FORT DETRICK, Md. – Leaders in medical research and development gathered at Fort Detrick April 24-25 to engage with federal officials, industry representatives, academics and scientists at the 28th Spring Research Festival, co-sponsored by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command and the Medical & Health Research Foundation and supported by member organizations of the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research.
Known as one of the premier conferences and trade shows serving the military medical research and development community, this year’s festival featured lectures, poster presentations and exhibits by more than 60 companies and organizations showcasing products and services related to military infectious diseases, combat casualty care, military operational medicine, medical chemical and biological defense, clinical and rehabilitative medicine, as well as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality.
The National Cancer Institute Conference Center hosted the festival’s popular Young Investigator Symposium, a collaborative research opportunity showcase featuring NICBR scientists discussing their work and a “poster blitz,” where researchers have three to five minutes to give an oral presentation about their scientific posters before a panel of judges as a way to hone their skills when presenting at scientific conferences. The Community Activities Center hosted the poster display, which featured nearly 100 poster exhibits highlighting advanced research by scientists from across the country. The Capt. Jennifer J. Shafer Odom Fitness Center hosted the vendor exhibit booths.
Dr. Kedar Narayan, a senior scientist and group leader at the Center for Molecular Microscopy at the National Cancer Institute, gave the festival’s keynote address, during which he discussed how NCI researchers are using a cutting-edge technology called volume electron microscopy, or volume EM, to provide highly detailed 3D views of cells at the nanoscale, which scientists can use to better understand how cancer and other diseases develop, grow and spread.
“This is a nascent, really exciting and rapidly advancing field,” said Narayan, who has co-authored more than 40 academic papers on topics such as deep learning, artificial intelligence and metadata standards. “What we have seen is that, very quietly, volume EM is transforming biological imaging – so much so, that the journal Nature picked it last year as one of the seven technologies to watch, along with the James Webb Space Telescope and CRISPR.”
“Volume electron microscopy plus AI can essentially help us rediscover cell biology, I think, for a long time,” Narayan added.
Researchers from across MRDC traditionally attend the Spring Research Festival to develop new collaborative relationships and renew existing ones, learn about the latest research and products in their fields and engage with industry representatives to discover innovations, services and products that could potentially be adapted by the military for use in saving lives on the battlefield. The event also attracts attendees from the region’s growing science and technology community; Frederick, Maryland, where Fort Detrick is located, is home to over 75 bioscience companies and more than 100 technology firms, according to the city’s economic development office. The city’s cluster of bioscience firms is the third largest in the U.S.
Following the event, the festival organizers announced the winners of the awards for outstanding posters in the each of the science categories, poster blitz presentations and young investigators.
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2024 Spring Research Festival Winners
Outstanding Poster Award
• Cancer Biology: Elise Femino, Giana Vitale, and Anushka Sharma, National Cancer Institute
• Other: Rohitesh Kumar, NCI
• Emerging Technologies: Madeline Barry and Weina Ke, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research
• Therapeutics, Vaccines and Drug Delivery: Yantenew Gete, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
• Infectious Pathogens and Epidemiology: Chanel Mosby-Tourtellot, U.S. Navy
• Structural Biology and Chemistry: Andrew Dobri and Jiyeon Hwang, NCI
• Applied and Environmental Biology: Nina Shishkoff, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Lirong Peng, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Developmental and Cell Biology: Enguun Chinbat, NCI
• Informatics: George Zaki, FNL
• Immunology: Pradip Bajgain, NCI
• Gene Therapy, Genome Editing and Genetics: Swati Sharma, NCI
• Detection and Diagnosis: Andrea Luquette, U.S. Navy, and Sydney McCauslin, USDA
• Scientific Core Services: Ryan Baugher, FNL
Poster Blitz Presentation Winners
• 1st Place: Giana Vitale, NCI
• 2nd Place: Pradip Bajgain, NCI
• 3rd Place: Manhue Sahn, NCI
Young Investigator Award Winners
• 1st Place: Sonak Sahu, NCI
• 2nd Place: Riley Metcalfe, NCI
• 3rd Place: Stephanie Monticelli, USAMRIID
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