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2020 Program

MONDAY, AUGUST 10
11:00 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks by Shrikant Anant, PhD
11:10 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Review of Program and Announcements by Sufi Thomas, PhD
11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Oral Presentations: Session I
Presentation time: 10 min
Discussion time: 5 min

Moderator: 
Amy Whitaker, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Kansas Medical Center

Presenters:

  • Danny Welch, PhD, Professor of Cancer Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center: Effects of
    mitochondrial genetics on tumor cells, the microenvironment and metastasis
  • Andrean L. Simons-Burnett, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology, University
    of Iowa: Localized TLR9 Therapy in Head and Neck Cancers
  • Komal Raina, PhD, Associate Professor/Haarberg Chair in Cancer Research, South Dakota State University: 
    Differential Benefits of Inducing Autophagic Machinery in Cancer-initiating Cells and the Initiated ones
  • Guangfu Li, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri: 
    Gut microbiota-mediated modulation of antitumor immune response in hepatocellular cancer
  • Rex Gaskins, PhD, Professor of Immunophysiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
    Host-microbiota bile acid co-metabolism and its immunological impact in colorectal cancer
12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Roy Jensen, MD, Director, University of Kansas Cancer Center
1:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Plenary Presentation:
Keynote address by David Tuveson, MD, PhD, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY
2:00 p.m - 2:30 p.m.

Young Investigator Presentations
Presentation time: 10 min
Discussion time: 5 min

Moderator: 
Atul Ranjan, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center

Presenters:

  • Erin Kischuk, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Purdue University: Modulation of Suppressive Myeloid
    Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment via Novel Small Molecules Identified Using Machine Learning
  • Ankur Saxena, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago:
    Neuroblastoma Differentiation In Vivo Excludes Cranial Tumors
2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Blitz presentations
Presentation time: 5 min

Moderator: 
Jennifer Crow, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Kansas Medical Center

Presenters:

  • Gayatri Sharma, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Medical College of Wisconsin: Endothelial DII4-Notch 
    Signaling in Breast Tumor Microenvironment Influences Response to Photothermal Therapy
  • Maria Cristina Miranda Vergara, Graduate Student, University of Notre Dame: Microenvironmental 
    Changes by Stromal MMP3 Inhibit Primary Tumor Growth but Increase Lung Metastasis
  • Milan Chheda, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Washington University: Leveraging Zika 
    Virus (ZIKV) and the Immune System to Treat Glioblastoma (GBM)
  • Nadia Alissa, Graduate Student, University of Kansas Medical Center: Investigating the Role of 
    CCL2 Chemokine Signaling in Skeletal Muscle Wasting Associated with Breast Cancer
  • Rebecca Dodd, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa: Genetic Depletion 
    of Mast Cells is Sufficient to Attenuate Growth of Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPSNT's)
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Oral Presentations: Session II
Presentation time: 10 min
Discussion time: 5 min

Moderator: 
Alejandro Parrales, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center

Presenters:

  • Gina Sizemore, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics, The Ohio State
    University: Intricacies of mesenchymal PDGFR signaling in the brain metastatic microenvironment
  • Sarki A Abdulkadir, MD, PhD, Professor of Urological Research, Northwestern University: Therapeutic
    Targeting of the MYC Oncogene
  • Kamiya Mehla, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nebraska Medical Center: A novel IgE-FcER1α targeted
    therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer.
  • Frank Ondrey, MD, PhD, FACS, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Minnesota:
    Activator protein 1 and NF-kappa B in oral carcinogenesis
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions
5:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. Closing Remarks by Shrikant Anant, PhD