The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer recently awarded the Frederick National Laboratory and National Cancer Institute Technology Showcase a 2021 State and Local Economic Development Award. The FLC is a nationwide network of more than 300 federal laboratories, agencies, and research centers that promotes federal technology transfer.
National Cancer Institute Director Norman “Ned” Sharpless, M.D., had a message for NCI staff on Monday as he welcomed them to an unorthodox installment of the annual NCI Director’s Awards via video from a bedroom-turned-office inside his house. “The show must go on because you have made sure that the work of the NCI continued and even flourished during a difficult time for our nation and our world,” he said.
COVID-19 has paused or postponed many traditions this year, but it didn’t stop the National Institutes of Health from awarding NIH Director’s Awards to 660 employees and contractors. The ceremony, usually held in Bethesda, Maryland, went virtual. Several NCI at Frederick and Frederick National Laboratory employees were among this year’s recipients.
A broadly based team from Frederick National Laboratory, NCI’s Technology Transfer Center, and NCI’s Office of Scientific Operations has been recognized with a 2020 NCI Director’s Award. The award, from the “Making an Impact” category, recognizes the team’s work to establish the annual Technology Showcase, an event that fosters scientific collaboration as well as licensing of NCI technologies.
At the annual Spring Research Festival on Fort Detrick, they placed first in the First-in-Development Cell Biology category. At the Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair, they won the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Award of Excellence in Computer Science and placed second in the Molecular and Cell Biology category.
Yet despite these accomplishments, Alexis Adkins and Jacqueline Chung said they didn’t consider themselves “real scientists.” Maybe that’s because they lacked a science degree—or, until very recently, even a high school diploma. However, they are indisputably real scientists.
Howard Young, Ph.D., has received many awards during his tenure at NCI at Frederick—but the latest could be among the most meaningful. At the recent NCI Principal Investigators Retreat, Young was given the 2019 Mentoring Award by the Women Scientists Advisors (WSA), a group that supports and promotes career development for women in science.
For Christine Fennessey, Ph.D., HIV research is more than just a career—it’s the culmination of her passion for science and a desire to help people in need. And in just two years at the Frederick National Laboratory, her work has already gained the attention of her peers and the greater scientific community.
The NCI Director’s Awards & Appreciation Ceremony began with a video of NCI employees talking about their roles, whether in transportation, nursing, IT, or research. Many spoke of family members who have or had cancer, and all were proud to be able to contribute to NCI’s mission.
In a ceremony at the Fort Detrick Community Activities Center earlier this week, Maj. Gen. Barbara R. Holcomb, the commanding officer of the Fort Detrick garrison, distributed the awards for outstanding presentations and posters at the 2017 Spring Research Festival.
The Maryland State Department of Education honored the National Cancer Institute with a 2017 award of excellence in career and technology education during an April 25 ceremony in Baltimore.
