NCI and FNL Researchers Turn Lessons Learned into Stepping Stones

By her own admission, Amanda Corbel is a people person. She enjoys interacting with others and collaborating on new and exciting projects. But she is also passionate about science. Corbel completed four internships at the National Cancer Institute while earning her bachelor’s degree in biology from Shepherd University, followed them up with a postbaccalaureate fellowship, and co-authored five publications.

As we try to stay connected to work, friends, and family while social distancing, we’re reaching for our cell phones more often—but is there any reason to worry? The best evidence says no.

In a few months, a new class of Werner H. Kirsten student interns will join NCI at Frederick. The eager high schoolers will set to work in labs and offices around campus, gaining unique hands-on experience in fields ranging from immunology to occupational safety. But before that happens, there’s the nail-biting interview process.

There are many safety rules and regulations designed to keep us safe as we carry out our individual tasks at NCI, but this issue of the O&M Newsletter is all about evacuation. Specifically, it highlights the importance of the systems and components that ensure the safe evacuation of all building occupants in emergency situations.

A team from the Biopharmaceutical Development Program is developing a new autologous cell therapy line that uses engineered chimeric antigen receptor T cells to treat acute myeloid leukemia, a particularly aggressive form of pediatric blood cancer. This foray into cell immunotherapy represents a new avenue of research and development for the BDP, which has traditionally focused on biologics to fight cancer, HIV, and rare diseases.