The 2020 Technology Showcase welcomed more than 300 viewers for half a day of presentations and panels on technology commercialization and collaboration. The annual event once again highlighted the capabilities of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, and greater Frederick region—but this year, with its novel virtual format, it reached new audiences.
Just a few years ago, it was difficult to get any meaningful sequence data from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded patient tissue samples. These biopsy specimens, which are tissues preserved in formaldehyde and embedded in wax for storage, are easy to make and store, even in remote research locations. Many are available, and more are made all the time, for use in experimental research and drug development. Because there are so many samples that have been taken over numerous years, they can also be used to help study the evolution of diseases and viruses.
A recent Data Science Discussion Panel, hosted virtually by the Scientific Library, provided more than 60 participants with expert insights about data science in cancer research from six members of Advanced Biomedical Computational Science (ABCS), part of the Biomedical Informatics and Data Science Directorate of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
Steve Hughes, Ph.D., compares HIV research to a war. He and his colleagues are entrenched on a microscopic battlefield, fighting a conflict where seemingly small victories could mean a leap forward. Right now, they are grappling with the emergence of HIV strains resistant to existing antiretroviral drugs, medicines that suppress the virus in people living with HIV.
The old adage that says two heads are better than one certainly seems true for Mitchell Ho, Ph.D., a senior investigator in the Center for Cancer Research, and Xiaolin Wu, Ph.D., a principal scientist in the Genomics Technology Laboratory, a CCR Core at the Frederick National Laboratory. Together, these two scientists are using next-generation genomics technology to develop, in an animal model, a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy that might help patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer.
The fourth annual Technology Showcase is making a big pivot this year, moving to an entirely virtual event on September 9, 2020. Although the move was made out of necessity, it also offers exciting new opportunities to reach more partners and licensees beyond Frederick, Md.
Cancer research generates a wide range of information, from genomic data about individual tumors to patients’ clinical histories to proteomic and imaging data. To help you, the Scientific Library at NCI at Frederick has compiled a list of websites related to Research Data Resources, including an overview of NCI data resources.
The NCI at Frederick Scientific Publications Database added 205 publications by NCI at Frederick researchers between April 1 and June 30, 2020.
Sharing a lab with another team may sound like an inconvenience to some, like the professional equivalent of sharing a bedroom with a sibling. But not for Alex Compton, Ph.D.; Alan Rein, Ph.D.; and their colleagues. In their case, sharing a lab led to a rich collaboration, mentoring opportunities, and a study that uncovered facets of how cells interact with viruses.
To say Cathy Cullen’s “lab” in Building 427 is nontraditional would be a bit of an understatement. Instead of pipettes, there are pipe cleaners. The chemical reactants are baking soda and lemon juice. And the “animal” is a blue plastic robotic mouse. Cullen’s operation is the epicenter of Education Outreach Services in the Office of Scientific Operations for NCI at Frederick. She is tasked with bringing extracurricular science to young people in Frederick County Public Schools and organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Frederick County and the Housing Authority of the City of Frederick.
