Three scientists from the region presented innovative imaging techniques and discussed how they are leveraging them to advance cancer research and ultimately improve human health at the Biotech Connector seminar on Wednesday, May 17, the second in this year’s series sponsored by the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce.

A new drug and vaccine delivery method that utilizes synthetic bacterial nanoparticles could improve chemotherapy treatments, and a groundbreaking alternative to drilled wells may soon be breaking ground in agricultural areas. The Federal Laboratory Education Accelerator and the work of Master of Business Administration (MBA) students across the country are helping move these and other far-ranging technologies out of the laboratory and into the market.

A hawk circles high above NCI Frederick. A blackbird hops along a steam pipe, its talons clicking on the metal. Sparrows flit from tree to tree. Geese are gathered on the grass. Birds are regular visitors to NCI Frederick, and thanks to a months-long project, some now have a better chance to make the campus their home this spring.

The curtain has officially dropped on the Spring Research Festival for another year. With its signature vendor show, poster display, and bevy of lectures, the hybrid event looked much as it did in pre-pandemic times. Yet among the participants, there was an unmistakable impression of eagerness, a recognition of opportunity.

Several hundred National Cancer Institute staff converged on NCI’s Shady Grove campus last month to celebrate the annual NCI Director’s Awards ceremony in a way they hadn’t been able to for the past several years: together.