Nearly 700 researchers, scientists, and laboratory technicians convened in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, for the 2014 NCI Intramural Scientific Investigators Retreat on Jan. 14. The event featured presentations and posters exploring topics in cancer research from KRAS signaling to animal care. One of the highlights of the event was a presentation made by Valerie Beral, Ph.D., from University of Oxford, discussing “Rosalind Franklin and Cancer in Women.”

The HIV Drug Resistance Program (HIV DRP), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), will hold a conference on “Host Factors and Cofactors in HIV Infection” at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) campus in Frederick, Md., on Feb. 25, from 1:00 to 5:35 p.m.

Humans play host to trillions of microorganisms that help our bodies perform basic functions, like digestion, growth, and fighting disease. In fact, bacterial cells outnumber the human cells in our bodies by 10 to 1. The tens of trillions of microorganisms thriving in our intestines are known as gut microbiota, and those that are not harmful to us are referred to as commensal microbiota. In a recent paper in Science, NCI scientists described their discovery that, in mice, the presence of commensal microbiota is needed for successful response to cancer therapy.

Researchers are working to develop a more authentic animal model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS that is expected to speed up studies of experimental treatments and vaccines.

Cytokines are proteins that play a crucial role in the human immune system by delivering messages that trigger the activation of immune cells to fight off attacks from viruses or other invaders. Cristina Bergamaschi, Ph.D., NCI Center for Cancer Research, has been studying the mechanism of expression and function of a cytokine known as interleukin-15 (IL-15) for the last five years, in collaboration with Elena Chertova, Ph.D., and other researchers in the Retroviral Protein Chemistry Core of the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.