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NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News National FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 CONTACT: NIDDK Press Office, 301-496-3583,
<niddkmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, NIDDK DEBUTS NEWLY DESIGNED WEBSITE The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK) recently unveiled a new and improved website to offer
researchers and people searching for health information more online information
and resources in an easier-to-use format. The website redesign features better navigation and more
user-friendly functions. Users who visit <http://www.niddk.nih.gov> will
now enjoy: -- new “Scientific Areas” sections that enable
researchers to find funding areas and opportunities in their field of interest
with up-to-the-minute information about special NIDDK initiatives, upcoming
conferences, research resources, and NIDDK staff contacts -- easier navigation for finding information about the kind
of science the NIDDK funds and instructions necessary for completing the grant
application process -- a stable health education section for the public with
consumer-focused information about diabetes, endocrine and metabolic diseases,
weight control, nutrition, digestive diseases, kidney and urologic diseases,
and some blood diseases along with statistics, links to additional resources,
Spanish translations, and access to NIDDK publications Most of the website improvements occurred behind the
scenes. “The new website now has a database-driven content management
system, giving us much better tools to maintain it as a truly living
document,” said Maren Laughlin, Ph.D., senior adviser for integrative
metabolism at the NIDDK. “The new, improved site structure should allow
website visitors to see more easily all that is available to them.”
Laughlin served on the NIDDK 18-member content committee, one of two committees
set up to rework the website’s extramural sections. “Our website is truly the public face of the
NIDDK,” said Acting NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. “It
facilitates the conversation among biomedical researchers at our universities
and small businesses, the American public, and the Institute. With this new
website, we hope to invite greater participation and better serve our mission
of improved health for the American people.” Though already popular -- a user survey of the health
information section reported an 82 percent overall satisfaction rate for
November 2005 through January 2006 -- the NIDDK staff hope the new website will
attract even more visitors. The recent facelift is phase one of an overall three-part
plan to revamp the entire NIDDK website. While the first phase focused on site
architecture and updated content, phases two and three will put design and
color to work to give the home page and other parts of the site a fresh look.
Final improvements include the addition of multimedia content and more database
tools, such as an automated event calendar and organizational chart to make
finding staff contact information easier. Professional and NIDDK web staff
also will have new, interactive, electronic tools to help update and maintain
the website. The NIDDK, a component of the NIH, conducts and supports
research in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive
diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic
diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all
ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common,
severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information
about NIDDK and its programs, see <http://www.niddk.nih.gov>. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)--The Nation's
Medical Research Agency--includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component
of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical
research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common
and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit
<http://www.nih.gov>. ## This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2006/niddk-17.htm. To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress&A=1. |
