They call themselves “rasologists”: scientists who study the RAS family of genes and the cancers that can arise due to mutations within them. This field of research is at the heart of some sobering numbers. Almost a third of all human cancers, including 95 percent of pancreatic cancers, are driven by mutated RAS genes. The American Cancer Society estimates there were 48,960 new cases of pancreatic cancer in the United States in 2015 and 40,560 deaths from the disease.

Are you looking forward to spring? Join Occupational Health Services (OHS) and the R&W Club Frederick for the next Take a Hike Day in April. At the fall event, about 30 employees walked or jogged the 1.3-mile course around the NCI at Frederick campus during their lunch hours. The event is designed to encourage employees to engage in physical activity, according to Sarah Hooper, manager of OHS.

Forty-four government and contractor employees, along with their friends and family members, took to the Maryland National Golf Club course this fall for a cause. The R&W Club Frederick held its third annual golf tournament at the Middletown, Md., golf course on Sept. 14 to raise funds for The Children’s Inn at NIH, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. The Inn provides support and a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families receiving treatment at the NIH Clinical Center. Through the tournament, the club raised approximately $1,500 for The Children’s Inn, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

NCI kept the Defelice Cup trophy this year after beating Leidos Biomedical Research, 15 to 9, at the 10th annual Ronald H. Defelice Golf Tournament held on Columbus Day. Sixteen players on each team battled it out at the yearly contractor vs. government tournament held at Rattlewood Golf Course in Mount Airy, Md.

A 1994 Ford Thunderbird, a 2006 Porsche 911-S, and a 1996 Chevy Camaro Z28 were just a few of the rides on display this summer at R&W Club Frederick’s second annual Car and Motorcycle Show. “It’s a chance to raise money for a good cause,” said Geoff Seidel, one of the organizers of the event and program director for the Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials, NCI Office of the Director.