What:	National Cancer Institute (NCI) Science Writers’ Seminar Series: Please join us for an in-depth, informative look at the latest issues related to the discovery of natural products for cancer. NCI’s Natural Products Branch acquires raw natural product materials from the land and sea, and extracts and screens these products to develop active agents to treat cancer. Taxol, for example, a drug used for treatment of numerous cancers, was developed by NCI from the bark of the Pacific Yew Tree. The NCI-Frederick visit will include a video presentation of product collection from around the world, presentations by two prominent scientists in the Natural Products Branch, a boxed lunch, and a tour of the facility’s biorepository, extraction and cancer cell line screening centers.
Who:	Gordon Cragg, Ph.D. — How does NCI collect its 70,000-plus specimens? David Newman, D. Phil. — How do scientists determine if a natural product has cancer treatment potential?
When:	Thursday, November 18, 2004, 10:00 a.m. ­ 3:00 p.m. EST Join us for a free shuttle ride to Frederick, departing at 10 a.m. from the top of the Medical Center station on Metro’s red line. The presentations in Frederick will begin at 11 a.m. Return shuttle service to the Medical Center station also will be provided, leaving Frederick at approximately 2 p.m.
Where:	NCI's Frederick, Md., Research Campus Attendees can either drive to Frederick on their own or take a free shuttle to Frederick, departing from the top of the Medical Center station. The drive time from Bethesda is about 45 minutes.
Registration:	Reservations are essential, as space is limited. Advance notice also must be given for those who are traveling separately, to ensure access to the secured Frederick campus. To register for the seminar and for transportation/campus access, please contact Dorie Hightower or Ann Benner at (301) 496-6641 or e-mail them at ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov no later than Monday, November 15, 2004.