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
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In the News

Students | Student Interns Share the Spirit of Science

They came for a science lesson. They left with more. The new Werner H. Kirsten student interns filed into the auditorium in Building 549 to expand their knowledge of fundamental laboratory practices, as part of the Science Skills Boot Camp. A panel of presenters instructed the attendees on skills such as reading scientific papers effectively, practicing proper research ethics, and conducting professional presentations.
By Julianne Heberlein, Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern, Contributing Writer; photos by Paige Kefauver, Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern, Staff Photographer 08.12.2015
Students Outreach August 2015

Community | IT Strategic Planning Workshops Develop Long-Term Goals

As part of NCI’s Research IT Strategic Planning efforts, a workshop was held on the NIH main campus in June. The main purpose of the workshop was to discuss ways to better integrate IT and informatics throughout NCI, and develop specific, high-level goals and related objectives that will drive the direction of IT and informatics support over the next five years.
By Greg Warth, Guest Writer 08.11.2015
Community August 2015

Students | Student Intern Freed Competes at Intel ISEF, Two Others Awarded at Local Science Fair

Class of 2014–2015 Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) student intern Rebecca “Natasha” Freed earned a fourth-place award in biochemistry at the 2015 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the largest high school science research competition in the world, according to the Society for Science & the Public’s website. Freed described the event as “transformative experience,” where she was able to present her research to “experts, including Nobel laureates, as well as members of the general community and, of course, to [other students].”
By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer; photo by Richard Frederickson, Staff Photographer 08.03.2015
Students Awards August 2015

Science & Technology | Novel Method Developed to Further the Understanding of DNA Palindromes

When Alison Rattray and colleagues in the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory (GRCBL) examined a mutant yeast cell they had isolated in a screen, they noticed something strange. The DNA exhibited a “very specific, but weird, rearrangement,” she explained.
By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer; photo by Richard Frederickson, Staff Photographer 07.29.2015
Science & Technology Publications Platinum Highlight July 2015

Health & Safety | EHS Open House: Learning Lab and Life Safety

Attendees of the Environment, Health, and Safety Program’s (EHS’) Open House had a chance to learn self-defense techniques, as well as visit with vendors demonstrating the latest trends in laboratory safety. “Working with sharps in labs is inherently dangerous, so EHS proactively focused on featuring equipment that would promote safer techniques,” said Siobhan Tierney, program manager, EHS.
By Brian O’Shea, Staff Writer; photos by Joe Meyer, Staff Photographer 07.15.2015
Health & Safety July 2015