directors
The Intramural Research Program (IRP) of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conducts basic, translational and clinical biomedical research related to: diabetes mellitus, endocrine, bone and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, including liver diseases and nutritional disorders; kidney diseases; and hematologic diseases. Intramural research is conducted in the Institute's laboratories and clinical facilities in Bethesda, Maryland and in Phoenix, Arizona.
The hallmarks of the NIDDK IRP are excellence and diversity. Many of the scientists within the IRP have achieved international recognition as highly productive and innovative researchers. The present program continues a tradition of excellence reflected in the several Nobel prizes and other prestigious awards that have resulted from its work. Many scientists trained in the IRP are now prominent faculty members at leading universities throughout the world.
The research conducted in the IRP spans the breadth of modern biomedical investigation, from basic science to clinical studies. A sampling of areas under study includes:
- biophysics – studies of protein folding, development of optical and vibrational imaging, and theory of protein dynamics
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cell biology – studies of nuclear import/export, intracellular protein and lipid trafficking, cellular migration and prions
- chemical biology and medicinal chemistry - synthesis and characterization of novel compounds and discovery of biologically active natural products
- developmental biology - studies using model systems ranging from slime molds to vertebrates to human cells
- genetics, pathogenesis and novel therapies of disease – studies of diabetes types 1 and 2, hepatitis, lipodystrophy, multiple endocrine neoplasia, nephritis/nephropathy, obesity, sickle cell anemia and transplantation
- molecular biology – studies of chromatin structure and function, transcriptional regulation and DNA recombination
- signal transduction - basic and human disease-oriented studies of GTP-binding proteins and GTP-binding protein-coupled receptors, tyrosine kinase receptors and nuclear hormone receptors
- structural biology – studies using x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy
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