Nominations for the Achievement Awards, the annual recognition of outstanding Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research staff, close on Wednesday, March 4. There are just two weeks left!
Importantly, although only FNLCR (contractor) staff are eligible for the awards, both FNLCR and NCI staff can nominate their FNLCR colleagues. No matter your job title or work location, if you have an FNLCR collaborator, partner, or colleague who you believe should be recognized for their work in 2025, now’s the time to make your voice heard.
Nominations must be submitted through the dedicated section of the NCI Frederick staff site (network access required) to be considered. You’ll be asked to provide a short (100–300-word) explanation of why the nominee deserves the award.
There’s no limit to the number of nominations you can submit nor to the number of awards for which you can nominate a single colleague. However, each nomination much be submitted individually.
Please note that staff who received an award last year cannot be nominated for the same category this year. (See below for a list of the categories.) Further instructions are available on the submission page.
The Achievement Awards are founded almost completely on peer-to-peer recognition and are a powerful way to recognize people for their work.
This is particularly meaningful because recognition can increase job satisfaction. FNLCR is a large organization, and the program helps spotlight important work that otherwise may not get attention.
NCI and FNLCR staff with questions about the program or the nomination process should contact FNLCR Chief Innovation Officer Vladimir Popov, Ph.D.
Nominate your colleagues before it’s too late!
The 2025 award categories are as follows:
- Distinguished Career Service Award – Recognizes an FNLCR employee with at least 10 years of service at the FNLCR and/or NCI Bethesda campuses who has, throughout the course of their career, improved the quality of science and/or the work environment at the FNLCR/NCI Bethesda campuses.
- Norman P. Salzman Mentoring Award – Recognizes an FNLCR scientist who most personifies Dr. Salzman’s lifetime commitment to the guidance and direction of others in the pursuit of scientific excellence. During his 40-year career in virology research, Dr. Salzman’s laboratory was a training ground for many young scientists, several of whom have gone on to become important researchers and leaders around the world.
- Outstanding Achievement Award (Individual/Team, Scientific or Administrative) – Recognizes an FNLCR employee(s) for consistent outstanding efforts in support of stellar science throughout their career at FNLCR.
- Special Achievement Award (Individual/Team, Scientific or Administrative) – Recognizes an FNLCR employee(s) for a specific achievement of a nonrecurring nature that has enhanced the science performed at the FNLCR and/or Bethesda campuses during the year. Examples may include the completion of a special project, an outstanding site visit, organization of a specific research-related event, or a procedure.
- The Unsung Hero Award (Individual/Team) – Recognizes an individual or group for their contributions to the FNLCR community. This award is intended to be broad in its reach, and by design, it is meant to recognize those whose efforts have resulted in added benefit to the community and/or furthering the mission of FNLCR.
- Customer Relations Award (Individual/Team) – Recognizes an FNLCR employee or team who, through their interactions with and services to the customer, considerably enhanced the image of FNLCR.
- Excellence in Collaboration Award (Individual/Team) – Recognizes an FNLCR employee or team for spearheading a novel collaboration effort that has benefited the scientific community and/or furthered the mission of FNLCR. The collaboration can be internally within FNLCR, such as between directorates; with NCI; or with an external group or groups.
- Safety Award (Individual/Team) – Recognizes an FNLCR employee or team for outstanding commitment to advancing a safer work environment for the betterment of the FNLCR community.
- Student Mentoring Award – Recognizes an FNLCR employee who has shown an outstanding commitment to mentoring, developing, and supporting students training at FNLCR.
- Outstanding Leadership Award – Recognizes an FNLCR employee with supervisory responsibilities for one or more FNLCR employees who demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, developed staff talents, and fostered greater teamwork and collaboration.
- Newcomer of the Year Award – Recognizes an FNLCR employee who joined FNLCR within the past 24 months and has made significant contributions by going above and beyond through providing either scientific and/or administrative support.
- Manager of Excellence – Recognizes an FNLCR manager who supervises one or more FNLCR employees, has at least two years of service at FNLCR, and has demonstrated excellence in helping their team perform at their best. This individual successfully manages resources of FNLCR, including people, and ensures their team has what they need to succeed.
Samuel Lopez leads the editorial team in Scientific Publications, Graphics & Media (SPGM). He writes for newsletters; informally serves as an institutional historian; and edits scientific manuscripts, corporate documents, and sundry other written media. SPGM is the creative services department and hub for editing, illustration, graphic design, formatting, and multimedia.
Victoria Brun is a partnership project manager in the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Center for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, where she provides project management support across the office’s broad portfolio of collaborative projects. Among its functions, CISP establishes the partnerships and collaborations among Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research scientists and external researchers in government, academia, industry, and the nonprofit research sector.