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.
Maryland scientists recently came together to discuss next-generation vaccine formulation and delivery, as the Biotech Connector speaker series returned to Frederick. The Biotech Connector is a quarterly networking and speaker series, hosted by the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. The scientific event invites experts across disciplines and backgrounds for an inside look at local advances in innovative technologies in biological sciences to improve human health.
Spring is upon us again, and the Spring Research Festival is following quickly on its heels. However, by both pandemic and pre-pandemic standards, this won’t be an ordinary year. It’s the festival’s first in a hybrid format. That means for the first time since May 2019, participants will be able to attend events in person if they desire.
Take Your Child to Work Day, a beloved pre-pandemic event, is poised to return to NCI Frederick this summer. Past years saw the campus host as many as 300 children for a day of hands-on activities meant to illuminate scientific principles and inspire curiosity. Tori Seal, the event’s lead coordinator this year, hopes to capture some of that excitement again.
The Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) Annual Symposium returns on March 24. Scheduled to occur both on-site in Bethesda and virtually, the event will play host to scientists, clinicians, and stakeholders from NCI and the larger cancer research community. Staff from Frederick are eligible to attend.
Ashley Waters, DPA, executive director of Woman to Woman Mentoring, Inc., spoke from a lectern at Hood College. People with mentors, she said, have better prospects in life. Mentoring was one of the reasons Waters and several dozen others—both in person and virtually—had come to the small Frederick campus. They were gathered for Women in Science Speak, a celebration of women and girls in science and a mentoring discussion about overcoming the substantial disparities and gender bias in the field.
The Biotech Connector, a quarterly networking and speaker series, is returning to Frederick, Md, on March 1. The event, which is jointly hosted by the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, brings together entrepreneurs, industry members, and scientists of all kinds for an inside look at local advances in research to improve human health.
The second annual Women in Science Speak event is just a few days away, but there’s still time to register. Women in Science Speak was established in Frederick last year to observe and celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The event aims to amplify the voices of women scientists and foster mentorship, allyship, and cooperation to empower current and future women scientists.
Late last year, some of the world’s top leaders in the field came together to discuss the progress of artificial intelligence applications in cancer research and clinical care at a scientific symposium hosted by Hood College and Frederick National Laboratory. It was one of several large scientific gatherings in Frederick in 2022 with implications for the new year and beyond.
In September, around 300 attendees participated in the sixth annual Technology Showcase, a unique event that brings together entrepreneurs, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry representatives, development organizations, and scientists. Some attended from their laptops while others donned their business suits and enjoyed Caribbean-style food as they networked and listened to the presentations in person at the Frederick National Laboratory’s Advanced Technology Research Facility.
