For many people, libraries conjure up images of hushed voices, using the Dewey Decimal System to search the card catalog, and perusing the shelves for a favorite author. But as is true in so many aspects of our daily lives, technology is changing the way we find and use information. That’s why Deanna West, who assumed the role of director of the NCI Frederick Scientific Library in September, is rethinking how the library serves its patrons.
The second annual Women in Science Speak event is just a few days away, but there’s still time to register. Women in Science Speak was established in Frederick last year to observe and celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The event aims to amplify the voices of women scientists and foster mentorship, allyship, and cooperation to empower current and future women scientists.
Late last year, some of the world’s top leaders in the field came together to discuss the progress of artificial intelligence applications in cancer research and clinical care at a scientific symposium hosted by Hood College and Frederick National Laboratory. It was one of several large scientific gatherings in Frederick in 2022 with implications for the new year and beyond.
In September, around 300 attendees participated in the sixth annual Technology Showcase, a unique event that brings together entrepreneurs, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry representatives, development organizations, and scientists. Some attended from their laptops while others donned their business suits and enjoyed Caribbean-style food as they networked and listened to the presentations in person at the Frederick National Laboratory’s Advanced Technology Research Facility.
In spring 1976, Building 472 at Frederick Cancer Research Center buzzed with activity as crews delivered and installed scientific equipment. Girded by steam pipes and bounded on one side by a narrow, one-lane road, the hulking brick structure had been among those vacated when the biowarfare program at Fort Detrick—its previous occupant—shut down. But its new life was about to begin.
’Tis the season for traditions and familiar customs. At NCI Frederick—and within the federal government at large—you’ll find one that isn’t mixed in with decorations but more likely nestled somewhere in your email inbox. This tradition is the Combined Federal Campaign, the government’s official nonprofit charity initiative, held from September to January every year.
The bureaucracy of Fort Detrick had transitioned from death to life. So said the Washington Post in October 1971, when President Richard M. Nixon converted the Army base’s old biowarfare laboratories into a center for life-saving cancer research. Many observers agreed it was an ambitious, hopeful vision. But what they didn’t know is that representatives from the Department of Defense and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare had been working on the transition for months.
We’ve seen the return of many things, good and bad, as society has reopened and life has found the so-called new normal. One of those things this year is the flu—and it’s back with a vengeance. Thankfully, it isn’t too late to get vaccinated, and it’s easy for employees at NCI Frederick and Frederick National Laboratory to do so.
NCI’s new director, Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., will be holding her first town hall meeting Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 11:00 a.m. If you want to be there in person, please register by Wednesday, Dec. 7.
NCI has produced a new documentary-style video marking 10 years since it gave the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research its current name.
