By Ken Michaels, Guest Writer

In Shakepeare’s play “Hamlet,” Polonius inquires of the prince, “What do you read, my lord?” Not at all pleased with what he’s reading, Hamlet replies, “Words, words, words.”1

I have previously described the communication model in which a sender encodes a message and then sends it via some channel (or medium) to a receiver, who decodes the message and, ideally, understands what was sent. Surely the most common way of encoding a message is in choosing the most appropriate words for the listener or reader.

By Zack Howard, Guest Writer

In these uncertain times, when work can be stressful, disquieting, or downright upsetting, taking an hour on Thursday evenings to work out job- and life-induced twists can provide a welcome element of serenity.

Every Thursday evening, beginning at 5:15 p.m., a group of experienced and novice yoga practitioners are led through a gentle yoga practice in the café room of Building 549. The instructor, Joan Twigg of Tuscarora Yoga, leads the group from its daily activities to being present in the yoga practice of mindful movement and breath.

By Frank Blanchard, Staff Writer

Scientists at NCI and Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) are partnering with the Lustgarten Foundation to test whether a vitamin D derivative will make a difference when combined with a conventional anticancer drug in treating tumors of the pancreas.

By Frank Blanchard, Staff Writer, and Jeff Lifson, Guest Writer

Scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University and the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research have used a novel vaccine approach to achieve a “functional cure” and apparent eradication of infection with a monkey version of the AIDS virus.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

Cytokines are proteins that play a crucial role in the human immune system by delivering messages that trigger the activation of immune cells to fight off attacks from viruses or other invaders.

Cristina Bergamaschi, Ph.D., NCI Center for Cancer Research, has been studying the mechanism of expression and function of a cytokine known as interleukin-15 (IL-15) for the last five years, in collaboration with Elena Chertova, Ph.D., and other researchers in the Retroviral Protein Chemistry Core (RPCC) of the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program (ACVP), Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.

By Julie Hartman, Guest Writer

The Elementary Outreach Program (EOP) is looking for volunteers for the 2013–2014 school year.

This program is designed to bring science into the classrooms of Frederick County students in grades 1 through 5. You’ll have a chance to work with small groups of children, presenting hands-on lessons that are coordinated with the school curriculum.

Volunteer teams in each grade are scheduled to visit four schools in Frederick County this year.

Minimal Time Commitment

By Karen Surabian, Thomas Stackhouse, and Jeffrey W. Thomas, Contributing Writers

As the fall and winter seasons progress, you may be attending more scientific conferences, where you may find a number of opportunities for research collaborations.

To assist your lab in reaching its research goals through collaborations, the staff of the National Cancer Institute Technology Transfer Center (NCI TTC) can guide you through a tool box of agreements you may need for protecting your intellectual property (IP) and effectively managing your collaboration. 

By Andrea Frydl, Contributing Writer

Fall Activities

The Employee Diversity Team (EDT) is out and about this fall, making the NCI at Frederick community aware of various cultural traditions and events around Frederick County that employees can participate in. The team is working with staff members of Native American descent to feature a display case and movie selection celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November. The team will keep you informed about Frederick events taking place in November and December. Keep a look out for EDT e-mails. 

By Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer

What started out as a way for Howard Young, Ph.D., to thin out his garden last fall turned into the NCI at Frederick Green Team’s Plant Swap. The group held its Fall Plant Swap on October 24, encouraging all members of the Fort Detrick community to pick up a free plant or swap a plant of theirs for another.

“Those who love to garden introduce others to the joy of gardening,” said Dolores Winterstein, a member of the Green Team and the coordinator of the Fall Plant Swap.

By Ken Michaels, Guest Writer

Recently, I attended the annual meeting of the BioCommunications Association in Asilomar, Calif. Not surprisingly, the speakers, all professional communicators, were very good and spoke knowledgeably on their various topics.

But something else impressed me during the informal times between presentations, and at mealtimes. These folks not only tended to speak well, but they also tended to listen well.

And there’s a very strong case to be made for the importance of listening in effective communication.