This year’s Scientific Library student Jeopardy! game again embraced a virtual format, like the 2021 and 2022 games, to accommodate interns competing from remote locations. The competition was an enjoyable match, involving 23 participants, including the seven contestants interning at NCI at Frederick from various high schools or colleges, and a fast final round with a high-totaling winner.
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.
The Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) student interns at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at Frederick are participating in groundbreaking cancer research, along with large-scale projects and technological advancements, during their senior year of high school. The interns at NCI at Frederick are given more than the opportunity to watch the research; they participate in and conduct their own projects to contribute to the NCI mission.
The Maryland State Department of Education honored the National Cancer Institute with a 2017 award of excellence in career and technology education during an April 25 ceremony in Baltimore.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski came to NIH on April 11 to say goodbye.
Following this fall’s election, the longest-serving woman in congressional history will relinquish her Maryland Senate seat, bringing to a close a 40-year national political career in which she staunchly supported NIH and biomedical research.
You don’t really know something until you can teach it to someone. Raul Cachau said he believes this is not only true in academia, but in research laboratories as well. He said that being a mentor means rediscovering things long taken for granted.
“It really forces you to rethink some of the things you do,” said Cachau, Ph.D., principal scientist, Advanced Biomedical Computing Center (ABCC). “It brings focus to many of the things that happen on a daily basis … There’s a positive impact to taking a fresh look at something.”
Michelle Marcelino developed a strong interest in science as a child. The former Werner H. Kirsten student intern’s father was a physicist and often discussed with his daughters how the world works in terms of science.
“I think my father instilled it in me from a very young age,” Marcelino said. “I remember being in elementary school and my father telling us colors are just wavelengths of light perceived by your eye. That’s my dad, explaining that concept in detail to a child.”
Editor’s note: We asked Werner H. Kirsten Student Internship Program (WHK SIP) mentors to tell us about the unique and diverse backgrounds of some of this year’s student interns.
Alex Beall
Microarray Group, Genomics Laboratory, Cancer Research Technology Program
Mentors: Nicole Shrader and Stephanie Mellott, research associates
By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer
The competitors in the cellular and molecular biology category of the Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair on March 22–23 didn’t stand a chance against the Werner H. Kirsten student interns at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick.
These interns swept the entire category, with Madelyne Xiao, a rising intern, winning first place; Maria Hamscher, second place; Ashley Babyak and Dahlia Kronfli tying for third place; and Maham Ahmed receiving an honorable mention.
By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer
The Werner H. Kirsten Student Internship Program (WHK SIP) has enrolled the largest class ever for the 2013–2014 academic year, with 66 students and 50 mentors. This enrollment reflects a 53 percent increase in students and a 56 percent increase in mentors, compared to 2012–2013 (43 students and 32 mentors), according to Julie Hartman, WHK SIP director.
