Cancer researchers and trainees from across the state of Georgia attended the 2024 Winship Scientific Symposium.
Keynote speaker Jorge Cortes, MD, director of the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University.
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University held its annual scientific symposium at the Emory Conference Center Hotel on Nov. 11, exploring advances in cancer research and care through the theme “Synergy in Science: Fostering Collaborative Cancer Research in Georgia.”
The symposium drew 150 attendees from research institutions across Georgia and featured eight podium talks, including keynote presentations by Jorge Cortes, MD, director of the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University, and Eileen Kennedy, PhD, director of the University of Georgia Cancer Center.
“Our goal for this year’s Winship Scientific Symposium was to bring together cancer clinicians and scientists from across the state to encourage innovative ideas and new collaborations,” 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 Emory University School of Medicine. “From students to senior faculty, symposium participants shared exceptional science with the potential to deliver meaningful results for patients.”
Winship Postdoctoral Scholar Program award recipients Tarun Bhatia, PhD, and Celina Jones, PhD, with their mentors. Pictured: Steven Sloan, MD, PhD, Tarun Bhatia, PhD, Celina Jones, PhD, Anita Corbett, PhD, and Jennifer Spangle, PhD.
Following a networking lunch, Carlos Moreno, PhD, Winship’s assistant director for education and training, presented the 2024 Winship Postdoctoral Scholar Program awards to Tarun Bhatia, PhD (Sloan lab), and Celina Jones, PhD (Corbett and Spangle labs). The annual awards recognize outstanding postdoctoral researchers with an engraved plaque, a $5,000 annual stipend and $2,000 for travel to support their career development.
To cap off the event, 59 trainees and early-career investigators presented their research during the evening scientific poster reception. A panel of judges selected the following six poster presentations for prizes:
- The Impact of Hippo-Yap Signaling in Obesity and Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Xin Cui, PhD
Assistant scientist, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Emory University School of Medicine - Characterizing HER2 plasticity and expression dynamics in breast cancer
Syeda Warisul Fatima, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Radiation Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine - Precise and Non-invasive Staging of PDAC Metastases and Progression via Protein MRI Contrast
Agent Jingjuan Qiao
Research scientist, Department of Chemistry
Georgia State University - Pharmacological suppression of the OTUD4/CD73 proteolytic axis revives antitumor immunity against immune-suppressive breast cancers
Yikai Wang
Trainee, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Emory University School of Medicine - Molecular regulation of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) and VAPA Interaction
Qiuyun Yan
PhD student, Department of Chemistry
Georgia State University - Tuning Immune-Cold Tumor by Suppressing USP10/B7-H4 Proteolytic Axis Reinvigorates Therapeutic Efficacy of ADCs
Lidan Zeng
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Emory University School of Medicine
