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.

On April 9, 1984, a special package from Bethesda arrived at Building 560 on the Frederick Cancer Research Facility (FCRF) campus. In an unusual move, it came not by courier but by scientist, who carried it directly to a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory, at the time one of FCRF’s few facilities for working with highly dangerous biological entities. Exposure to the box’s contents meant likelihood of a protracted death. Julian Bess Jr. remembers when Larry Arthur, Ph.D., brought that box containing two sealed flasks of HIV-infected cells into their laboratory.

Mickey Williams, Ph.D., jokes that he was “somewhat doomed to become a molecular biologist” from the very start, born within mere hours of a milestone in the field. The same day in 1953 that Francis Crick and James Watson heralded their discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure — “the secret of life,” Crick triumphantly called it at The Eagle pub in Cambridge—Williams’ own life began in a maternity ward half a world away.

The 2023 David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award coincided with Día de los Muertos, scientist emeritus Stephen Hughes, Ph.D., noted at the event. It was fitting happenstance. The Day of the Dead, as it’s called in English, is observed primarily in Mexico to celebrate the memory and legacy of deceased loved ones. In a similar spirit, the memorial lecture in Frederick united scientists to enjoy each other’s company and—for the 12th straight year—honor the legacy of David Derse, Ph.D.

For 2023, the National Institutes of Health held its first in-person NIH Research Festival in Bethesda, Maryland, since the start of the pandemic. The five-day event was well attended and included lectures, workshops, posters, and biotech vendor information booths spread across several areas of the campus. While there was a plethora of events, several scientists agreed that the standout features of this year’s festival were the interactions.