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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.

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.

If you're interested in presenting a poster for the Spring Research Festival or signing up as a judge, don't forget to register by Monday, April 2.

One of NCI at Frederick’s two offspring of the Wye Oak tree that lived for nearly 500 years in Talbot County, Maryland, has found a new home on campus. The move was necessitated by upgrades to Chiller Plant #5 and the associated water piping routes on the west side of building 560.  

The lunchtime dash to a nearby eatery is a daily ritual at NCI at Frederick, but Occupational Health Services (OHS) recently showed employees a different, healthy kind of DASH—Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Employees who visited the educational lunch-hour event, called “DASH and Dine,” had the chance to speak with OHS staff about the benefits of the DASH Eating Plan, a diet developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

This year’s Protective Services Chili Cookoff was marked by blazing-hot chili and fiery competition as 15 entrants contended for the attention and adoration of approximately 150 hungry attendees. The competition is a fixture at NCI at Frederick and regularly features an array of culinary concoctions, from which the visitors rank their choices for first, second, and third place.

The 2017 holiday season brought cold temperatures and heated competition to NCI at Frederick as 14 groups faced off in the R&W Club of Frederick’s Fourth Annual Holiday Decorating Contest. Keeping with tradition, many of the competitors sought to outdo not just each other’s themed entries, but also their own decorations from previous years. Accordingly, this year’s themes ranged from childhood memories to local landscapes to the downright outlandish.

Scientists and professionals from multiple governmental agencies recently gathered at NCI at Frederick for a forum on newly emerging infectious diseases, threats to public health, and ongoing efforts to study high-risk pathogens. During the one-day event, which was sponsored by the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research’s Scientific Interaction Subcommittee, nine speakers from four agencies shared their research and their agencies’ endeavors to address current and future biological threats.

In celebration of American Heart Month this February, Occupational Health Services is hosting multiple events to promote heart health and raise awareness about heart disease and its associated risks. American Heart Month kicks off on Monday, January 29, when staff will be sponsoring a table outside of the 15th Annual Protective Services Chili Cookoff and holding a raffle for free gym bags to encourage employees to stay active.

Why are we here? Are we alone? Can we time travel? If you have ever asked these big questions about life, the Scientific Library’s Third Annual Winter Video Series may help you find the answers.