✨SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT✨
Costas A. Lyssiotis, Ph.D. — Keynote Speaker
Bio:
Dr. Costas Lyssiotis is the Maisel Endowed Professor of Oncology and Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Medicine at the University of Michigan. He is co-Director of the Rogel and Blondy Center for Pancreatic Cancer and co-leads the Tumor & Immune Metabolism program in the Rogel Cancer Center. Dr. Lyssiotis is passionate about science education and training the future generation of scientists. He is the Director of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology, and he leads a large and highly diverse research lab that studies the biochemical pathways and metabolic requirements that enable tumor survival and growth. This work spans the areas of cancer metabolism, the tumor microenvironment, and immunometabolism using and developing protocols in metabolomics. Ultimately, his group aims to transition new information about these processes into targeted therapies for cancer and other diseases.
Dr. Lyssiotis has published >250 research papers, is recognized as a highly cited researcher (top 1% across sciences) by Web of Science, a Next Generation Cancer Scientist by Trends in Cancer Biology, and he has been the recipient of several awards including being named a Lefkofsky Scholar, Kimmel Scholar, AACR NextGen young investigator, Damon Runyon Dale F. Frey Breakthrough Scientist, and V Foundation Fellow.
Talk:
Targeting Lysosomal Metabolism in Pancreatic Cancer
Cathie Garnis, Ph.D. — Faculty Speaker
Bio:
Born in Montreal but raised in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Dr. Garnis completed her undergraduate training at the University of British Columbia. She immediately began her graduate studies at the BC Cancer Research Centre, her work focusing primarily on genomic alterations in oral and lung malignancies. Upon completion of her PhD, Dr. Garnis moved to Boston to undertake post-doctoral research at MIT with Dr. Phil Sharp. Her work in Boston was primarily focused on understanding molecular mechanisms of alternative RNA splicing and microRNAs. In 2008, Dr. Garnis returned to Vancouver as faculty at the University of British Columbia. She is currently appointed as Professor and Director of Research for the Division of Otolaryngology in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. Her lab at the BC Cancer Research Center mainly focuses on understanding the role of extracellular vesicles in oral cancer tumorigenesis.
Talk:
Role of circulating microRNAs in oral tumorigenesis
Morgan Roberts, Ph.D. — Faculty Speaker
Bio:
Morgan Roberts is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia and a Senior Research Scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre. She is an immunologist who earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of British Columbia in 2015, where she investigated how the regulation of signalling thresholds in innate immune cells influences mucosal immune responses. She then joined the Vancouver Prostate Centre as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where she gained expertise in basic and translational immuno-oncology and the preclinical evaluation of novel therapeutics for bladder cancer before becoming an independent investigator in 2024. Dr. Roberts' laboratory combines fundamental and translational research to understand the dynamic interactions between bladder cancer and the immune system. Her research seeks to identify the tumour- and immune cell-intrinsic mechanisms that shape immune evasion and treatment response, with the goal of developing more effective therapies for patients with bladder cancer.
Talk:
Exploring Pathways of Immune Evasion in Bladder Cancer
Daniella Allen — Patient’s Perspective Speaker
Bio:
To be updated
Talk:
To be updated