Community

Shop Local—and Fresh—at the Summer Farmers' Market

The summer farmers’ market at NCI at Frederick is under way right on schedule, undeterred by a cool and rainy May.

Shoppers can find fresh produce, starter plants, local meats and cheeses, coffee, crafts, and more in the front parking lot of Building 549 every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market will run through Oct. 25.

Cannon Fire Soon to Accompany Bugle Call at Fort Detrick

Beginning June 14, the familiar bugle calls at Fort Detrick will be joined by a special percussion instrument: a cannon.

A single cannon shot will be fired on the first note of “Reveille,” which signals the start of each day and is accompanied by the raising of the American flag. “Reveille” sounds at 6:30 a.m. At 5 p.m., Fort Detrick plays “Retreat,” which alerts the post that the flag is about to be lowered. The cannon will fire on the last note of “Retreat.” After a five-second pause, “To the Color” plays as the flag is lowered.

Alumni of High School Internship Program Return for 25th Anniversary to Inspire Current Students

The Building 549 auditorium is often packed with high school interns eager to hear a scientific lecture. On April 22, however, the room swelled with interns spanning a wider age range. At the 25th Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern Program (WHK SIP) Anniversary Symposium, incoming, current, and former interns gathered to celebrate the program, which has provided biomedical research experience for local high school seniors. 

Microsoft Office 365 Deployment Continues through June at NCI at Frederick

The latest Microsoft suite, Office 365 (O365), is being deployed to all NCI at Frederick computers during the months of May and June to comply with federal mandates.

The suite includes the latest versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Skype for Business, along with cloud-based capabilities. These cloud-based capabilities will help meet the federal mandates that require all Health and Human Services operating divisions to migrate e-mail to the cloud by the end of 2016.

Team Faces Tough Odds to Implement New Phone Network

It was a Saturday, in the final stretch of winter in late February, and the temperature peaked to a pleasant 66 degrees. Many people were outside enjoying the spring-like weather; however, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Deployment Team was hard at work at Industry Lane. The team of 10 was installing the new voice-only network, including deploying 145 phones, switching and testing the 911 feature, connecting wall mounts, and verifying each phone... Read more

A Culinary Cornucopia at the Second Annual Ethnic Food Cook-off

Imagine traveling the globe, sampling cuisines from countries as disparate as Russia, Switzerland, India, and Ethiopia. Sounds like a dream vacation, doesn’t it? Thanks to the Employee Diversity Team (EDT) and its group of gastronomic volunteers, the NCI at Frederick community was taken on this culinary journey, gratis, at the second annual Ethnic Food Cook-off. Read more...

TYCTWD Program and Hub Registration Open through May 16

“How long until the next Take Your Child to Work Day?” is a question Randy Johnson hears multiple times throughout the year from his five children, who range in age from 7 to 14.

“It’s really fun and you get to experiment with things,” said Johnson’s 10-year-old daughter, Mary Joy.

Be a part of the annual event that kids look forward to all year long and help foster the next generation of scientists. The 20th annual Take Your Child to Work Day (TYCTWD) at NCI at Frederick is coming up on June 29, and registration for hub and program activities ends May 16.

Parenting Outside the Box, Part Three: The New “Normal”

Editor’s Note: This article is the final installment in a series describing one NCI at Frederick parent’s perspective on special needs parenting. Part one can be found here, and part two can be found here.

Parents of special-needs children do their best to help their kids thrive in typical society, but at times this can be challenging. For instance, I want my son, Harrison, to be able to participate in as many activities as he would like—but this can involve more than just signing him up and paying the registration fee. Fortunately, with a flexible approach and some simple tools, we have found that Harrison can still enjoy “normal” activities. Sometimes, all it takes is an honest conversation.

The Scientific Library Presents “How to Get Published in a Research Journal” on May 16

When aiming to publish a scientific work, every writer should consider the following questions:

     - Do you know the best way to structure a scientific paper?
     - Have you identified the most appropriate journal?
     - Do you understand the peer-review process?

Celebrating 25 Years of Student Mentoring

Most employees of NCI at Frederick have heard of the Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern Program (WHK SIP). The reason is simple—it has been wildly successful. And on Friday, April 22, the program will celebrate 25 years of mentoring and learning at the WHK SIP 25th Anniversary Symposium and Awards Ceremony.

During the morning session, several former interns will talk about the impact that the WHK program has had on their lives. The afternoon session will begin with a panel of current and former mentors who will answer questions from students interested in the program and staff members interested in becoming mentors. Read more...