Guest post by Felicity Fox, MFA, Writer-Editor for NLM Office of Communications & Public Liaison.
As the snow settles on holiday cheer and 2025 begins, we’re taking a sleigh ride down memory lane to reflect on the amazing year we have had here at Musings. Our blog has been alight with activity, all because of you—and we couldn’t be more thankful for your interest! So grab a cozy drink, settle in with a warm blanket, and revisit the posts you loved most. Here are the official most-read Musings posts of 2024!
The NLM Associate Fellowship Program Goes Remote—Again!
Guest post by Kathel Dunn, PhD, Associate Fellowship Coordinator for the NLM Office of Engagement and Training, and Kristi Torp, MLS, 2023–2024 NLM Associate Fellow.
January 10, 2024: The NLM Associate Fellowship Program provides library science students and early- and second-career librarians with an unparalleled opportunity: to come join NLM for a year and learn about its products and services, research, programs, and tools. NLM leadership and staff open their doors to Fellows for mentoring, collaborating, shadowing, and connecting. Learn more about the program!
Translational AI: A Necessity and Opportunity for Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Guest post by William Hersh, MD, FACP, FACMI, FAMIA, FIAHSI, Professor in the Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University.
February 7, 2024: From assisting patients in pursuit of improving their health, to providing guidance for clinicians in diagnosis and treatment, to helping researchers find information and develop new ideas to advance their research, artificial intelligence (AI) has a lot of potential for impacting health, health care, and research. But since this is currently more promise than reality, AI must be treated the same way as any other tool we use in health care: Show us the evidence. Read more about what the future may hold!
This Gut Enzyme Helps Turn Urine Yellow… and Affects Our Health, Too
April 17, 2024: Scientists have known for more than 125 years that urobilin is the chemical that gives our urine its yellow color, but the enzyme responsible for its production had long remained a mystery. Researchers from NLM and the University of Maryland Hall Lab identified a key enzyme from gut microbes called bilirubin reductase and investigated its role in the bilirubin-to-urobilinogen reduction process. Their collaborative and multidisciplinary approach combined modern comparative genomics analyses and novel biochemical assays. With this new discovery, researchers are working to understand the gut microbiome’s role in human health and conditions like jaundice and inflammatory bowel disease. Read more—and watch our video—about this research!
Marking a Milestone: The Modernized ClinicalTrials.gov Becomes the Singular Website Experience
Guest post by Anna M. Fine, PharmD, MS, Acting Director of ClinicalTrials.gov.
June 5, 2024: In 2024, the ClinicalTrials.gov team announced the retirement of the classic ClinicalTrials.gov website and subsequently released the modernized ClinicalTrials.gov as the singular website. They invited the public to join them in a virtual webinar to celebrate this monumental achievement, learn more about these updates on the overall modernization effort, and review highlights of its new features. You can check out a recording of that webinar here and read more about these updates!
Renewing Our Focus on Women’s Health Research
Guest post by Rebbecca Moen, MBA, contract Quality Analyst with the NLM Division of Extramural Programs.
September 18, 2024: Last November, the White House announced a new Initiative on Women’s Health Research, followed by an Executive Order in March 2024 that commits $200 million to NIH specifically for interdisciplinary women’s health research. To support this monumental investment, NIH has released a Notice of Special Interest that spans across all of NIH and includes several funding mechanisms such as fellowships, training, and research grants. Read more about this funding opportunity!
Musings’ 2025 Resolution
As you can see, we had a busy year here at Musings, and our new year’s resolution for 2025 is to bring you more posts that explore pioneering research areas, engage in knowledge sharing, and focus on making biomedical research more accessible. So come along with us! You can subscribe to receive alerts on new blog content here.
Felicity Fox, MFA
Writer-Editor, NLM Office of Communications & Public LiaisonMs. Fox is an editor for Musings from the Mezzanine and provides editorial support for NIH MedlinePlus Magazine. She is also a visual artist, contributing graphics for products and projects across NLM, and a member of the NLM Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Council. Her experience in writing and editing has taken her across the federal government, including at the FDA and in the intelligence community. Ms. Fox holds a dual BA in Creative Writing and Music from Florida State University and an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore.