A Paradox and Alan Rein: Distinguished Retrovirologist Retires from the HIV DRP

In 1953, a teenaged Alan Rein read about what James Watson and Francis Crick famously called “the secret of life”—the double-helix structure of DNA, which had just been published in Nature. Captivated, Rein decided at that moment that he wanted to be a biochemist. Rein’s biochemistry aspirations shifted to virology during college, leading him to a 60-year career in the field, the last 45 years of which were spent at NCI Frederick, studying how retroviruses like murine leukemia virus and HIV assemble themselves and infect host cells while somehow evading the immune response.
By Lisa Simpson, staff writer
01.14.2025

In the News

Community | OHS Encouraged Employees to “Take a Hike” Twice in April

The chilly weather didn’t dampen the spirits of Take a Hike Day participants on Wednesday, April 2. Over 50 employees braved cool, misty weather to walk or jog around Fort Detrick during their lunch hours. “The Take a Hike Day is [a way] to encourage everyone to get up and get moving,” said Sarah Hooper, RN, manager of Occupational Health Services (OHS). “OHS and the R&W partnered to encourage employees to engage in physical activity to improve their health.”
Carolynne Keenan 05.29.2014
Community Recreation and Welfare Club Health & Safety Occupational Health Services Take a Hike May 2014

Technology Transfer | Next-Generation Entrepreneurs Ready to Advance Breast Cancer Research Innovations

Ten teams of business, legal, medical/scientific, engineering, and computer science students and seasoned entrepreneurs won the Business Plan Phase of the Breast Cancer Start-up Challenge. Selected from an original field of 200 teams, these winners, plus two teams of finalists, will push forward to commercialize breast cancer–related inventions developed by inventors at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and at an Avon Foundation–funded lab at Clemson University.
Michele Newton and Thomas Stackhouse, and Rosemarie Truman 05.22.2014
Technology Transfer Awards May 2014

Students | Student Intern Ben Freed Competes as Finalist in Intel STS Competition, Three Other Interns Named Semifinalists

Werner H. Kirstin student intern Ben Freed was one of 40 finalists to compete in the Intel Science Talent Search in Washington, DC, in March. “It was seven intense days of interacting with amazing judges and incredibly smart and interesting students. We met President Obama, and then the MIT astronomy lab named minor planets after each of us,” Freed said of the competition.
Ashley DeVine 05.16.2014
Students Outreach May 2014

Community | Green Team Readies for Spring with Plant Swap

Those looking for a cost-effective way to spruce up their yards this spring can stop by the National Cancer Institute at Frederick Green Team’s booth during the Spring Research Festival on May 7 and 8. Pick up a free plant, donate overgrown plants from your yard, or swap for a new plant. Everyone is invited to participate in the swap, whether you have plants to donate or not.
Carolynne Keenan 05.05.2014
Community Events Green Team May 2014

Events | NICBR Events at the Spring Research Festival

The National Interagency Confederation for Biomedical Research (NICBR) Scientific Symposium is open to postdocs, postbacs, graduate students, and technical support staff. The theme of this day-long symposium is “The Microbiome: Host Response to Disease”; however, presentations can cover any area of research being conducted by NICBR member organizations.
Poster Staff 05.01.2014
Events Spring Research Festival May 2014