A broadly based team from Frederick National Laboratory (FNL), 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.