History

Echoes from the Past: Program Pioneers a Path for Frederick’s Science, Part 3

Unsurprisingly, the new Basic Research Program at the Frederick Cancer Research Center took some time to gain momentum despite the preparations that had been made. Margaret Kripke, Ph.D., head of the program’s Immunobiology of Physical and Chemical Carcinogenesis Section at the time, recalls that her first year was dedicated to setting up her new laboratory, hiring staff, moving around, and finishing projects she had started in her former laboratory at University of Utah.

Echoes from the Past: Program Pioneers a Path for Frederick’s Science, Part 1

As the winter of 1973 turned to spring, the Frederick Cancer Research Center (FCRC), the forerunner to the Frederick National Laboratory and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at Frederick that exist today, neared the one-year mark since its opening. The more than 250 employees had made sound progress, given the challenges of converting the old Fort Detrick biowarfare facilities into a fledgling cancer center. Their efforts had drawn some attention, too.

Echoes from the Past: A New Institution for Cancer Research Is Born

On October 18, 1971, President Richard Nixon emerged from the U.S. Army Post Headquarters at Fort Detrick into the sunlight of one of Frederick’s signature autumn mornings. Nearby, a crowd of dignitaries, Army officers, and journalists from local and national news outlets had gathered to hear his remarks about the former biowarfare research facility. He greeted them, paused to make a good-natured joke about the Baltimore Orioles, then delivered an announcement that altered the course of biomedical research in the United States.