Cancer Research Symposium

Join us for the 4th annual Siteman Cancer Research Symposium on Friday, November 10, 2023

in the Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC), on the Washington University School of Medicine campus.

Our annual symposium features trainees’ cancer research from all departments and all types of research, including basic, pre-clinical, clinical, and public health projects. Presentations will include Undergraduate Students, Predoctoral Trainees, Postdoctoral Scholars, Fellows, and Junior Faculty. All Cancer Research projects are welcome, including basic/bench, pre-clinical, clinical, and public health. All trainees and mentors conducting cancer related research are encouraged to attend. In addition to the trainee presentations, the symposium will include career development panel discussions, a keynote address from a renowned Cancer Center member, and networking opportunities for trainees and mentors.

Registration

Registration for the 2023 Cancer Symposium is available HERE.

Sessions are open to all WU investigators. All cancer research trainees, high school through junior faculty, those who aspire to have a career in cancer research, and faculty mentors are especially encouraged to attend.

Agenda

11:00 – 1:00 PM:  Welcome & Trainee Podium Presentations

• Jessica Devenport, BS, MA, PhD Student – Cancer Biology,  APOBEC3A Promotes Ovarian Cancer Metastasis
• Ashenafi Bulle, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Strong Preclinical Efficacy of Combined KRAS-MAPK Pathway Inhibitors and HER2-Directed Drug Conjugate in Pancreatic Cancer Patient-Derived Xenografts
• Jessica Liu, BS, Medical Student, Engaging Patients in Treatment to Improve Healthcare Using Patient Generated Health Data (PGHD) Via The Patient Portal, Mychart
• Krisha Anant, Undergraduate Student – Radiology, Breast Density Assessment Via Deep Learning: Head-To-Head Model Comparisons in Full-Field Digital Mammograms and Synthetic Mammograms
• Ginny Schulz,  PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, Instructor, Internal Medicine – Medical Oncology, Barriers and Facilitators of Youth Decision Making Involvement in Stem Cell Transplantation: Informing a Family-Level Intervention
• Carmen Azevedo, BA, PhD Student – Cancer Biology, Increasing T Cell Residence in the Tumor Microenvironment Using Antibody Click

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Lunch & Panel Discussion

• Crystal Winkeler, PhD, Managing Director, BioGenerator Ventures
• Adetunji Toriola, MD, PhD, Professor, Surgery – Public Health Sciences
• Saiama Waqar, MBBS, MSCI, Associate Professor, Medicine – Oncology

2:00 –4:00 PM: Trainee Podium Presentations

• Ryan Day, MD, PhD, Instructor, Internal Medicine – Medical Oncology, The Protein Interactomes of Acute Myeloid Leukemia-Associated Oncogenic Fusion Proteins Predict Potential Mechanisms of Action
• Yuping Li, MD, Resident & Research Fellow, Neurosurgery, Long-Acting Recombinant Interleukin-7, NT-I7, Improves Survival Following Oncolytic Zika Virus Treatment in The SB28 Immunosuppressive and Treatment-Resistant Murine Glioma Model
• John Huber, PhD, Medical Student, Modeling Long-Term Trends in Multiple Myeloma Incidence by Age, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity
• Lauren Pedersen, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Radiation Oncology – Cancer Biology, Congenic Mapping and Dietary Manipulation Suggest that Autophagic Signaling Contributes to Differences in Radiation-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction in Rats
• Mai Dang, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neurology – Child Neurology, Immunosuppressive Mechanisms of Irradiated Medulloblastomas
• Bayu Bekele, MPH, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Surgery – Public Health, The Impact of Diabetes on Breast Cancer Treatment Among Low-Income Women

4:00 – 5:15 PM: Poster Session

5:30 – 6:30 PM: Keynote Address

Pamela K. Woodard, MD 
Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor of Radiology
Chair, Department of Radiology
Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology,
Professor of Biomedical Engineering,
Head, Advanced Cardiac Imaging (CT/MR)

Poster Presentations

Sapana Bansod, M. Pharm, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, The TRIM4 E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Degrades TPL2 ais Modulated by Oncogenic KRAS

Alexander Benton, BS, PhD Student, Washington University, Using Molecular Imaging to Visualize Changes in PD-L1 After Trastuzumab-deruxtecan Treatment

Pei-Yu Chen, MS, MD/PhD Student, Washington University, The Role of AID1A And ARID1B in Melanoma Progression and Tumor Immune Response

Amanda de Andrade Costa, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Radiation Induces Normal Brain Cell Senescence and Promotes Brain Tumor Pathogenesis

Lojain Elkhidir, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, Investigating Differences Between the Short and Long Isoforms of APOBEC3A

Dina Ibrahim, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Immunopet of PD-L1 Shows a Role for N-Glycosylated PD-L1 in Antibody Binding to Gastric Tumors

Ashwani Kesarwani, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Warriors Against Glioblastoma: Siglec-15 and Zika Virus

Iftikhar Ali Khawar, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, TNF-MK2 Signaling Drives Protective Autophagy Following MAPK Pathway Inhibition in Pancreatic Cancer

Sebiha Esra Koçak, MsC, PhD Student, Hacettepe University, Immunotherapeutic Targeting of Macrophage Siglec10- Tumor CD24 “Don’t Eat Me” Signaling by 12E9 Monoclonal Antibody

Kollin Kolb, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, Characterizing the Role of CCR2+ Macrophages in Models of Radiation-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction with and without Additional Cardiac Insult

Joanna Lempiainen, PhD, Postdoc Research Scholar, Washington University, Parallel Analysis of The Proteome, Histone Ptms and RNA Modifications from FFPE and Frozen Tissue Sections by MS

Xia Liu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Washington University, Reversal of Senescence and Tolerogenic Function of Dendritic Cells Induced by Treg Cells for Enhancing Cancer Immunotherapy

Lorida Llaci, B.S., PhD Student, Washington University, Multiome Analyses to Understand Sex Differences in GBM Outcome

Angelina O’Brien, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, Response of The Human ARF Tumor Suppressor to Oncogene-Induced Stress

Sandeep Surendra Panikar, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Bioorthogonal Click Chemistry Enables Dual Receptor Targeting in Tumors for Improved Antibody Therapy

Natasha Ramakrishnan, BA, PhD Student, Washington University, Causes and Consequences of Genomic Instability in Cyclin E1-High Cancers

Irania Santaliz Moreno, MS, PhD Student, Washington University, Hidden Costs: Qualitative Analysis on Prostate Cancer Treatment’s Impact on Black Survivors’ Sexuality

Pratibha Shrestha, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Racialized Economic Segregation Disparities in Late Stage Diagnosis, Non-Adherence to Guidelines Recommended Treatment and Mortality Among Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Zhao Sidi, BS, PhD Student, Washington University, Characterization of cell-type specific circular RNAs associated with colorectal cancer metastasis

Zoe Siegel, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, A Novel Role of Chemerin in the Suppression of M2 Pro-Tumor Macrophages

Cristina Simó Costa, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, HER2-Targeted PET Imaging in Tumors of Varying HER2 Expression Levels

Kevin Song, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, Connecting Metabolism with PARP Inhibitor Responses in BRCA-Mutant Cancers

Erin Suh, Undergraduate Student, The University of Georgia, Examining the Role of Autophagy Regulator Atg7 on the Tumor Immune Response of Melanoma

Joan Tao, BA, MD Student, University of Missouri – Columbia, Targeted PET Imaging of CD163+ Tumor Associated Macrophages in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Andrew Wong, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, A Novel Droplet Digital PCR (DDPCR) Assay for the Detection of Tumor Cells and Predicting Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients

Faiz Ahmad, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Fibrosis Drive Exhaustion of T-Cell in Lung Cancer

Nora Alexander, BS, MD Student, Washington University, Interobserver Variability in Histopathologic Diagnosis of Melanocytic Neoplasms

Sneha Das Gupta, BSc, PhD Student, Washington University, Beyond Mammographic Density: An Unsupervised Machine Learning Approach to Identify Effects of Early Adulthood Adiposity on Breast Parenchymal Tissue Patterns in Premenopausal Women.

Kaushik Dutta, MS, PhD Student, Washington University, Self-Supervised Learning and Multi-Objective Evaluation Framework for Generating Preclinical Quantitative Standard-Count PET from Low-Count PET Realizations

Nabih Habib, MD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, A Phase 1b Clinical Trial of Cabozantinib and Abiraterone with Checkpoint Inhibitor Immunotherapy in Metastatic Hormone Sensitive Prostate Cancer (CABIOS Trial)

Jesus Jimenez, MD, PhD, Instructor, Washington University, Immune Checkpoint Regulator Impairs Left Ventricular Remodeling in Cardiac Injury Mouse Models

Yi Kang, BA, DPT Student, Washington University, Circadian Rhythm Dysregulation with Risk of Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Large-Scale Prospective Analysis

Oam Khatavkar, Undergradute Student, Saint Louis University, Defining Genomic Evolution in CTCL

Yesol Kim, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, The Role of RAMS11 in Lung Cancer

Kevin Kim, BA, Research Technician II, Washington University, Characterization of a Novel, Bifunctional J591-Chemerin Antibody Drug Conjugate

Keshav Kumar, BS, Graduate Student, Washington University, Carbohydrate, Energy, and Peptide Metabolites and Mammographic Breast Density in Premenopausal Women

Suya Li, MS, PhD Student, Washington University, Deep Learning (DL)-Based Kinetic Parameter Estimation of Whole-Body Systems Kinetics using Limited Axial Field-Of-View (AFOV) PET Scanners

Xingyu Liu, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Determining The Role of ZNF687, an Uncharacterized Zinc Finger Transcription Factor, in Lung Adenocarcinoma (LUAD)

Melissa Mavers, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Washington University, Heterogeneity of Human Invariant Natural Killer T Cells, Including Novel Naïve-Like CD8+ and TEMRA-Like CD4-CD8- Populations, Revealed Through Single Cell RNA-Sequencing

Shinghei Mok, MPH, Graduate Student Assistant, Washington University, Objectively-Measured Physical Activity, Sleep Patterns, and Trajectories among Cancer Survivors in the United States

Ema Mosleh, MD, Clinical Fellow, Washington University, Factors Influencing Delayed Clearance of High Dose Methotrexate (HDMTX) in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Patients

Ariana Naaseh, MD, Resident, Washington University, Developing a Community-Academic Partnership to Enhance Equity in Cancer Genetics Services: Processes and Progress

Oluseye Oduyale, MD, Resident, Washington University, Aspirin and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use and Risk of Precursors of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

Peijie Qiu, MS, PhD Student, Washington University, QCResUNet: Joint Subject-level and Voxel-level Prediction of Segmentation Quality

Muhammad Saeed, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Chemerin Suppresses Prostate Tumor Growth by Positively Modulating the Recruitment of Effector NK And CD8+ T-Cells into the Tumor Microenvironment

Harendra shah, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate, Washington University, Radiation Mediated Modulation of the Complement System in Lung Cancer

Shayla Shmuel, BS, Research Technician, Washington University, Improving DOTATATE-Endoradiotherapy in Tumors that Express Low Levels of SSTR2

Ramkrishna Kumar Singh, MBBS, Graduate Student, Washington University, Circulating Acetylsalicylic Acid levels and Mammographic Breast Density in Premenopausal Women

Vikas Somani, PhD, Staff Scientist, Washington University, CuCN-Ecli-Gem, A Novel Nano-Immunomodulatory Gemcitabine, Effectively Combats Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma by Inhibiting Tumor and Suppressive Myeloid Cells

George Souroullas, PhD, Assistant Professor, Washington University, ARID Homologs are Functionally Redundant and Required During Multiple Stages of B Cell Development and Transformation

Yash Thacker, BS, Business & Technology Application Analyst II, Washington University, CT-Derived Textural Analysis Parameters Discriminate High-Attenuation Renal Cysts from Solid Renal Neoplasms

Angie Trammel, BA, Graduate Student, Washington University, Disparities in EHR Patient Portal Utilization Among Patients with Hematological Cancers

Shayna Turbin, Undergraduate Student, Washington University, Role of Integrase-PP2A Interaction in Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type-1 Replication and Pathogenesis

Stephanie Crowley, BS, PhD Student, Washington University, Bclaf1 Gene Dosage Regulates AML Initiation and Progression

Abstract Submissions

Abstract submissions are currently closed.

The top two presenters will each receive $500 awards.

Abstracts are encouraged from Undergraduate Students, Predoctoral Trainees, Postdoctoral Scholars, Fellows, and Junior Faculty. All Cancer Research projects are welcome, including basic/bench, pre-clinical, clinical, or public health.

Past Symposia

November 2020 Symposium

December 2021 Symposium

December 2022 Symposium

Questions

Email [email protected]