Awards

By Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer

On May 7, Julie Hartman was honored by the Frederick County Career and Technology Center (CTC) for her support of the CTC’s Biomedical Sciences Program. As an education program specialist for Outreach and Special Programs at NCI at Frederick, Hartman is responsible for NCI at Frederick’s participation in the program, which is designed to offer Frederick County high school students hands-on, practical laboratory experience beyond the typical classroom setting. 

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

The competitors in the cellular and molecular biology category of the Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair on March 22–23 didn’t stand a chance against the Werner H. Kirsten student interns at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick.

These interns swept the entire category, with Madelyne Xiao, a rising intern, winning first place; Maria Hamscher, second place; Ashley Babyak and Dahlia Kronfli tying for third place; and Maham Ahmed receiving an honorable mention.

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer

Deborah Morrison, Ph.D., laboratory chief, Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), received an NIH Director’s Award in June “for major breakthroughs in elucidating the mechanisms of Ras/Raf signaling that will be critical for diagnosis and treatment of disease,” according to the NIH Director’s Awards Ceremony brochure.

She was nominated by Ira Daar, Ph.D., senior investigator, Developmental Signal Transduction Section, Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling, CCR.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

Earlier this year, the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) awarded two, two-year grants of $200,000 each to Anu Puri, Ph.D., and Robert Blumenthal, Ph.D., both of the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Nanobiology Program, and to Eric Freed, Ph.D., of the HIV Drug Resistance Program, for their research on potential new treatments for HIV.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

The winner of the 2012 competition for the best collaborative publication was announced on May 7, as part of the lead-up to the Spring Research Festival sponsored by the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research (NICBR) and the National Cancer Institute at Frederick on May 8 and 9.

Courtesy of the NCI at Frederick Green Team

The NCI at Frederick Green Team received a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Green Champion Award honorable mention in June for the team’s plant swap initiative, begun in October 2012. 

“The Green Team has been doing a great job this past year, and it is wonderful that their efforts have been recognized by the HHS through the Green Champion Awards,” said Craig Reynolds, Ph.D., director of the NCI Office of Scientific Operations (OSO). 

Courtesy of the NICBR Public Affairs/Community Relations Subcommittee

The National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research (NICBR) announced the 2012 NICBR Collaboration Project Award (CPA) Program winners in December. The award, the first of its kind for NICBR, was adapted from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Young Investigator Award Program. This year, the CPA was bestowed to three research projects pertaining to collaborations between NICBR agencies.

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer

From project management and energy and water efficiency to emissions and the indoor environment, the Advanced Technology Research Facility (ATRF) was built with sustainability in mind, exceeding the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) building standards and earning three Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative (GBI).

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer

Student intern Sam Pritt’s interest in improving geolocation led him to develop a project that won a top regional prize at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology in November.

Pritt was awarded a $3,000 college scholarship, and he competed in the national competition in early December.