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Annual summit highlights Winship and UGA cancer research collaboration

Faculty, students and other attendees during the 2025 UGA-Winship Cancer Research Summit poster session.

Robert J. Coffey, MD, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine gave the keynote address.

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and the University of Georgia hosted 155 researchers on the UGA campus in Athens, Georgia, for the 2025 UGA-Winship Cancer Research Summit on April 21. The annual gathering explores the complementary strengths of the two institutions and serves as a forum for advancing joint efforts in cancer prevention, diagnosis and care.

This year’s summit featured a keynote address from physician-scientist Robert J. Coffey, MD, professor of cell and developmental biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Coffey, who also serves as the John B. Wallace Professor of Medicine and an Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, presented, “Strategies to Overcome Immune Exclusion in Microsatellite Stable Colorectal Cancer.” In addition to the keynote, eight UGA and Winship faculty presented innovative research from their labs, highlighting new ways to accelerate drug discoveries and strategies to improve treatment efficacy in lung, pancreatic and breast cancer.

The day concluded with a reception and scientific poster session showcasing research from UGA and Winship students, trainees and lab members, with awards given to the top-scoring posters from each institution.

UGA and Winship poster award winners include:

  • Development of an all-hydrocarbon stapled peptide targeting BRK1 in triple-negative breast cancer
    Matthew Whitaker, PhD student
    Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
    University of Georgia
  • Spatial biology and organoid technologies identify a therapy-resistant cell population in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment
    Iris Xi Sun and Ugonna Ezuma-Igwe, PhD students
    Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program
    University of Georgia
  • Revitalizing aged CAR T cells with anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37
    Ruby Freeman, PhD student
    Cancer Biology Graduate Program
    Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
    Emory University
  • Targeting undruggable tumor suppressor gene SMAD4 through the lens of neo-protein-protein interactions
    Ziqi Wang, PhD, visiting fellow
    Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
    Emory University School of Medicine
    Ruotong Carol Li, undergraduate student
    Emory College of Arts and Sciences

The summit’s steering committee members included representatives from UGA and Winship and are listed below.