By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer
Nineteen staff members affiliated with NCI at Frederick or the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) were recognized at the 2014 NCI Director’s Award Ceremony for their outstanding contributions to advancing cancer research. The ceremony, held Dec. 1, took place at the NIH Natcher Conference Center, on the main campus in Bethesda.
NIH Group Merit Awards
The Breast Cancer Startup Challenge Team was recognized for its “participation in the collaborative effort to launch the innovative Breast Cancer Startup Challenge,” according to the 2014 NCI Director’s Awards Ceremony program. Among the awardees were Stanislaw Kaczmarczyk, Ph.D., and Dennis Klinman, M.D., Ph.D., both of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Cancer and Inflammation Program, NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR); Michele Newton and Thomas Stackhouse, Ph.D., both of the NCI Technology Transfer Center; and Nadya Tarasova, Ph.D., Synthetic Biologics and Drug Discovery Facility, Cancer and Inflammation Program, NCI CCR.
The National Cancer Institute Office of Acquisitions Small Business Outreach Committee received a Group Merit Award “for being a leading advocate of small business outreach, providing innovative opportunities to build partnerships to increase small business participation.” The committee included Christine Biser, Andrew May, and Carol Rimel, of the NCI Treatment and Support Branch; and Stephen C. Davis, Erin Gagnon, Scott Keasey, and Brian Madgey, of the Management Operations and Support Branch.
Lynne Darby and Scott Keasey, both of the Management Operations and Support Branch, were recognized as part of the National Cancer Institute Genomics Cloud Pilots team “for outstanding service initiating the National Cancer Institute Cancer Genomics Cloud Pilots.”
P. Mickey Williams, Ph.D., Molecular Characterization Laboratory, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), was a member of the National Cancer Institute Exceptional Responders Initiative Development Team, which was recognized for “development and implementation of a plan to molecularly profile 100 exceptional responders to systemic cancer treatment in order to assess the ability to hypothesize molecular conditions conducive to exceptional response.”
Troy Kemp, Ph.D., Ligia Pinto, Ph.D., Gloriana Shelton, and Marcus Williams, all of the Human Papillomavirus Immunology Laboratory, Leidos Biomedical Research, FNLCR, were part of the Inflammation and Cancer Epidemiology Group, which was awarded “for their contribution to the systematic evaluation of the role of inflammation markers in cancer development within Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics cohorts.”
NIH Individual Merit Award
Yung-Xing Wang, Ph.D., Structural Biophysics Laboratory, NCI CCR, was recognized “for solving the human immunodeficiency virus Rev response element ribonucleic acid (RNA) [topological] structure; designing drug candidates that bind this RNA; developing base-specific ribonuculeic acid–labeling technology; and establishing Center for Cancer Research’s Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Core.”
Length-of-Service Awards Presented
Among staff members who were honored for reaching significant length-of-service milestones with NCI, 20 were affiliated with NCI at Frederick.
For 50 Years of Service
Joost Oppenheim
For 40 Years of Service
Laura Quigley
For 30 Years of Service
Terrence R. Burke Jr.
Veronica Church
Donald Court
Debra Dixon
Theresa Jones
Susan Mackem
Janet Salter
Allan Weissman
For 20 Years of Service
Christine Biser
Cynthia Castle
For 10 Years of Service
Linda Blumenauer
Bhabadeb Chowdhury
Kristin Komschlies-McConville
Shikha Sharan
Jonathan Spindler
Yien Che Tsai
Julio C. Valencia
Anthony R. Welch
Image captions: Top: Harold Varmus, Ph.D., director of the National Cancer Institute, presents the awards at the NCI Director’s Awards ceremony in December. Middle: Stanislaw Kaczmarczyk, Ph.D., Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, right, accepts an award from NCI Director Harold Varmus, Ph.D., on behalf of the Breast Cancer Startup Challenge Team. Bottom: Ligia Pinto, Ph.D, head of the Human Papillomavirus Immunology Laboratory, accepts an award from NCI Director Harold Varmus, Ph.D., on behalf of the Inflammation and Cancer Epidemiology Group. Photos courtesy of the NCI Office of Communications and Public Liaison.