NCI and FNL Researchers Turn Lessons Learned into Stepping Stones

Imagine traveling the globe, sampling cuisines from countries as disparate as Russia, Switzerland, India, and Ethiopia. Sounds like a dream vacation, doesn’t it? Thanks to the Employee Diversity Team (EDT) and its group of gastronomic volunteers, the NCI at Frederick community was taken on this culinary journey, gratis, at the second annual Ethnic Food Cook-off.

In October 2015, the NCI executive officer and the director of NCI’s Office of Space and Facilities Management (OSFM) announced a wide-ranging refurbishment plan for NCI at Frederick. Since then, a project team comprising members from the Office of Scientific Operations, the Management Operations Support Branch, OSFM, the Center for Cancer Research, the Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) directorate, and the Facilities Maintenance and Engineering (FME) directorate have met regularly with the laboratory groups affected by the refurbishment plan.

A monoclonal antibody has proven effective in preventing Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in lab animals, suggesting further development as a potential intervention for the deadly disease in humans, according to new research. MERS is a newly emerged coronavirus first detected in humans in 2012. Most cases have occurred in the Middle East, but the disease has appeared elsewhere. In all, MERS has infected more than 1,700 individuals and killed more than 600, according to the World Health Organization. No vaccines or antiviral therapies currently exist. Several candidate vaccines are being developed, and some have been tested in animal models, a prerequisite to human clinical trials.

“How long until the next Take Your Child to Work Day?” is a question Randy Johnson hears multiple times throughout the year from his five children, who range in age from 7 to 14. “It’s really fun and you get to experiment with things,” said Johnson’s 10-year-old daughter, Mary Joy. Be a part of the annual event that kids look forward to all year long and help foster the next generation of scientists. The 20th annual Take Your Child to Work Day (TYCTWD) at NCI at Frederick is coming up on June 29, and registration for hub and program activities ends May 16.

Parents of special-needs children do their best to help their kids thrive in typical society, but at times this can be challenging. For instance, I want my son, Harrison, to be able to participate in as many activities as he would like—but this can involve more than just signing him up and paying the registration fee. Fortunately, with a flexible approach and some simple tools, we have found that Harrison can still enjoy “normal” activities. Sometimes, all it takes is an honest conversation.