The recent Biotech Connector showcased exciting advancements in gene and cell therapies in the Frederick area. More than 80 attendees gathered in-person and online to hear experts in the field discuss their work manufacturing difficult therapies for clinical trials, reimagining the supply chain to reduce development timelines, and leveraging automation to reduce risk and save money. By capturing these advances, the Biotech Connector aims to serve as a forum that inspires partnerships and the sharing of ideas.

It’s three minutes before the keynote at the 2025 Spring Research Festival, and the seats are filling up. Chatter thrums through the room. Somewhere within the stir, someone is talking about tumors. A voice at the back keeps mentioning malaria. Like the whirl of hushed conversations, the burgeoning audience is an amalgam.

This February saw Occupational Health Services host two lunch-hour activities to encourage employees to invest in cardiovascular health and healthy living. The 18th Chili Cook-off occurred on February 7, and a Heart Health Webinar occurred on February 12. Both coincided with American Heart Month.

Researchers from around the world met in October to mark progress their field has made in developing drugs to treat cancers driven by the RAS oncogene, and to map out even more ways they can help cancer patients. “This is a great story about tackling an intractable disease that was said to be an impossible task,” said National Cancer Institute Director W. Kimryn Rathmell, M.D.

When people reminisce about the late David Derse, Ph.D., several words invariably get mentioned. Scholar. Mentor. Insightful. Caring. Many who knew him fondly recall him as an exemplar of the intellectual and compassionate sides of science. The same has been said about Carol A. Carter, Ph.D., SUNY distinguished professor at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, who recently came to NCI Frederick to deliver a scientific lecture in Derse’s honor.