Students and trainees presented their work during the evening's poster session in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building.
Over 200 trainees, researchers, faculty and staff attended the Winship Scientific Symposium on Friday, Nov. 4, an annual event highlighting innovative science at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. With the theme "Winship 2030: The Future of Cancer Research," this year's symposium included podium talks in Emory University's Health Sciences Research Building and an evening poster competition in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building.
"The Winship Scientific Symposium gives our cancer research community the opportunity to connect with and learn from one another, spark new ideas and discussion and dream big together as we reflect on our shared goal of discovering cures for cancer and inspiring hope," says Winship Executive Director Suresh Ramalingam, MD, who also is the Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research and a professor of hematology and medical oncology at the Emory University School of Medicine.
Keynote speaker Douglas R. Lowy, MD, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute, described a new line of work with novel implications during his presentation, "In Tumors, RAS Forms a Complex with RAN-GAP that Regulates Nucleocytoplasmic Protein Shuttling."
Podium talks by nearly a dozen members of Winship’s four research programs were organized into four main sessions: (1) Implementing Prevention Now to Limit Future Cancer Incidence; (2) Engaging the Community to Shape the Future; (3) The Future of Winship Science; and (4) Innovative Laboratory Discoveries that Foster Knowledge and Change the Future of Cancer Care. Each session was capped off by an interactive panel discussion, during which speakers answered questions from the audience. The day’s final panel was a scientific debate featuring the directors of several of Winship’s shared resources.
Out of more than 70 presenters who shared research during the evening poster competition, 10 posters by Winship trainees were selected for prizes by a judging panel of cancer center faculty. The winners of the poster competition are as follows:
- FcγRIIB expressed on CD8 T cells limits responsiveness to PD-1 checkpoint inhibition in cancer
Kelsey Bennion
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University - Targeting MGAT1 in Tumor Immune Evasion and Triple Negative Breast Cancer Immunotherapy
Junlong Chi
PhD student, Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University - Developing a sex-biased model for LKB1-mutant lung adenocarcinoma
Yijian Fan
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University - B and myeloid cell populations dominate in the metastasis compared to primary tumors of patients with pancreatic cancer
Emily Greene
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University - Tackling the Malignant Transformation of Ductal Carcinoma in situ to Invasive Breast Carcinoma
Jiao Qiao
Master's student, 4+1 Cancer Biology and Translational Oncology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University - Engineering Improved CRISPRi Repressors for Targeted Gene Regulation in Cancer Cells
Andrew Kristof
PhD student, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology - BET inhibition sensitizes immunologically-cold Rb-deficient prostate cancer to immune checkpoint blockade via DNA damage-induced STING/NF-κB/type I IFN signaling
Marguerite Li
Undergraduate student, Emory College - Defining the role of PER1 and circadian rhythm dysregulation in KRAS/LKB1-mutant lung adenocarcinoma
Rebecca Parker
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University - Determining the role of YAP in neuroblastoma immunotherapy response
Adeiye Pilgrim
MD/PhD student
Cancer Biology, Laney Graduate School, Emory University
Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine - Isolated human RCC tumor cells detail cancer-intrinsic effects on the immune landscape
Ewelina Sobierajska
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Laney Graduate School, Emory University