New research by Frederick National Laboratory (FNL) researchers and their colleagues takes an important step toward explaining complex mutations in a gene called NF1 that is known to cause a disorder known as neurofibromatosis type 1. The study also has potential implications in research against several cancers.

Frederick National Laboratory’s Academic Summer Trainees Program provides graduate and undergraduate students with the chance to work with and learn from some of the nation’s leading scientists. The program now includes students from several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and offers them increased access to advanced research and training, along with experience in biomedical programs, cancer research, and state-of-the-art technologies at FNL.

The future of brilliant scientific curiosity and discovery was on full display in August when 12 student interns presented their work during the NCI Frederick Werner H. Kirsten Summer Intern Research Symposium.

Susan Lea, D.Phil., and her team of microscopists at NCI Frederick have a mountain of data on their hands. It would be unwieldy if it weren’t for a partnership with the Enterprise Information Technology Directorate (EIT) at Frederick National Laboratory. Thanks to their support, Lea and her team in the Center for Structural Biology have all the capacity they need to manage the data in-house.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a hot topic in healthcare. Successfully used to treat certain aggressive blood cancers for about a decade now, CAR T cell therapy is capturing the growing interest of oncologists who would like to harness its power to use against other cancer types. At Frederick National Laboratory, the Biopharmaceutical Development Program—a specialized team manufacturing experimental biotherapeutics for NCI—is at the center of an effort to develop CAR T therapies that will expand cancer treatment options, particularly for pediatric malignancies.