AACR, FDA, and NCI Announce Cancer Biomarkers Collaborative
On April 17, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the FDA, and NCI announced the formation of the AACR-FDA-NCI Cancer Biomarkers Collaborative to facilitate the use of validated biomarkers in clinical trials, evidence-based oncology, and cancer medicine.

The collaborative brings together leaders from academia, government, industry, and patient advocacy groups to develop a set of guidelines for integrating predictive biomarkers into clinical trials.

The guidelines will inform policies that are a part of the Critical Path Initiative, the FDA's effort to modernize the scientific process through which potential drugs, biological agents, or medical devices are transformed from discoveries into medical products.

Trujillo Receives Huddleson Award
The American Dietetic Association Foundation awarded Elaine Trujillo, a nutritionist in NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention, the 2006 Huddleson Award for the article, "Nutrigenomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, and the Practice of Dietetics," published in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The award honors a registered dietitian who was the lead author of a peer-reviewed article that made an important contribution to the dietetics profession.

If Memory Serves...

Before NCI was founded, the government had published a few reports on the mortality of cancer, including a report using Census records leading up to the year 1914 and a second volume on cancer mortality from 1900-1920. Dr. Joseph Schereschewsky, who published the 1925 report on cancer mortality from 1900-1920, was an early pioneer in such statistical studies on cancer and his work established cancer research as a priority for the Service. Read more)

For more information about the birth of NCI, go to http://www. cancer.gov/aboutnci/ncia.

In the article, Ms. Trujillo and her colleagues reviewed concepts key to understanding the interrelationships among genes, gene products, and dietary habits to identify those who will benefit most from or be placed at risk by nutritional intervention strategies.

11th Annual Spring Research Festival Slated for May
NCI-Frederick, in partnership with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Ft. Detrick, will hold its 11th Annual Spring Research Festival on May 16 and 17 in a tent near Veterans Gate at Ft. Detrick in Frederick, MD. Scientific staff, including students, technical support staff, postdoctoral fellows, and principal investigators will present posters describing their research to the joint scientific communities. More information is available at http://www.ncifcrf.gov/events/springfest/.

OLA's Teleconference Series Continues
The fourth in the spring series of "Understanding NCI" teleconferences is scheduled for Thursday, May 17, from 2:00-3:00 p.m., EDT. Dr. Lee Helman, scientific director for clinical research in NCI's CCR, will discuss "NCI's Intramural Clinical Trial Program: A National Resource for Patients." Within the U.S., the teleconference can be accessed toll free at 1-800-857-6584; the pass code is CCR. Toll-free playback will be available through June 17 at 1-866-442-1776. The teleconference series is sponsored by NCI's Office of Liaison Activities (OLA). For additional information, contact OLA at 301-594-3194 or liaison@od.nci.nih.gov.