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Future Leaders' Conference 2025
12 – 14 November 2025 | Hotel nhow Milano, ItalyWelcome
We are looking forward to hosting you in Milan, Italy, for the next Future Leaders' Conference! Connect with your fellow early-career researchers from the global Cancer Grand Challenges community and share the latest advancements your team is making toward tackling its challenge. This year’s conference will focus on enabling collaboration and facilitating networking, and training.
The Cancer Grand Challenges Future Leaders' Conference is generously supported by The Bjorn and Inger Saven Future Leaders Fund.
Venue, accommodation and travel
The conference will be hosted at Hotel nhow Milano, located at Via Tortona, 35, 20144 Milano MI, Italy.
Accommodation at Hotel nhow Milano will be booked for all attendees by the Cancer Grand Challenges team on the 12 and 13 November as soon as registration is complete. The link to register can be found in your invitation. The cost of accommodation is covered by the Cancer Grand Challenges team.
To extend your stay in Milan (beyond 12-14 Nov), please email the hotel at prenotazioni@nh-hotels.com. To secure the special conference rate of €199 please book by the 1 September.
Please make your own travel arrangements (funded by your Cancer Grand Challenges team) and plan to arrive at the hotel by 2pm CET on Wednesday 12 November. The conference will begin promptly at 3pm.
Programme
The conference will start at 3pm on Wednesday 12 November, and end at 4.30pm on Friday 14 November. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
| Start | Description | |
| 13:00 | Registration | Registration will open at 13:00. Please use this time to put your poster up if you're presenting in the first session. |
| 15:00 | Welcome to the Cancer Grand Challenges Future Leaders' Conference 2025 David Scott, Director, Cancer Grand Challenges, Cancer Research UK | |
| 15:15 | Keynote talk: Navigating cancer, metabolism and a life in research Karen Vousden, Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee, Francis Crick Institute, UK | Professor Karen Vousden is a Principal Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute. Karen has been elected as a Fellow of a number of prestigious organisations, including the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, EMBO, the European Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association of Cancer Research Academy and the National Academy of Science. |
| 16:00 | Networking session | During this time you will meet with your fellow team members and other researchers from accross Cancer Grand Challenges. To spark connections across teams and disciplines, you will discuss your research, the gaps and opportunities, to determine if others can help tackle challenge. |
| 16:45 | Break | Refreshments served in the hotel. |
| 17:15 | Team talk OPTIMISTICC: Understanding the role of microbiota in cancer Chair: Anders Dohlman, Postdoc, Harvard University, US | Talk 1: Anders Dohlman, Postdoc, Harvard University, US A comprehensive genomic analysis reveals the biodiversity and biogeography of the cancer microbiome Talk 2: Diego Arregui, PhD Student, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, ES Functional characterization of Fusobacterium nucleatum and its associated microbiota in colorectal cancer Talk 3: Katrina Freimane, Academic Clinical Fellow, University of Leeds, UK Using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to map Human Epidermal Growth Factor receptors and ligands in the human colon and colorectal cancer: towards understanding spatial biology and associations with microbiome and treatment response |
| 18:00 | Poster session one | Learn more about the latest research the future leaders are working on to tackle their challenge. Presenters and abstracts available in the abstract booklet. |
| 19:30 | Welcome reception | Drinks and refreshments served at the Hotel. |
| 08:00 | Breakfast | Buffet breakfast will be served in the hotel restaurant. |
| 09:00 | Team talk PROSPECT: Investigating the global rise of colorectal cancers in younger adults Chair: Sergio Villicana Munoz, Postdoc, King's College London, UK | Talk 1: Swagata Goswami, Postdoc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Dietary regulation of colorectal cancer progression and metastasis Talk 2: Gianmarco Piccinno, Postdoc, University of Trento, IT Microbiome alterations of colorectal cancer according to age of onset, stage, anatomic location, and mismatch repair deficiency Talk 3: Chahat Upreti, Postdoc, Broad Institute, US Non-bacterial CRC-microbiome associations |
| 09:45 | Team talk PROMINENT: Understanding unusual mutations patterns to identify unknown causes of the disease Chair: Laura Torrens, Postdoc, IARC, FR | Talk 1: Andrea Curtabi, Postdoc, University of California, San Francisco, US Chronic Inflammation Stabilizes Ras-Mutant Stress States to Drive Early Tumorigenesis Talk 2: Nick Shakari, PhD student, Scilifelab, SE KODFISH, a direct RNA targeted, single nucleotide sensitive in situ transcriptomics assay Talk 3: Ferriol Calvet, PhD Student, IRB Barcelona, ES Sex and smoking influence the clonal structure of the normal human bladder |
| 10:30 | Break | Refreshments served in the hotel. |
| 11:00 | Keynote talk: Metagenomics in oncology: capacity building and career development for translational initiatives Nicola Segata, co-investigator, PROSPECT, University of Trento, IT | Professor Nicola Segata is a Principal Investigator at the CIBIO Department of the University of Trento (Italy) and the European Institute of Oncology in Milan (Italy). He is a co-investigator on PROSPECT. In 2013, Nicola founded the Laboratory of Computational Metagenomics that has been bringing together computational scientists, experimental biologists, statisticians, and clinicians to study the diversity of the human microbiome and its role in human diseases. |
| 11:45 | Team talk NexTGen: Developing novel therapies to target unique features in solid tumours in children Chair: Nico Dalton, Postdoc, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, US | Talk 1: Virginia Laspidea Ustes, Postdoc, University College London, UK Enhancing CAR-T cell therapy with radiotherapy-driven TME modulation Talk 2: David Morselli, Postdoc, University College London, UK Modelling T-cell migration in the tumour microenvironment Talk 3: Jarrett Lindsay, Postdoc, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, US Exploiting TCR machinery to develop next-generation peptide-centric (PC) CAR T cells in neuroblastoma |
| 12:30 | Lunch | Lunch will be served in the hotel. |
| 13:45 | Getting your work published: Editorial tips Rebecca Eccles, Senior Scientific Writer, Cancer Grand Challenges, UK | Rebecca Eccles, previously a scientific editor at Molecular Cell, will provide an insider’s perspective on the publication process. Learn what editors and reviewers look for in a strong manuscript, common pitfalls and practical strategies, like how to craft an effective abstract that captures attention. |
| 14:30 | Team talk KOODAC: Developing protein degradation approaches to target oncogenic drivers of solid tumours in children Chair: Timothy Russell, Postdoc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US | Talk 1: Dmitri Segal, Postdoc, CeMM, AT MARCA2/4 molecular glue degradation tails fine-tune recruitment of two different E3 ligase complexes Talk 2: Alberto Guerra, Fellow Physician, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, US Targeting the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) oncoprotein with novel immunotherapeutic platforms in pediatric and adult malignancies Talk 3: Mahsa Shirani, Postdoc, Rockefeller University, US Degraders for the fusion protein DNAJB1::PRKACA in fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLC) |
| 15:15 | Break and group photo | Drinks and refreshments served. |
| 16:00 | Team talk PROTECT: Developing protein degradation approaches to target oncogenic drivers of solid tumours in children Chair: Lizzie Tucker, Senior Scientific Officer, Institute Cancer of Research, UK | Talk 1: Hong Yue, Scientist, Harvard University, US Tackling PATZ1 as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Neuroblastomas Talk 2: Marilena Nicolaidou, Research Assistant, University College London, UK Iberdomide during manufacture enhances effector function of drug-switchable iTAG2 CAR-T cells via controlled CAR modulation Talk 3: Zhe Zhuang, Postdoc, Stanford University, US Molecular Glue Discovery Enabled by Targeted Degron Display |
| 17:00 | Poster session two | Learn more about the latest research the future leaders are working on to tackle their challenge. Presenters and abstracts available in the abstract booklet. |
| 18:30 | Break | |
| 19:30 | Conference dinner at Osteria Del Binari | Join us for a special dinner at Osteria Del Binari serving traditional Milanese food from the Lombard region. Please meet in the hotel reception at 7:15pm. The restaurant is a 15-minute walk from the hotel. |
| 08:00 | Breakfast | Buffet breakfast will be served in the hotel restaurant. |
| 09:00 | Team talk eDyNAmiC: Understanding the role of extrachromosomal DNAs in cancer Chair: Zoe Whiteman, Postdoc, University College London, UK | Talk 1: Carla Hamilcaro, PhD Student, Charite Universitätsmedizin, DE Extrachromosomal Mycn circularization initiates neuroblastic tumor formation in mice Talk 2: Melissa Yao, PhD Sutudent, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, US Engineered Myc focal amplifications in preclinical models of small cell lung cancer Talk 3: Jordan Cobley, PhD Student, Queen Mary University of London, UK ecDNA Mutation Accumulation |
| 09:45 | Team talk MATCHMAKERS: Understanding how T cells recognise cancer cells Chair: Aleksei Titov, PhD Student, University of Oslo, NO | Talk 1: Emma Finburgh, PhD Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Decoding T cell-antigen recognition at scale with T cell receptor-displaying virus-like particles Talk 2: Jani Huuhtanen, Postdoc, Netherlands Cancer Institute, NL Evolution of T cell reactivity against somatic mutations across human colon cancer stages with single-cell genomics and synthetic T cell specificity screening Talk 3: Felix O'Farrell, PhD Student, University College London, UK T-cell Programs Through Space and Time |
| 10:30 | Break | Refreshments served in the hotel. |
| 11:00 | Team collaboration session | Groups from across Cancer Grand Challenges teams will work together to shape a concept and draft a short abstract. Groups will then presented their cross-team collaboration idea in PowerPoint format. |
| 11:45 | Keynote talk: T cells as living drugs: the fight against solid tumor Anna Mondino, Group Leader, San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Scientific Director, AIRC Foundation | Ana Mondino joined the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milano, where she became Head of the Lymphocyte Activation Unit within the Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases. Mondino has served in several national and international committee, as reviewer of scientific journals and funding bodies, as member of governing Institutional boards. |
| 12:30 | Lunch | Lunch will be served in the hotel. |
| 13:45 | Team talk CANCAN: Understanding cachexia and declining performance status in cancer patients Chair: Amanda Decker Farrell, Postdoc, Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, US | Talk 1: Debi Mukherjee, Postdoc, CRUK Cambridge Institute, UK Dissecting the role of fibroblasts in PDAC-associated cachexia Talk 2: Trishna Das, PhD Student, Rutgers Cancer Institute, US Effect of Caloric Restriction on Cancer-Associated Cachexia Talk 3: Lisa Duff, Postdoc, Scotland Institute, UK Quantitative Characterisation and Prediction of Metabolic Dysregulation in Cancer Cachexia using [18F]FDG PET-CT |
| 14:30 | Team talk SAMBAI: Decoding the factors that cause and influence disparate cancer outcomes Chair: Jasmine Miller-Kleinhenz, Junior Principle Investigator, University of Mississippi Medical Center, US | Talk 1: Janielle Maynard, Junior Principle Investigator, Johns Hopkins University, US Immunobiological factors that contribute to pancreatic cancer health disparities Talk 2: Helen Kakkassery, PhD Student, King’s College London, UK Distinct immune signatures in early and metastatic breast cancer define mechanisms of immune escape and identify immune correlates of exceptional survival in Stage IV disease Talk 3: Benny Mosoane, PhD Student, University of Pretoria, SA Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus in Histological Types of Breast Cancer |
| 15:15 | Break | Refreshments served in the hotel. |
| 15:45 | Awards and closing remarks Tony Dickherber, Program Director, National Cancer Institute, US and Blake Sanders, Research Programme Manager, Cancer Grand Challenges, UK |
Keynote speakers
Conference dinner
Join us on Thursday 13 November for a special dinner at Osteria del Binari, a Milanese staple that has been serving local cuisine since 1972. Among the beautiful interiors of the historic building, you will enjoy food from the Lombard tradition: from classic risottos to Milanese cutlet.
Future Leaders’ Conference 2025 Organising Committee
Code of conduct
Cancer Grand Challenges is dedicated to providing a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for all who attend our research events. The Code of Conduct applies to all participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, exhibitors, Cancer Grand Challenges staff, and others.
By accepting a place at a Cancer Grand Challenges research event, you are expected to read and abide by this Code of Conduct for the duration of the event.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about this event, please send us an email at events@cancergrandchallenges.org. We'll endeavour to respond to you within two working days.
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