Self-Assembling 3D Mini-Tumors Are Poised to Become a New Tool for Studying Cancer

The National Cancer Institute and Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research will hold the annual Technology Showcase on Wednesday, Sept. 7 in a hybrid format to welcome in-person attendees as well as remote participants from around the United States and the world. The event is scheduled from noon to 5:30 pm ET at the FNL’s Advanced Technology Research Facility in Frederick, Md.

At the ripe old age of six, Vihaan Patel is a committed environmentalist. So it’s no surprise that he also participated in—and won—the Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Directorate’s Paint the Drain competition earlier this year.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a hot topic in healthcare. Successfully used to treat certain aggressive blood cancers for about a decade now, CAR T cell therapy is capturing the growing interest of oncologists who would like to harness its power to use against other cancer types. At Frederick National Laboratory, the Biopharmaceutical Development Program—a specialized team manufacturing experimental biotherapeutics for NCI—is at the center of an effort to develop CAR T therapies that will expand cancer treatment options, particularly for pediatric malignancies.

One of the annual rites of spring at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick returned in April, when hundreds of members of the Ft. Detrick and Frederick National Laboratory community participated in the virtual Spring Research Festival. The event was co-sponsored by the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command and the Military & Health Research Foundation.

Look at your fingernails. What comes to mind? Now look at the veins in your arms. What about them? Odds are the words “critical” and “historic” aren’t your first thoughts, but they’d be an apt description. At NCI at Frederick and Frederick National Laboratory, nail clippings and blood specimens are two ways to make a difference in scientific research.