Qualifications: I obtained my PhD (1996) and MD (1999) at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. Following clinical training in surgery and laboratory medicine, I joined NCI to study the role of TGF-beta in tumor-stroma interactions and (stem) cell differentiation, and to investigate the effect of surgical wounds on nearby tumors in Anita Roberts’ and John Niederhuber’s laboratories. I am currently staff scientist in Carole Parents’ lab in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology where I investigate the role of cell migration in invasive and metastatic disease in Carole Parents’ lab (Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology).

Platform: For the past two years I served as a secretary on the SS/SC committee, and am on the Annual Reetreat 2013 Committee. I hope to be a part of the CCR SS/SC organization as it continues to grow, contributing ideas to the standing committees and working towards meeting the needs of Staff Scientists, especially those who are in the early stages of their career.

Qualifications: I obtained my Ph.D. from Georgetown University after studying cellular changes in breast cancer cells during tumor progression. In my postdoctoral fellowship at NICHD, I became interested in studying signal transduction during T cell development. Since 1999, I have been a Staff Scientist in Larry Samelson’s lab in the LCMB studying signal transduction in T cells with particular expertise in mouse models and flow cytometry.

Platform: I have been active in several Staff Scientist/Staff Clinician committees over the years including the Quadrennial Review, Pay Adjustment and Promotions Committee (2005-2006) and the SS/SC Retreat Committee (2010-2011). Together with Smitha Antony, I have also helped organize SS/SC social gatherings in Bldg. 37. I am familiar with the CCR SSSC Organization and its committees and would work with past Organization members to ensure a smooth transition and continue to emphasize training, networking and keeping SS/SCs informed of relevant issues to them.

Qualifications: I obtained my MD in 2000 from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine after which I completed my urology residency at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. For fellowship training in urologic oncology, I then completed 2 years of translational research at UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in the laboratory of Dr. David McConkey investigating the restoration of apoptosis in bladder and prostate cancer models. Following that, I spent a year in the Urologic Oncology Branch of the NCI as a clinical fellow, finishing in 2008. I returned as a staff clinician in 2011 and currently serve as the primary kidney surgeon supporting the work of Dr. Marston Linehan on the genetic basis of kidney cancer. In addition, I am deeply involved in the educational mission of the UOB in training residents and fellows in urologic oncology. Since my return to the UOB, I have restructured the educational program for the fellows and arranged a guest lecture series for the fellows to expose them to the extraordinary expertise and educational opportunities available at this incredible institution.

Platform: As a staff clinician in the Urologic Oncology Branch, I would be honored to participate in the CCR Staff Scientists and Staff Clinician Organization in order to promote the goals and scientific careers of the CCR SSSC community. This is a critical time for Staff Scientist and Staff Clinicians as budgetary concerns become a greater issue throughout the NIH, and I believe that the SSSC Organization can and should play a pivotal role in representing the interests of the SS/SC community in these discussions going forward. I believe the profile of the CCR SSSC Organization can be raised so that there is broader participation in this organization among Staff Scientists and Staff Clinicians across the both the Bethesda and Frederick campuses. I think that participation will increase as Staff Scientists and Staff Clinicians see tangible results from the organization and it becomes clearer to them what the SSSCO can accomplish. The previous leadership of the SSSC Organization have done tremendous work to that end in establishing the SSSC Organization website, arranging the SS/SC retreat and organizing career development activities throughout the year; and I am eager in carrying that torch forward in serving on the SSSC Committee if elected.

Qualifications: I have graduated from Lomonosov State University (Moscow, Russia) and received my Ph.D. in macromolecular chemistry at Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry (Moscow, Russia). I have joined Molecular Aspects of Drug Design section (Dr. C.J. Michejda) in 1997 to study drug-DNA interactions. In 2000 I became a core manager for the Biophysics Resource in the Structural Biophysics Laboratory (Dr. R. A. Byrd) to provide access, train and collaborate with CCR scientists in need of biophysical characterization of biomolecules and their interactions. Since my college years, I have been an active member of all scientific communities I belonged to. Recently, I have been a co-chair of CCR-DCEG SSSC retreat of 2012 and continue to participate as a member of organizing committee for the year of 2013.

Platform: Through years of its existence, the SSSC organization was very successful in consolidation of SSSC efforts to achieve professional goals. However, many aspects of our professional life are still in need of improvement. For example, of four career groups (fellows, ss, tenure-track and tenured PIs) staff scientists still have the lowest level of job security. Can we have it improved? It is hard to know, but nothing will change if we will not be trying. Everyday work of Frederick SSSC is intermingled with that of a related group of SAIC Scientists. I believe, we need to strengthen and widen these contacts to improve interactions within FNLCR community Another important aspect of our local life is that we, the Frederick SSSC, do not interact much with each other, only a small group of “activists” participates in SSSC events such as professional training events, retreats, etc. We need to make additional efforts to bring us together so that everybody discovers and appreciates the advantages of integrated SSSC scientific community and benefits from it socially and scientifically.

Qualifications: I am currently a Staff Scientist in the HIV Drug Resistance Program at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. Unfortunately for HIV-1 infected patients, drug resistance still remains a major obstacle in the fight against HIV-1 infection and AIDS. My research focuses on evaluating the biochemical mechanisms behind different mutations involved in drug resistance, providing greater understanding on how the virus changes to escape drug pressure and new insights into anti-HIV-1 drug development.

Platform: I thank the other Staff Scientists/Staff Clinicians for the nomination for Secretary and look forward to being able to serve the SSSC community by keeping everyone informed of meetings, ideas, and issues important to our profession and career development.

Qualifications: I obtained my Ph.D in 2000 in Biochemistry working at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. Since 2001, I have worked at the HIV drug resistance program at NCI-Frederick, now FNLCR, studying various aspects of HIV assembly. Many of these projects have been multidisciplinary, and often involved laboratories from different institutes.

Platform: I appreciate the nomination to be a part of the Frederick SS/SC committee. As a new staff scientist, I am interested in ways to enhance collaborations, both intellectual and experimental, to benefit the scientific goals of the SS/SC community and the larger CCR and NIH community.

Qualifications: I obtained my Ph.D. in 1999 at the University of the Ryukyus at Okinawa, Japan in the area of Membrane Biology under an Indo-Japan collaborative program while I was a researcher at Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. In 1998, I was awarded the Best Invention Award at the 58th All India Industrial Exhibition Society in Hyderabad, India for the development of a novel method for the estimation of proteins. During my post-doctoral training at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan and metabolic diseases branch at NIDDK, Bethesda I studied the specific binding of theta-toxin to cholesterol in the lipid rafts, and the role lipid rafts in G-protein signaling. In 2003, I joined the Virus-Cell Interaction section of HIV-Drug resistance program, at NCI-Frederick as a Visiting Fellow, where I have been a Staff Scientist since 2006. My current research includes understanding the role of Vpu interacting host proteins in HIV-1 assembly and release, and screening of small molecule inhibitors for HIV-1 assembly by high-throughput screening. During all these years, I have encountered various challenges and have moved forward for the excellence of science. Recently, I served as a lead guest editor for the special issue of Molecular Biology International on Host-Pathogen Interaction of Retroviruses.

Platform: Since I became a Staff Scientist I am an active member of the SS/SC organization. I attend meetings held at NCI-Frederick regularly and participate in SS/SC retreat at Bethesda. This organization is meant for professional development, educating about quadrennial review process, provide training opportunities, and networking. In my opinion, although the organization is functioning well it has not reached out to everyone, especially to those who are in their early stages of their career. I will work towards reaching out to all the SS in Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research and will build collaborations between the staff scientists at both campuses. I believe my international experience will allow me to build bridges between all members of this organization and thus help me reach out those who are not yet involved. It is important for SC/SC to build collaborations with academia and industry for our career growth, and I will work actively to build such collaborations.