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.
Building 549’s atrium was abnormally crowded one late summer day. Like the cicadas buzzing just outside the building, the room thrummed with excitement, dozens of conversations going at once. The noise was so loud that it was hard to hear someone speaking even a few paces away.
Student Poster Day had returned to the NCI Frederick campus, making its first appearance since the apprehensive days of early 2020
Former Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) Student Intern Program participant Lea Jih-Vieira followed a narrow path of interest and discovered a plethora of possibilities. When she first learned about the WHK internship from an information session at her high school, Jih-Vieira wasn’t sure about applying because it seemed geared toward laboratory work, which didn’t capture her interest. But, with some encouragement from her mom, Jih-Vieira applied and was accepted for an internship with NCI Frederick’s Office of Scientific Operations (OSO).
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.
Angeline Amefia
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.”
