NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

Congressional Staffers Visit for Briefings on Childhood Cancer Research

Several people gathered around a woman speaking in a lab.
On a lab tour are (from l) Dr. Rosandra Kaplan, head of the POB’s tumor microenvironment section; Dr. Sabina Kaczanowska, POB staff scientist; Dr. James Cronk, POB clinical fellow; Dr. Anandani Nellan, POB physician-scientist early investigator; Kenneth Downs, legislative correspondent to U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (MD); Rhett Styles, legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (TX); and Harsh Patel, legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Ami Bera (CA).

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

Group of men and women stand in a lab as a woman in a labcoat speaks to them.
Kaplan (r) briefs lab guests (from l) Dana Richter, senior health advisor to U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (WV); Downs; Styles, Patel; Sonia Hawkins and Ziky Ababiya of NCI’s Office of Government and Congressional Relations; Jill Boland, senior health advisor to Sen. Jack Reed (RI); and POB Chief Dr. Brigitte Widemann.

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

Two women seated at a conference table. One is gesturing with her hands, speaking.
Widemann (r) with Holly Gibbons (l), deputy director of NCI’s Office of Government and Congressional Relations, talks to legislative staffers.

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

Several people gathered around a woman speaking in a corridor.
During an NCI briefing are (from l) Dr. Victoria Giordani, POB clinical fellow; Dr. Chris Chien, POB senior researcher; Dr. Nirali Shah, head of POB’s hematologic malignancies section; Patel; Styles; and Downs.

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

Youngster sits on bed, alongside four adult women. One woman is gesturing with her hands, speaking. One woman is masked, observing.
Congressional staff also dropped by a Clinical Center patient room. Shown are (from l) Ryker Bennett; Sara Hart; POB Practitioners Anna Smith and Anne Dufek; and Boland.

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

Staff to several U.S. legislators visited the National Cancer Institute (NCI) on May 29 for a tour focused on childhood cancer research.

Staffers from the offices of Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) took the tour.

The group met with several NCI extramural program leaders, including Drs. Malcolm Smith, Nita Seibel, Greg Reaman and Emily Tonorezos, as well as leadership of NCI’s Pediatric Oncology Branch Drs. Brigitte Widemann and John Glod.

The afternoon also included visits to two laboratories with POB investigators—one lab site with Drs. Nirali Shah, Christopher Chien and Victoria Giordani, and another lab with Drs. Rosandra Kaplan, Anandani Nellan, James Cronk and Sabina Kaczanowska.

Staff also met with NCI Director Dr. Kimryn Rathmell and toured the Children’s Inn at NIH, which provides free lodging and services for many families with children, adolescents and young adults participating in NIH clinical trials.

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