A Paradox and Alan Rein: Distinguished Retrovirologist Retires from the HIV DRP

In 1953, a teenaged Alan Rein read about what James Watson and Francis Crick famously called “the secret of life”—the double-helix structure of DNA, which had just been published in Nature. Captivated, Rein decided at that moment that he wanted to be a biochemist. Rein’s biochemistry aspirations shifted to virology during college, leading him to a 60-year career in the field, the last 45 years of which were spent at NCI Frederick, studying how retroviruses like murine leukemia virus and HIV assemble themselves and infect host cells while somehow evading the immune response.
By Lisa Simpson, staff writer
01.14.2025

April 2018

Where Are They Now: Emily Burnett Aims Even Higher Thanks to Internship Experience

Emily Burnett, a five-time intern with NCI at Frederick’s Occupational Health Services (OHS), says the Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern Program program helped shape her current career trajectory. When she began her first OHS internship in 2015, her heart was set on becoming a nurse. However, after working with mentor Sarah Hooper and secondary mentor Patricia Claude, she decided to pursue a “higher level of medicine”—physician’s assistant.
By Samuel Lopez, staff writer; main photo contributed by Emily Burnett; ceremony photo by Richard Frederickson, staff photographer 04.03.2018
Students Community People April 2018

Where Are They Now: Former WHK Intern Julianne Heberlein Moves from Science to Politics

Former Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) intern Julianne Heberlein—who worked in the Frederick National Laboratory Public Affairs and Communication Office under Frank Blanchard—credits the WHK program with setting her apart from other applicants when applying for her recent internships.
By Marie Haughey, staff writer; headshot by Richard Frederickson, staff photographer; contributed images 04.02.2018
Students Community People April 2018