Each day at 6 a.m. the lights pop on inside 18 buildings on the NCI at Frederick campus, illuminating the residential quarters for thousands of research mice. For the mice, it’s the end of their nocturnal day. For their caretakers, however, the day has just begun.

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.

Two NCI scientists received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement. The award was announced by President Obama in October. The honorees, John Schiller, Ph.D., Laboratory of Cellular Oncology (LCO), Center for Cancer Research, NCI, and Douglas Lowy, M.D., also from LCO and NCI deputy director, received their medals at a White House ceremony on Nov. 20.

Robert Wiltrout, Ph.D., director, NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR), recently announced the appointment of Mikhail Kashlev, Ph.D., to deputy chief of the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory (GRCBL). The first deputy chief to be named in the GRCBL, Kashlev joins Jeff Strathern, Ph.D., GRCBL chief, in leading the laboratory.

NCI at Frederick postdocs were treated to special events by the Fellows and Young Investigators Committee during National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 15–19. At the first Frederick fellows seminar of the fall on September 17, postdocs were invited to hear their colleagues present highlights of their research and stay for pizza and ice cream, compliments of the committee. Postdocs are also invited to a special networking event at Barley and Hops on September 24.