In Nov. 2012, Steven Oversby, R.N., Ph.D., a program director within the NEI Division of Extramural Research and a captain in the United States Public Health

Service (USPHS), deployed to Edison, NJ, to treat victims displaced by Superstorm Sandy. The storm, which made landfall near Atlantic City on Oct. 30, arose from the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Next to Katrina, Sandy was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history. The Mid-Atlantic states, including New Jersey, were especially hard hit by high winds and flooding.

Captain Oversby, a psychologist and registered nurse, served with the USPHS Rapid Deployment Force-3 (RDF-3) team and Mental Health Team 1 (MHT-1). The USPHS is one of seven branches of the U.S. uniformed services and is tasked by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to protect, promote, and advance the health of all Americans. In addition to offering ongoing health leadership and research, a key part of their mission is to provide rapid response to immediate public health needs. Members of the five RDF and the five MHT teams are capable of deploying to a public health emergency within 12 and 36 hours, respectively.

While deployed, Oversby first served with the RDF-3 as mental health strike-team leader at a makeshift hospital established at

Middlesex Community College. Overnight, RDF-3 set up a 250-bed hospital in the school gymnasium, renamed the Middlesex Federal Medical Station (FMS). By morning, the team began admitting patients. Most of the patients were evacuees with chronic health conditions whose care was interrupted by the storm. Oversby said each patient he saw had a story of survival and tragic loss. For two weeks he administered “psychiatric first aid” to patients. In addition, he made rounds to five area emergency shelters, providing as-needed mental health care for evacuees and distressed

staff.

Oversby stayed with other USPHS personnel in the barracks at Fort Dix. Daily briefings began at 7 a.m., with work shifts lasting until 9:30 p.m. “Though all team members were tired and very sleep-deprived, their morale

was excellent, and people maintained a good sense of humor throughout. Everyone remained positive and willing to do anything in support of the mission,” he said.

“I had the privilege to serve with two outstanding USPHS teams, with every individual offering their very best under adverse conditions. Everyone threw their hearts and souls into the mission, being there for anyone in need,” said Oversby.

Oversby expressed his thanks to his colleagues at NEI, especially his co-workers in the DER who covered his work duties in his absence and offered encouragement and support. And, in return, NEI extends its thanks to Oversby for an honorable job well-done.

EYECONTACT Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

In This Issue DER’s Steven Oversby Assists With Superstorm Sandy Relief

Feature Story ............................... 1

Director’s Corner ........................ 2

First Person .................................. 3Mark Stevens

Staff Events .................................. 4New Employees

Laboratory Safety Refresher Training Reminder

MPAB Focal Point ....................... 5Help Improve Administrative

Policies on Yammer

Eye on Health .............................. 5

NEHEP Releases New Resources

Highlighting Hope for People With

Low Vision

International Corner ............... 6

Miguel N. Burnier Jr., M.D., M.S.,Ph.D., FRCSCMontreal

Communication Corner .......... 7Managers’ Tips: Give Employees

What They Need for Full Motivation

“Everyone threw their hearts and souls into

the mission, being there for anyone in need,” said

Oversby.

Director’s Corner

Page 2 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

I am pleased to announce that the NEI Challenge to Identify Audacious Goals in Vision Research and Blindness Rehabilitation was a tremendous success. The effort, spearheaded by the NEI Office of Program Planning and Analysis (OPPA), solicited nearly 500 bold ideas to promote innovation in vision

research. Through a rigorous evaluation process, the ten most compelling one-page descriptions of audacious ideas were designated winners of the Challenge, and each author was awarded $3,000.

As many of you know, NEI launched the Audacious Goals Challenge to identify ways to leverage recent major discoveries in science and technology into strategies to help NEI pursue its mission: to conduct and support research and other programs aimed at reducing the burden of vision disorders and disease worldwide. The Challenge is part of a broader NEI planning effort called the Audacious Goals Initiative, which seeks to set the national vision research agenda for the next decade and beyond.

A major reason we held a prize competition was to attract interest from outside the NIH community. We were successful in that regard: nearly half of the Challenge entries came from people who have never received NIH grant funding. We also had a robust response from NEI and NIH grantees, who embraced our unconventional request for information and contributed dozens of fantastic ideas. Additionally, we heard from NIH employees and foreign participants, who despite being ineligible to win prize money, offered more than 70 audacious goals for consideration. We received submissions from across the U.S. and from 13 countries.

More than 200 participants from the U.S. and abroad, representing all areas of vision research, came to the Audacious Goals Development Meeting this past February to discuss and expand the winning ideas. The creative energy and enthusiasm at the meeting was infectious, and the participants worked hard to help shape the winning ideas into audacious goals that were summarized on the final day of the meeting. What’s next? Tune in to the next issue of Eye Contact for an update.

I thank everyone who ensured a fair and thorough contest. Dr. Jenny Mehren and Dr. Shefa Gordon, with guidance from OPPA director Dr. Richard Fisher, de-identified and categorized all of the submissions. A team of 81 technical advisors winnowed the entries to a pool of, coincidentally, 81 submissions for review by a federal review panel. And I extend a special thanks to the 13 members of that panel who selected the final 10 winners. They were:

Christopher Austin, M.D. (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences)

Robert Balaban, Ph.D. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Brian Brooks, M.D., Ph.D. (National Eye Institute)

Emily Chew, M.D. (National Eye Institute)

Mary Frances Cotch, Ph.D. (National Eye Institute)

Bruce Cumming, Ph.D. (National Eye Institute)

Donald Gagliano, M.D. (Department of Defense)

William Gahl, M.D., Ph.D. (National Human Genome Research Institute)

Michael Gottesman, M.D. (National Cancer Institute and Office of the Director)

Story Landis, Ph.D. (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Robert Nussenblatt, M.D. (National Eye Institute)

Anand Swaroop, Ph.D. (National Eye Institute)

M. Roy Wilson, M.D. (National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities)

I also thank members of the National Advisory Eye Council for their invaluable guidance in planning the Challenge and the Audacious Goals Development Meeting.

Finally, I extend a special thanks to all NEI employees who submitted an audacious idea. Because each entry was de-identified, I may never know who you are, but your ideas have been heard and I very much appreciate your contribution.

For more information about the Challenge and the Challenge winners, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov/challenge/.

Update on the Audacious Goals Challenge

Eye Contact is an employee newsletter. The goal of the newsletter is to inform, educate, and enlighten (and sometimes even entertain) the NEI community. It is distributed six times a year. If you would like to submit an article, report an error, or send a comment, please e-mail neieyecontact@nei.nih.gov. For submission guidelines, visit http://neinet.nei.nih.gov/news/eyecontact.asp.

Page 3 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

Mark StevensBudget AnalystFinancial Management Branch

First Person

What do you enjoy most about your job?I most enjoy the opportunity to interact daily with senior scientific and administrative leaders to assist in budget planning in support of the NEI mission. It is gratifying to know that my contributions as a member of the Financial Management Branch assist our leaders in making sound policy and management decisions that affect NEI’s basic and clinical research portfolio.

What is your greatest job-related accomplishment?I like to think one of my memorable accomplishments is assisting Dr. Anand Swaroop, laboratory chief of the Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration & Repair Laboratory (N-NRL), in successfully managing the N-NRL budget. My role in formulating the FY12 budget and managing the day-to-day allocation of resources required careful attention to detail. As a result of my effective communication and management efforts, N-NRL met its FY12 commitments and was able to continue research without interruption. I was awarded an NEI Director’s Award for my contribution.

When did you know this was the field for you?During the summer before heading off to graduate school, my interest in the federal financial management field was sparked while working as a budget intern at the Smithsonian Institution. It was through this practical work experience that I learned the budget career field affords you the invaluable

opportunity to work with and learn from the incredible people and programs that drive an organization. My experience working at the Smithsonian encouraged me to seek a public service career in government finance.

Where did you go to school? I earned my bachelor’s degree in political science and economics at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. After completing my undergraduate studies, I earned a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in financial management from the University of Delaware.

What do you like to do in your off hours? My many hobbies and interests outside of work include participating in Toastmasters because of my strong interest in public speaking and leadership. I have been a member for three years, during which I have served as an officer and earned the rank of competent communicator. My other hobbies include line dancing, biking, taking road trips, reading, visiting art and history museums, and hanging out with family and friends.

What is something most people don’t know about you? I am happy to share that I am on track to graduate with a doctoral degree in public administration from the University of Baltimore. My dissertation research will most likely focus on innovation in government administration.

Save the Date!Join Bryan Reed, deputy chief, Administrative Management Branch, at the next NEI Brown Bag Series seminar. His talk is titled, “My Journey with AMB: Advancing Administrative Services.” The seminar will take place 12–1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, in Building 50, Room 1328.

For more information and locations of the 2013 seminars, visit http://neinet.nei.nih.gov/news/brownbag.asp.

Did You Know? The NIH has a new logo. This means that NEI also has a new logo. For guidelines on using the NIH and NEI logos, and for images available for download, please visit the NEI intranet at http://neinet.nei.nih.gov/information/AllEmployees/logos2.asp.

If you have questions about the new logo guidelines, contact Rosie Janiszewski at rjaniszewski@nei.nih.gov or 301–496–5248.

Page 4 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

Vicki BuckleyDeputy Executive OfficerOffice of Administrative Management

Yabin ChenPostdoctoral FellowOphthalmic Molecular Genetics SectionOphthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch

Angel GarcedNurse ConsultantClinical Trials Coordinating Section

Li HuangPostdoctoral FellowOphthalmic Molecular Genetics SectionOphthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch

Julie LauxTechnical IRTA FellowFlow Cytometry CoreLaboratory of Immunology

Byung Ha LeePostdoctoral FellowMolecular Immunology SectionLaboratory of Immunology

Anthony St. LegerPostdoctoral FellowExperimental Immunology SectionLaboratory of Immunology

Jutaro NakamuraPostdoctoral FellowRetinal Development, Genetics, and Therapy SectionNeurobiology, Neurodegeneration and Repair Laboratory

Luigi NotariAnimal BiologistProtein Structure and Function SectionLaboratory of Retinal Cell and Molecular Biology

Gail SeaboldResearch FellowRetinal Circuit Development & Genetics UnitNeurobiology, Neurodegeneration and Repair Laboratory

Ruchi SharmaPostdoctoral FellowUnit on Ocular Stem Cells and Translational ResearchOphthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch

Wandul WambuTechnical IRTA FellowExperimental Immunology SectionLaboratory of Immunology

To view more information and photos of the employees, visit http://neinet.nei.nih.gov/news/newstaff.asp.

New Employees

The NIH has a mandatory requirement for annual lab safety refresher training for all personnel who work in laboratories. Additionally, those who work with human blood or tissues or with macaque monkeys must take an annual refresher for blood-borne pathogens. In February 2012, NEI reached 100 percent compliance with its safety refresher training, an accomplishment lauded by the NIH Department of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS).

The DOHS database will automatically remind lab personnel when their refresher training is due. Since many NEI personnel completed their training in January and February of last year, you should have received a reminder to take the lab safety refresher

training class. Please take your required safety refresher courses. Then, remember to exercise what you have learned to ensure a safe work environment for everyone.

Principal investigators are reminded that it is their responsibility to ensure their employees take the appropriate safety training courses and are trained in additional safety and hazard practices specific to their labs.

For information regarding training courses, visit http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/sr/dohs/Training/Pages/training-opportunities.aspx. If you have any safety training questions, please contact the DOHS safety specialist, Monique Lester, at 301–496–2346.

Laboratory Safety Refresher Training Reminder

Staff Events

Page 5 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

We need your help! You know how annoying all those administrative policies and procedures can be? Feel like they’re written by someone who doesn’t understand the real work of NEI? Ever wish they’d ask your advice?

Well, now we’re asking! HHS and the NIH are implementing a collaboration tool called Yammer. If you’re not already a member, it’s easy to join. As a member of the NEI community, you can participate in discussions at the NEI, NIH, and HHS levels. Once you’re connected to the NEI network, you can join the Administrative Policies and Procedures group. This is where we’ll post draft documents for new policies and procedures and major revisions.

You can leave feedback on draft documents or ask questions about existing policies. Let us know if you see problems with the content, format, editing, broken links, etc. You’ll get responses back from subject matter experts, questions and answers will be archived and easily searchable, and our policy documents will be better, because you—the users—will be part of the process.

We’ll still post official versions on the NEI intranet as we always have, but discussing them on Yammer will allow us to be much more responsive to issues you raise. For more information about how to get started on Yammer, please visit http://neinet.nei.nih.gov/information/AllEmployees/yammer.pdf. You can also contact Trevor Peterson (MPAB) at 301–496–4334 or petersot@nei.nih.gov with any questions about the policy development process.

Help Improve Administrative Policies on Yammer

NEHEP Releases New Resources Highlighting Hope for People With Low Vision

During Low Vision Awareness Month this February, the National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) launched new resources to help people living with low vision and their loved ones learn more about how they can benefit from vision rehabilitation.

“Low vision” means that even with regular glasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery, people find everyday tasks difficult to do. Reading the mail, shopping, cooking, and writing can seem challenging. NEI estimates that 2.9 million Americans are living with low vision, and this number is projected to increase 72 percent by 2030 when the last of the baby boomers turn 65. The leading causes of low vision in adults are age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and cataract.

Living with Low Vision: What you should know is a new large-print booklet that urges people to seek help from a low vision specialist and provides tips for maximizing remaining eyesight, enabling people with low vision to safely enjoy a productive and rewarding life. A complementary DVD features stories highlighting how vision rehabilitation has helped people with low vision maintain their independence and quality of life. Another video, targeted to health care professionals, emphasizes the importance of informing patients with vision loss about vision rehabilitation services and of making referrals to low vision specialists.

To download a copy of the new booklet or watch the videos, visit the NEI Low Vision Education page at http://www.nei.nih.gov/lowvision.

MPAB Focal Point

Eye on Health

Page 6 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

Miguel N. Burnier Jr., M.D., M.S., Ph.D., FRCSC

McGill University, Montreal

Miguel Burnier looks back at his time in Bethesda as the “formative years”—both in the lives of his family as well as in his career. In 1989, Dr. Burnier moved to the Washington, DC, area to continue his research training in pathology and ophthalmology after receiving his M.D. and Ph.D. at Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He fondly reminisces about how he and his young family lived in a brick home on Cedarcrest Drive as he studied with two luminaries in the field: Lorenz E. Zimmerman, M.D., who was chair of the department of ophthalmic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and David Cogan, M.D., then chief of neuro-ophthalmology at NEI.

“I have no natural talents,” he says modestly with a smile. “I have just been trained exceptionally. I am the only person in the world who was trained by those two people at the same time.”

Dr. Burnier says that, while he was at the NIH, he took advantage of the many resources that were available, both at NEI and at other institutes.

“I was nosing around everywhere,” he says. “One of the secrets of working at NIH is that you are training at the best, most well-known place in the world for biomedical research. And we had access to world-class scientists. If you want to learn something, all you have to do is go listen to the lectures.”

In 1993, Dr. Burnier left Bethesda to become a professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at McGill University in Montreal. He was also the Thomas O. Hecht family chair in ophthalmology, which was the first endowed chair given to the department. Dr. Burnier completed 15 years in that

position and then moved on to become the director of clinical research and training for the entire McGill University Health Centre. He is a full professor of ophthalmology, pathology, medicine, oncology, and anatomy and cell biology.

Dr. Burnier also directs the Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, the largest research and training center in ocular pathology in North America. The laboratory has positions for clinical fellows in ophthalmology, pathology, oncology, and dermatology, as well as an ocular pathology graduate program for master’s, Ph.D., and postdoctoral students. In celebration of the laboratory’s 10th anniversary in 2010, he founded the Burnier International Ocular Pathology Society (B.I.O.P.S.Y.), which currently has a membership of an estimated 120 scientists and met in Montreal in 2010 and in Valladolid, Spain, in 2012.

Whenever Dr. Burnier is in the area, he still makes a trip to Baltimore to visit “the man who made me,” he says. Because of Dr. Burnier’s friendship, Dr. Zimmerman, who turned 92 this past November, has willed to McGill the world’s largest collection of eye disease pathology, which was once housed at the AFIP before it closed its doors in September 2011. Dr. Burnier is interested in collaborating with NEI on projects of mutual interest. For more information, contact John Prakash at 301–496–2234 or gyan.prakash@nih.gov.

Drs. Prakash and Burnier

Page 7 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

What makes some employees motivated and others lazy? There’s no single answer (certainly money isn’t a cure-all), but research suggests that employees perform better when they feel a strong sense of connection to their organization and feel valued in return. To motivate your employees better, concentrate on what they are looking for at work:

• Purpose. Employees respond to tangible goals or objectives they can visualize. Provide a clear vision of what you want, and communicate it consistently.

• Appreciation. You’ve got to recognize employees for what they do, often and in concrete language, so they know what you value and what actions to repeat.

• Participation. Employees want to be involved in decisions that affect them. Include them in planning and strategy, and seek their input on how to improve your organization.

• Support. In some organizations, front-line employees get treated as less important than executives or decision-makers. You and your top executives should express clear support for your employees’ roles and work so they feel valued for their efforts.

• Communication. Smart employees want to know what’s going on. Share all the information you can and encourage questions that enable them to understand operations thoroughly. Honesty will go a long way toward earning trust and commitment.

• Fairness. In compensation and in their everyday dealings with management, employees expect fair treatment. Pay attention to the impact of your decisions, and avoid any actions that might spark suspicions of favoritism or unethical practices.

—Adapted from the Incentive Performance Center website

Managers’ Tips: Give Employees What They Need for Full Motivation

Communication Corner

Dr. Datiles Hosts Tour of NEI Clinic for High School Students

On January 22, Dr. Manuel Datiles hosted a tour of the NEI Clinic for a group of high school students and their science teachers from Oakcrest School in McLean, VA. The 10th-grade students visited the NIH Visitors’ Center, listened to several talks from various speakers, and learned about science-related professions. Their visit to NIH was part of a school-wide initiative called L.E.A.D. (Leadership ~ Experience ~ Academics ~ Daring). The program marks the second semester of the school year and the beginning of the third quarter. NEI clinicians Drs. Catherine Meyerle and Catherine Cukras met with the group individually to talk about their professions and described some of the medical instruments used in the eye clinic. The students were excited to be at the Clinical Center and tour the NEI Clinic. Dr. Datiles said they asked insightful and challenging questions.

Page 8 EYE CONTACT | Volume 7, Issue 1 | March 2013

Several U.S. presidents have had trouble with eye spasms or rapid blinking, conditions that are more likely when a person is experiencing emotional stress, is exhausted, or is sleep-deprived. Provide the first and last name of the U.S. presidents who fit the descriptions below:

1. He couldn’t look a person straight in the eye because he had strabismus.

2. He received a blow to the head that some sources say left him partially blind in his left eye. (Others say earlier injuries caused the damage.) If the tough punch was the culprit, his loss of sight would probably have been due to a detached retina (undiagnosed).

3. He was shocked to awaken one morning, seven years before he became president, to find himself nearly blind in his right eye. He’d suffered a hemorrhage in his retina. Other than resting his eye for several months on orders from his doctor, no real treatment was available in those days.

4. He was the first U.S. president to wear a contact lens.

Send your answers to neieyecontact@nei.nih.gov by April 10. Your name will be put into a drawing for a chance to win a prize.

Brain Teasers

Challenge

Audrey Georges, devoted employee of NEI in several offices (OD, DECR, LRCMB), passed away on March 6. After contributing 17 years as a federal government employee, her failing health led her to retire in 2009. Audrey began her career in 1992 as a secretary with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She moved on to work with NIAID in 1994, and in 1997 she transferred to NEI.

After hours, Audrey coached public speaking. R&W sponsored her class, “Excellence in Public Speaking,” for more than 10 years, and she worked with and taught “Public Speaking for Those for Whom English Is a Second Language” for five years. From 2008 to 2009, Audrey also coached “Improving Spoken English” for NEI post-docs for whom English was a second language.

In her spare time, she enjoyed dancing, volunteering, relaxing at her summer home in the Hamptons, and spending time with her two sons, one daughter, and five grandchildren.

Her boundless joy for life, energy, and enthusiasm were an inspiration and strength to all who knew and worked with her. She bore her terminal illness with such strength and courage, even as it robbed her of independent life.

NEI Mourns Audrey Georges

Employees, we want to hear from you!

“The goal of this newsletter is to inform, educate, and enlighten (and sometimes even entertain) the NEI community,” said Dr. Paul Sieving when the first issue of Eye Contact was launched in August 2007.

Today, the newsletter still prides itself on continuing those goals. This past October, Eye Contact was downloaded more than 1680 times. It is the most downloaded file on the intranet. In an effort to keep Eye Contact fresh, there have been a few changes you may have noticed, including a new front-page design, layouts, and updated content.

This is your newsletter, and we need your feedback. Please complete this survey by clicking or copying the following link by Friday, April 12: http://vision4.nei.nih.gov:6080/EyeContactReadership/surveyForm.jsp.