Science

Viruses are often regarded as villains in the story of humanity, but what if they didn’t always have to be? What if these microscopic invaders could serve as our allies instead—for instance, helping us treat cancer, protect against infections, and kill drug-resistant bacteria? This isn’t wishful thinking. They already do, and scientists are exploiting them to help us further. Last year’s HIV Dynamics and Replication Program conference provided a peek behind that curtain.

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.

With 100 online attendees, 180 in-person participants, 15 posters, 16 technologies, and 45 speakers, the 2023 Technology Showcase offered a whirlwind look into biotechnology innovation happening at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and National Cancer Institute.

After three years of COVID-19, science has learned much about the disease and the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2. But in the bigger biological and clinical picture, there are still many unanswered questions, says Ligia Pinto, Ph.D. That’s what keeps her group, the Vaccine, Immunity, and Cancer Directorate at Frederick National Laboratory, working hard to hunt down answers. Now, they and collaborators have filled in another gap in that bigger picture.

NCI-MATCH aimed to determine whether certain cancer therapies could be used more broadly. If a medicine is effective against one type of cancer with a specific mutation, the trial asked, could it treat other cancers with the same mutation? After the eight-year trial, scientists say an answer is coming into view

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, before vaccines were available and while SARS-CoV-2 was wreaking havoc worldwide, Barry O’Keefe, Ph.D., and longtime collaborators in Brazil and Spain pooled their knowledge and resources to study cyanovirin-N (CV-N), a protein from cyanobacteria, photosynthetic bacteria commonly known as blue-green algae. O’Keefe had a hunch it could be developed to fight the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

The Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) program, a long-standing institution in Frederick, recently graduated its 32nd class. This unique internship opportunity continues to catapult many high school seniors on the path to STEM careers. Before the 2023 WHK student interns concluded their internships, WHK Program Manager Carrie Wagerman wanted to ensure they were recognized for their achievement in completing the rigorous program. She asked them to share a little about themselves, their plans for the future, and some takeaways from their experience. Read their responses below.

In the Natural Products Branch, projects demand a level of precision that makes Cinderella’s slipper look like child’s play. However, lab equipment isn’t always tailor-made for such uniqueness, sometimes requiring a little modification with special parts to get the job done. Sometimes those parts aren’t available. It rightly sounds like a headache, but Jason Evans and Matthew Harris say the group regularly pulls it off—at times, even in as little as a day.

The curtain has officially dropped on the Spring Research Festival for another year. With its signature vendor show, poster display, and bevy of lectures, the hybrid event looked much as it did in pre-pandemic times. Yet among the participants, there was an unmistakable impression of eagerness, a recognition of opportunity.

Dogs and humans have been companions throughout recorded history. Our four-legged friends appear in early written tales and are mentioned by name in ancient Egyptian inscriptions. They’ve been with us through thick and thin, and we have truly benefited from this. Recently, that companionship entered a new arena, with dogs becoming humans’ partners in cancer research—and at Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, scientists and engineers have built and deployed a tool to help the medical community maximize canines’ contributions to oncology.