This year’s annual Spring Research Festival, scheduled for May 9 and 10, is nearly here. As usual, it is free and open to the public and promises to offer a forum for sharing scientific research and celebrating collaboration at Fort Detrick and NCI at Frederick.
The festival, which welcomes scientists, nonscientific personnel, students, and residents of the surrounding communities, is historically well-received by visitors. Last year, more than 1,000 people attended, including Theresa Alban, Ph.D., superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools, and Randy McClement, who was mayor of the City of Frederick at the time.
This year’s festival will be held in Buildings 1520 (the Fort Detrick Auditorium) and 1529 (the Community Activities Center), as well as in a large tent in the Building 1507 parking lot.
Parking will be available between Buildings 1520 and 1529, but for attendees who prefer to avoid the hassle, a shuttle will also be available to transport them between the festival and Building 549 on the NCI at Frederick campus.
A map of the festival. Red bursts indicate structures where events will occur.
Activities begin on May 9 with the Poster Blitz from 9–10 a.m. in Building 1529. Attendees will be able to sit through a rapid-fire series of presentations, each lasting only a few minutes, during which scientists will explain their posters and the accompanying research.
Immediately after the blitz, Garry Nolan, M.D., Ph.D., Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, will deliver the festival’s keynote address, “Pathology from the Molecular Scale on Up,” in Building 1529. Nolan’s speech will be followed by a mini-symposium of lectures by Monika Mehta, Ph.D., Frederick National Laboratory; Kari Oetjen, M.D., Ph.D., National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and Louis Altamura, Ph.D., U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
May 10 begins with the Post-Bac/Post-Doc Lectures from 9–11 a.m. in Building 1529. The event gives post-baccalaureate and post-doctoral scientists 15 minutes each to explain their research and address questions from the audience, while simultaneously giving the audience a chance to hear from and meet the young investigators.
The National Interagency Confederation for Biomedical Research (NICBR) Research Collaboration Forum will begin in Building 1529 following the Post-Bac/Post-Doc Lectures, featuring presentations about four collaborative projects that were each developed by at least two NICBR members.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days, attendees will be able to visit the Biomedical Research Equipment and Supplies Expo, located in the tent near Building 1507, to browse an impressive selection of advanced research equipment and instruments.
Both days will also feature a Poster Display in Building 1520, during which attendees can view dozens of posters in several fields of biological research and converse with the scientists and students who conducted the science. Last year’s display featured 118 posters covering 15 scientific disciplines.
Participants with posters in this year’s display should drop them off in Building 1520 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8.
A full schedule of events is below. The Spring Research Festival website contains more information about each event.
Wednesday, May 9
Poster Blitz
Building 1529, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Biomedical Research Equipment and Supplies Expo
Tent, Building 1507 parking lot, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Keynote Speaker/Mini-Symposium Lectures
Building 1529, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Poster Display
Building 1520, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Thursday, May 10
Post-Bac/Post-Doc Lectures
Building 1529, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Biomedical Research Equipment and Supplies Expo
Tent, Building 1507 parking lot, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
NICBR Research Collaboration Forum
Building 1529, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Poster Display
Building 1520, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.