Apr 1: Visit at Johns Hopkins University

Apr 2: Visit at University of Virginia

Apr 4: Eagle Award Gala, 6:30 pm, Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC

Apr 15: Visit at University of Maryland

May 15: Annual Membership Potluck Luncheon Meeting, home of Yvonne Chen

Jun 8: Picnic/Barbeque, home of Patty Sparrell

Dear ARCS MWC Members,

February was a month to celebrate our Emeritus members – chapter members for 29 years or more! On Feb 14, members gathered to send Valentine’s Day ARCS Loves You cards to our Emeritus members. Then on Feb 27, Emeritus members and past presidents connected at a lovely Afternoon Tea, reminiscing and catching up on chapter activities. 

March is Women’s History Month. This year’s theme is Moving Forward Together, spotlighting “women educating and inspiring generations.” This theme is meant to highlight and support women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship and leadership to shape the minds and futures of all generations. This theme is consistent with the ARCS mission – to provide scholar awards to exceptional STEM research students as they pursue their educations and become future leaders. You can all be proud of the 56-year MWC legacy, raising over $8.5M to support more than 500 scholars.

There are multiple events planned in April. See the articles below for details. Three of the five University Visits have been scheduled. University Visits are a wonderful time to meet other members, especially through carpooling, and to hear from our talented scholars. It means so much to our scholars to present their research to our members!

On Apr 4, we look forward to sharing an evening together for the Eagle Award Ceremony, honoring Nobel Laureate in Physics Dr. John Mather and celebrating the accomplishments of our ARCS Metro Washington Chapter. Sign up soon! The event is already 25% full.

The nominating process is ongoing and we ask each member to consider a chapter leadership role. The success of our chapter depends on leaders like you and we know, as volunteers, the more you give to an organization the more you get back.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom Mar 28-31. We hope you enjoy a beautiful Spring in D.C.!

~ Julie Hohl and Patty Sparrell, ARCS-MWC Co-Presidents

Registration is now open for the ARCS MWC Eagle Award Celebration on Fri, Apr 4 from 6:30–9:30 pm at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. 

This year's Eagle Honoree will be Dr. John Mather, Physics Nobel Laureate, and Senior Astrophysicist. He was the Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.  

Fantastic venue, amazing speakers, great celebration! Start spreading the word to family, friends and colleagues. Our goal is to have 80 attendees, raise as much money as possible for our Scholar Fund, and aim for 100% participation from our members through ticket sales, donations and live auction. Contact Charlotte Knight at charlottesklarsky@gmail.com if you'd like to help - a great way to meet members and have fun!

Registration deadline is Mar 24. Watch your mailbox for the invitation. You can also click here to register.

An important part of the Eagle Award Celebration is the Live Auction to support the ARCS Scholar Fund!

This year, there are several exciting items, including a 3 day / 2 night stay at the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. The Greenbrier can be reached from the DMV in about four hours and is a world-class resort and National Historic Landmark. This package includes a Spa Bag filled with goodies, worth $100, and a $150 gift certificate to use in the resort’s shopping arcade for a fun-filled weekend.

After the live auction, there will be a Raise the Paddle to support our Scholar Fund. Raise the Paddle allows everyone to participate at various giving levels and affords participants the opportunity to directly contribute to the ARCS Scholar Fund.

Look for information on other auction items coming soon!

The following Spring Campus Visits are on the calendar!

Tues, Apr 1: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore campus

Wed, Apr 2: University of Virginia

Tues, Apr 15: University of Maryland

Schedule and agenda details will follow when available. RSVP to Michelle Francis if you are able to join at msmahf@gmail.com.

Seven ARCS members and one prospective member met for the ARCS Loves You Coffee at Julie Hohl’s home on Valentine's Day. Everyone had a lovely morning, visiting with old and new friends and addressing Valentine’s cards to ARCS Emeritus members. Many Emeritus members have shared how much it meant to them to receive their ARCS Loves You Valentine’s cards. Many of our Emeritus members are not able to get out easily nor attend events. They were pleased to open our cards, feel we care about them and see the names of friends they know and names of new friends, too.

Thank you everyone for coming on Valentine’s Day, and brightening the day of so many of our Emeritus members!

ARCS MWC Co-Presidents Julie Hohl and Patty Sparrell hosted a wonderful tea for 16 attendees at Julie's beautiful home on Thurs, Feb 27. The annual event was for Emeritus members of the chapter, as well as past Presidents (note: many of the attendees have served in both roles)! 

After everyone had a chance to catch up, Patty and Julie presented chapter highlights, speaking about chapter goals and events (such as the very informative panel presentation at the Winter Membership Meeting), and providing updates on other emeritae. Patty and Julie also briefed attendees on actions being taken at the National level of ARCS Foundation. Jane then spoke about the MWC nominating committee work, led by Mary Jo Ruane, and also about the 2024 Scholar Awards Reception. In closing, Julie and Patty reminded everyone about the upcoming Apr 4 Eagle Award Celebration at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. This year’s awardee is Dr. John Mather, Nobel Laureate in Physics and NASA Senior Astrophysicist.

Members then enjoyed the delicious tea sandwiches, pastries, scones, jam and clotted cream that Julie provided, along with a wide assortment of teas! Everyone had a marvelous time. Kudos to Julie and Patty for making it happen, and to Elli Nesbitt for capturing the event. Click here to view all the photos!

Clockwise from left: Betsy Forster, Marilynn Sweetser, Sally Burns, Margie Shanklin, Julie Hohl, Doris Pierson, Toni Schierling, and Claudia Benack.

Clockwise from left: Susan Trice, Holly Coyne, Jane Riddle, Patty Sparrell, Beth Parker, Karen Finkbiner, and Connie Watts.

Back Row: Julie Hohl, Jane Riddle, Betsy Forster, Karen Finkbiner, Beth Parker, Patty Sparrell, Doris Pierson, Connie Watts, Marilynn Sweetser and Sally Burns.

Front Row: Susan Trice, Toni Schierling, Holly Coyne, Claudia Benack, Margie Shanklin and Elli Nesbitt.

Would you like to be more involved with our chapter? Would you like to have a leadership role? Do you have a special talent you could share? Is there a member you would like to nominate for a bigger role at ARCS MWC? Please reach out to Nominating Committee Chair Mary Jo Ruane (maryjoruane@yahoo.com) or Nominating Committee Past Chair Jane Riddle (jriddle13998@gmail.com) to share your ideas and interests.

Marilynn Sweetser has been a member of the ARCS Metro Washington Chapter (ARCS MWC) since 1991. We applaud Marilyn’s continued commitment to ARCS MWC and her many contributions, especially her multiple leadership roles!

Marilynn learned about ARCS MWC because Maureen Martin—her bridge partner—spoke a lot about ARCS. Marilynn has always considered the organization to be a very worthy cause. It was also a good fit since she and her husband, Bill, had several school-age children and Marilynn was a former teacher. Marilynn and Bill have enjoyed going to ARCS MWC events through the years, socializing with the other members and meeting the impressive Scholars and learning about their amazing research!

Marilynn and Bill met many of their dearest friends at ARCS MWC and continue to be friends with them today. It was a very close group of people who enjoyed doing the work and, because everyone was involved, the events were cost-effective (and fun). Carole Sanders and Marilynn co-chaired the Gala and raised about $130,000—more than any other gala raised before! Holly Coyne and Marilynn started a golf tournament that ran for two years and Marilynn successfully encouraged Microsoft to donate $5,000 to the tournament! Marilynn chaired the original ARCS Loves You parties, the summer parties, and the Holiday parties (the Holiday parties were always free because they were intended to thank the members for all the work they did during the year). Also, the men were more involved in ARCS MWC at that time (for example, bartending the “traveling bar”) and were even given a symbolic piece of jewelry for volunteering that they had to wear to events or be fined! A great cost-effective measure they pioneered was to use silk flower centerpieces that were then auctioned off.

ARCS MWC events in those years were usually incredible because of the members’ connections. They held field trips to the Red Cross ship in Baltimore and NASA; they played bridge at the many Embassy events that Mary Kennedy chaired; they held the Scholar Awards Receptions at the U.S. Supreme Court for several years; and an event at the Academy of Motion Pictures was so popular that people ran to the post office to get their RSVPs in the mail because attendance was limited! 

When asked what she would say to chapter members, Marilynn said: "Call new members and ask for help! ARCS MWC is a really worthwhile cause but you have to get everyone involved and having fun." Their groups were always laughing! ARCS MWC is an organization where you should contribute more than just money—your time is a valuable donation, too! Get to know the Scholars and their projects. Also, find all the connections and capitalize on them, whether for events, camaraderie, or more donations! 

Meet one of ARCS MWC’s newest members, Margaret Hackbarth! Margaret joined in January and is sponsored by Julie Hohl.

Margaret graduated from Bucknell University and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1992. She has lived in the Washington area since law school and has spent most of her career working in real estate law, including environmental and land use issues, risk management, various contract and insurance issues, and real estate transactions – land acquisitions and land development, among other areas – both with law firms and with private companies. She is currently the Assistant General Counsel – Real Estate, for the Constellation Energy Corporation in Washington, D.C. 

Margaret and Julie have been neighbors in McLean for years and their children attended the same schools. Margaret has two children. Her daughter has graduated from college and her son is finishing in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech. While working as a full-time professional, Margaret was an active volunteer with both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. 

Julie talked with Margaret about ARCS MWC over the past several years and Margaret expressed interest in learning more about the organization. Margaret’s first ARCS MWC event was the October SAR. She was immediately impressed with the many accomplishments of our scholars and members, and supported our mission and passion for supporting graduate scholars. Margaret was ready to join after the SAR event! She then joined us at the informal holiday coffee in December, learned more about the specifics of the chapter, and had the opportunity to meet many of our chapter leaders. Margaret, Welcome to ARCS MWC!

Akshaya Annapragada – Danaher Foundation Scholar

1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate, Biomedical Engineering

Johns Hopkins University

Research: There is a great need for accessible and sensitive screening approaches for carcinomas worldwide. This research focuses on novel artificial intelligence approaches to enable new whole genome analyses and enhanced understanding of cancer-related genetic changes. These approaches are enabling the development of non-invasive, affordable, accessible blood tests for early detection of cancers across a range of high-impact clinical settings.

How Will Your Research Benefit Society? 

My PhD work is changing paradigms for cancer detection. Tumors found at early stages have better prognoses. However, cancer screening is a public health challenge – available procedures can be invasive or expensive, leading to disparities in access and patient compliance, and many cancers have no screening modality. The cell-free DNA based cancer blood tests I am developing are non-invasive and cost-efficient, making them accessible to far greater numbers of patients globally. For example, I recently developed a test for liver cancer that could be used to screen 400 million people globally at risk for liver cancer, less than 20% of whom currently receive appropriate screening. Now I’m expanding this work to liver cirrhosis (a condition that can lead to liver cancer) and to ovarian cancer, a devastating disease with no available screening. The screening techniques I am developing can save lives by helping to identify cancer early when it is most possible to treat and cure.

How will an ARCS Award Benefit Your Research?

The ARCS award would allow me to attend a greater number of conferences and international meetings, enroll in training courses and workshops, and connect me with a community of professionals within ARCS committed to advancing science and engineering. In addition to allowing me to join this prestigious community, the award would financially support my professional development. For example, I would like to attend the two-week McKusick Short Course in Human Genetics and Genomics at the Jackson Laboratory which has been described as the “most influential annual training event in medical genetics”. This course is not included in my Biomedical Engineering PhD program, but would provide highly relevant training for me in the biology aspects of genomics research. Finally, as needed the award could supplement stipend support or high-performance computing resources that are critical to my success in this PhD program.

Career objectives: I aspire to a career as a physician-scientist, practicing medicine in an academic setting and establishing an independent research program using artificial intelligence, genomics, and computational biology to improve public health. I anticipate focusing much of my work on oncology and cancer screening, a field in which I believe that scientific advances and equitable access to screening will save lives. As important as the science is, I know my vision of truly accessible cancer screening can only be achieved if the technology is equitably deployed to patients, which is why my future career will prioritize both community health and cutting-edge science.

Najwa Labban – Danaher Foundation Scholar

1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate, Biomedical Engineering

University of Virginia

Research: Most breast cancers are treated with surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy, but not all women respond equally to these therapies. This research uses breast cancer cells from patients to engineer tumor “organoids” that more accurately mimic the disease process within the body for testing new and approved therapies and for understanding the origins of therapeutic resistance.

How Will Your Research Benefit Society? 

Using engineering design principles, I have developed an experimental platform to study breast cancer responsiveness from a virtually unlimited number of patients. The platform enables multiple therapeutic options to be tested in parallel, leading to a more personalized and effective approach to the future treatment of this disease.

How will an ARCS Award Benefit Your Research?

My work is currently supported by a small pilot grant from the Kincaid Foundation because it is considered early-stage research. The limited funding constrains the number of women with breast cancer that I can study. It also compels me to spend time continually applying for sponsorships outside of my training. An ARCS award would greatly relieve this burden for one year and enable me to focus on finalizing the data acquisition and analysis for my thesis.

Career objectives: I plan to leverage my Biomedical Engineering degree as a physician-scientist in pediatric oncology. My clinically immersive graduate training in cancer biology will prepare me well for this future career. My current work, using patient-derived material to study individualized treatment responses, will translate to future clinical research focused on improving therapies for early-onset cancers in children.

Community Service, Contribution to DEI, Volunteer Work:

My service aligns with a commitment to personal well-being and my Muslim faith: Volunteer mental health screenings at the Charlottesville Free Clinic, tutoring middle and high school Arab refugees at the local mosque, and free fitness coaching and personal training to medical school students and others at UVA.

Alexander Lu – Mulford Endowment Scholar

1st Year Scholar, MD/PhD candidate, Biomedical Engineering

Johns Hopkins University

Research: Surgeons use a variety of imaging systems to guide diagnostics and interventions; patient movement during imaging is often unavoidable and can substantially distort the images. This current research combines machine learning with physics-driven methods to improve the quality of intra-operative imaging technologies with the intent of improving diagnostics and subsequent treatment.

How Will Your Research Benefit Society?

The advent of intra-operative three-dimensional imaging, often achieved using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, provides surgeons and interventional specialists with broad anatomical context and the ability to locate tumors and other procedural targets with greater precision than ever before. Despite its advantages, the moderately long acquisition time of CBCT (6-60 seconds) increases the likelihood of intra-scan patient motion. Small motions result in blur, also altering the shape and position of key anatomical structures; larger motions can completely obliterate the appearance of these structures. As such, motion can render CBCT images misleading or unusable for therapeutic guidance.

My research aims to develop novel strategies to estimate and compensate for motion in intra-operative CBCT images by combining anatomy-aware deep learning strategies with physics-driven image reconstruction methods. The major advantage of our approach is that it requires few assumptions about patient motion or appearance. Rather, our proposed method “autofocuses” CBCT images without needing prior imaging, external motion tracking, or user interaction, which is well-suited to interventional workflows, and allows this approach to be applied in many clinical settings, and allows surgeries and minimally invasive procedures to be performed with even greater accuracy and with fewer side-effects.

How will an ARCS Award Benefit Your Research?

Accuracy, validation and quality assurance of imaging algorithms is traditionally performed using a combination of simulation studies and experimental measurements obtained from known objects, known as phantoms, before being tested on real patients. It is costly and time-consuming to design and fabricate high fidelity phantoms for studying patient motion. Support from the ARCS Foundation would help to defray these costs and provide more flexibility in designing and executing novel, rigorous experimental studies.

Career objectives: I am pursuing a career as an academic physician-scientist, bridging cutting-edge clinical medicine and innovative biomedical engineering. I am passionate about the power of interdisciplinary research in medicine but at the same time, my interactions with patients remind me that each clinical image carries a unique story. Working with patients keeps me grounded with patience that complements the fervor I gain in the laboratory. To translate engineering solutions into improved patient experiences and outcomes, and make these innovations accessible to all patients, I strive to be a leader in the fields of radiology and biomedical engineering.

Submit articles, pictures, pdfs, and website links by the 20th of each month for publication the following month to Helen Miller at mwccommunications@arcsfoundation.org.