When NCI at Frederick began receiving royalty money from the HPV vaccine research by Doug Lowy, John Schiller, and colleagues, a portion was set aside for facilities renovations on the NCI at Frederick campus. One of the first spaces slated for renovation was Building 538, which was mainly occupied by Center for Cancer Research (CCR) scientists.

Editor's note: Ron Defelice, a 42-year employee of the National Cancer Institute at Frederick and the facility's first Contracting Officer, passed away on December 21, 2018. You can read his obituary here. For the Poster, we’ve chosen to remember his invaluable contribution to the cancer research community.

Standing outside of Building 362, there was little to indicate anything out of the ordinary, but inside, a holiday mascot had run over Grandma with a golf cart. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, even though the wrecked cart and the crime-scene outline of Grandma’s body on the floor suggested otherwise. Nearby NCI at Frederick employees offered assurances that it was all in good fun.

Former Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) intern Kaylee Towey spent her most recent college semester drafting policy proposals to solve education issues in Prince George’s County. It was part of a semester-long project for the Public Leadership Scholars Program, an extracurricular activity she fits into her busy schedule as a student at University of Maryland, College Park.

In retrospect, it’s not surprising that Smruti Hariprakasha, the daughter of two scientists, ended up at the National Cancer Institute as a Werner H. Kirsten intern. She says that the family profession spurred her interest in science from an early age, and her experiences on the NCI at Frederick campus, such as attending Take Your Child to Work Day with her parents when she was young, helped her feel at home when she began her internship.