Friday, November 6, 2020, 12p via Zoom

Today's Cancer Center Seminar welcomes Jennifer Adair, PhD presenting, "Delivering on the Promise of Gene Therapy: Translating Accessible Treatments," at noon via Zoom on behalf of the Developmental Therapeutics Program.

Dr. Adair is Associate Professor, Stem Cell and Gene Therapy Program, Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She is also Research Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at University of Washington and holds the Fleischauer Family Endowed Chair in Gene Therapy Translation.

She joined Fred Hutch in 2008 where she translated multiple clinical trials for blood stem cell gene therapy for diseases including glioblastoma, Fanconi’s anemia, primary immunodeficiencies and HIVunder Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem. She transitioned to faculty in 2013 andis currently an Associate Professor in the Stem Cell and Gene Therapy Program at Fred Hutch and a Research Associate Professor in Medical Oncology at the University of Washington.The ultimate goal of her laboratory is to develop new clinical methods and technologies to make gene therapy affordable and accessible to patients worldwide. Jennifer was named an Outstanding New Investigator by the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, where she serves as an elected Board Member. Her lectures have been featured by TEDx, GeekWire and AAAS. In 2020, Jennifer was honored as the Fleischauer Family Endowed Chair in Gene Therapy Translation. She has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on seven patents.

Friday, November 13, 2020, 12p via Zoom

Next week's Cancer Center Seminar features guest speaker Tim Chan, MD, PhD presenting virtually at 12 pm ET on behalf of the Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer Biology Program.

Chan is Co-Director of the National Center for Regenerative Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is Chair and Founding Director of the Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic, which focuses on immunotherapy research and developmental therapeutics. He is PI of a cancer genetics laboratory and is an expert in cancer biology and immunogenomics.

The Chan laboratory specializes in using genomic analysis to characterize the drivers of genetic programs underlying immunotherapy and oncogenesis. These approaches include large-scale analyses, functional genomics, immunogenomics, biochemical and molecular analyses, and mouse modeling. The lab has a special interest in deciphering the mechanisms underlying immunotherapy treatment response, resistance, and mechanisms.

The Biomedical Graduate Student Symposium (BGSS) is a student-run event that celebrates student research in the School of Medicine at CWRU. This event will consist of student poster presentations, student oral presentations, and a keynote address from Dr. Yasmine Belkaid, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). BGSS will also partner with the Career Opportunities for Trainees Series (COTS) for a career panel (details and panelists to be announced).

Contact casebgss@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

NCCN is now accepting abstracts for consideration to be presented during the NCCN 2021 Annual Conference General Poster Session to be held virtually Thursday, March 18 through Saturday, March 20, 2021. NCCN welcomes original abstracts from investigators in the general oncology community. Submissions will be accepted from academic institutions, teaching and community hospitals, or industry. Both NCCN and non-NCCN institutions may participate.

Research may fall into the general areas below:

The National Cancer Institute Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology and SC20 are seeking abstracts for presentations for the Sixth Computational Approaches for Cancer Workshop (CAFCW20). CAFCW20 is a workshop designed to bring together clinicians, cancer biologists, mathematicians, data scientists, computational scientists, engineers, developers, thought leaders, and anyone else interested in advancing computation to use in cancer care and research. This year’s topic is “AI and HPC: Overcoming Data Challenges in Cancer Research and Clinical Applications.”

A special emphasis for the CAFCW20 is the role of HPC and AI to address research challenges when data are limited by availability, variability and size. The workshop will be held in conjunction with SC20: The International Conference on High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis in Atlanta, GA., on November 15.

More than 70,000 Ohioans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and the decisions made in the statehouse or in the White House can be just as consequential for patients as the decisions made in their doctor’s office.

Join the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) for a virtual, wide-ranging discussion about the public policies that affect the cost of, access to and delivery of cancer treatment on Monday, November 16 at 11:00 am. Register for the Virtual Cancer Policy Forum: The Cost of Cancer in Ohio.

On Thursday, November 19 at 11:30 am, ASC CAN is hosting the annual Northern Ohio Policy Forum, bringing together leaders from business, education, government and research communities. The 2020 event will discuss the toll of tobacco. Register for the 2020 Northern Ohio Policy Forum: The Toll of Tobacco.

Patients with cancer often have widely divergent care experiences from screening through survivorship. Differences in care delivery and outcomes may be due, in part, to varying patient needs and preferences according to age and stage of life; inconsistent implementation of guidelines, recommendations, and policies; and unintended age bias in health care. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s® (NCCN®) Virtual Patient Advocacy Summit will provide an opportunity for a varied group of stakeholders including patients, caregivers, providers, patient advocacy organizations, policymakers, and industry to thoughtfully discuss the importance of providing quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care across the patient lifespan.

EXTENDED ABSTRACT DEADLINE: November 6, 2020

The Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer is a comprehensive forum for the subspecialty of gynecologic oncology. Whether you’re a physician, surgeon, researcher, allied health professional or a student in the field, you can join us to make the connections that will boost your career, see what’s new in gynecologic oncology science and research, and learn the best practices and techniques that can take your care to the next level.

The Call for Abstracts and Surgical Films for the SGO 2021 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer has been extended through November 6, 2020. Call for Late-breaking abstracts will be open December 1, 2020 through January 4, 2021.