Cancer Genomics 2019: A Participant’s View

Home institution: Wiezmann Institute of Science, Israel

We are characterizing melanoma tumor presentation to tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). We combined human leukocyte antigen (HLA) peptidomics with 16S ribosomal bacteria sequencing. HLA peptidomics is a technique used to purify and identify the HLA bound peptides presented by the tumor cells. This analysis led to the identification of HLA peptides derived from different bacterial species and their effect on the TIL reactivity.

Attending this conference gave me more confidence in my own research

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

I extremely enjoyed the discussion forum regarding the “perfect biomarker” with Charles Swanton, Jennifer Wargo and Carlos Caldas. This was an open discussion session. It was less formal, with many students participating and it gave the chance to understand from a more personal view of the speakers’ opinion regarding cancer biomarkers.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

Cancer Genomics 2019 was a lot smaller than the previous EACR conference I attended in Amsterdam. It was more personal, it enabled me to speak to a lot more students than I did previously and to some PIs. In addition, I enjoyed the Meet the Experts session. It provided me the opportunity to learn from Yardena Samuels and Carlos Caldas’ personal life experience. This was very interesting and helpful.

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

Attending this conference gave me more confidence in my own research. I received great input and enthusiasm regarding the topic from many people. Furthermore, after talking to other students I felt that I was not alone, many others encounter different difficulties during their PhD, which encouraged me.

Have you brought back any specific knowledge that has benefited your research?

Michal Bassani-Sternberg’s lecture was very interesting. It led me to understand her pipeline for the HLA peptidomics, and the differences between our methods used in the lab. Moreover, Pia Kvistborg’s lecture on T cells showed the two different sides of the interaction of T cell with the presenting cell, which was very interesting.

Home institution: IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Milan

I am a Bioinformatician at Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano. In particular, I work in the “Biomarkers unit”. It is a unit that studies the role of several liquid biopsy markers (e.g. circulating tumors cells, cell-free DNA) in different tumor type. As a Bioinformatician, I analyze and integrate all data derived from omics experiments (e.g. genomic, transcriptomic) performed on these markers with the aim of understand their impact on tumor progression, resistance. The study of liquid biopsy is the best example of Precision Medicine.

I met many interesting people.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

For me, a personal highlight was the link created between the scientific context and the collegiate atmosphere. Churchill College is a historic college, with its expanses of green lawns and religious silence. In sum, this probably represents the perfect place for a seminar regarding cancer research. For this reason, it created a wonderful atmosphere across the entire conference.

Were there any social/networking highlights you want to tell us about?

I met many interesting people. I met some Italian people who work in different institutes in UK (e.g. Sanger Institute, Cambridge University) who I already knew. The conference represented a common point of interest and the opportunity for potential collaborations. Additionally, it provided a lovely setting for social gatherings. Not only did I meet fellow researchers from Europe, but I also met American researchers. This gave me the opportunity to learn about their projects and working style.

Did you take part in any interesting local/cultural activities in your free time outside of the conference?

Cancer Genomics 2019 represented my first visit to Cambridge. It was a great opportunity to visit this renowned city. During Monday evening, two researchers and I visited the city centre and the notable colleges. We drank a beer in the Eagle pub, an historical place linked to the discovery of the “Secret of life” (i.e. the discovery of DNA structure by Watson and Crick).

When you got home, is there anything from the conference that you immediately wanted to tell your colleagues about? What was it?

There were many things. The first was the high scientific level of the seminar. Indeed, the speakers’ research and the posters presented took into account the different fields in cancer research. Finally, I immediately discussed the organization of the conference and the easy networking opportunities with my peers and senior scientists with my colleagues.

Home institution and country: University Medical Centre Utrecht, Netherlands

My research focusses on ovarian cancer, a disease that is characterized by the development of chemotherapy resistance. To improve the poor prognosis, we need new model systems. We have developed and characterized an ovarian cancer organoid platform, a 3D-culture system, and we perform WGS to study the DNA of organoids and corresponding tumours. Currently we are comparing organoid drug response to clinical response of patients. Furthermore, we study differential drug response of organoids from multiple tumour locations, to get more insight in chemotherapy resistance. Besides this, we study the genome of advanced ovarian cancer.

I was inspired

How was this conference different from others you attended?

I would definitely recommend this meeting to my colleagues because of its small size. It’s very easy to approach and interact with fellow researchers, at every stage of their career. This is because there were poster sessions which provided me with useful input for my work and multiple social activities. I also met many fellow PhD students from all over the world.

Did you take part in any interesting local/cultural activities in your free time outside of the conference?

I visited the beautiful city of Cambridge with my colleague. We enjoyed a punting, as it was a fun way to learn about the colleges’ history. We also rented bikes. I would recommend this to anyone attending conference, because it is very easy to explore the city or town you are visiting. However, riding on the opposite side of the road requires extra attention!

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

I was inspired by a few people, because of their enthusiasm when presenting. Among them were John Marioni, Richard Gilbertson and Sam Behjati. Even though not everything that they presented related to my research interests, they managed to passionately explain what they do. It was a pleasure to listen to their talks, because it taught me how to give an inspiring talk, and sparked the joy in my own research.

Have you brought back any specific knowledge that has benefited your research?

Yardena Samuels’ talk inspired me. Her lab’s experiments on heterogeneity in melanoma provided me with insights for my own research into ovarian cancer. This especially the case with her way of defining heterogeneity, both in genetic diversity between clones and the number of clones present in the tumour. This also reminded me that it is important to look beyond the scope of the tumour type you are studying, as we can learn a lot from researchers who study other types of cancer.

Home institution and country: UMC, Utrecht & NKI, Amsterdam, Netherlands

In normal cells, DNA can break but will sometimes glue back together at the wrong end. If this happens, a so-called fusion gene originates. This fusion gene can have stronger activity or perform a new function, which the cell cannot handle and can start to grow uncontrollably. Imagine it like this – a mechanic accidentally puts a Ferrari motor in an old Fiat Panda. The Fiat will not be able to handle the power of the strong motor and start to fall apart. This is what happens in cells with fusion genes and could be the beginning of cancer.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

There were many aspects of Cancer Genomics 2019 that I liked. I really enjoyed the relaxed and open atmosphere throughout the conference. I met a lot of new people and everybody was curious and excited about ongoing research as well as the research opportunities in different cultures and countries. The breaks and the dinners provided opportunities for great discussions.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

The size of Cancer Genomics 2019 was great. It was really easy to talk to people, and made the sessions relaxed and comfortable. I especially like that were a good number of proffered talks as I am always inspired by young researchers’ presentations. Also, having the opportunity to present my poster in a 3 minute pitch was a good learning experience. Personally, more conferences should offer opportunities for pitches like this.

Did you take part in any local/cultural activities in your free time outside of the conference?

A colleague and I arrived a day early to explore Cambridge together. We attended the Cancer Genomics meeting two years, but we did not have time to go punting. This time we did go punting, and we were fortunate to have great weather. I really enjoyed the tour and the different facts about the colleges. In addition, on the free evening of the conference, I joined a few other people and we took a trip to The Eagle pub. I had a lovely time with a diverse group of people. We exchanged a lot of experiences and stories about our PhDs and I believe everybody enjoyed

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

It gave me a motivational boost. I was impressed by the Keynote lectures as I was interested to see how far you can get with your research if you follow your gut and explore new avenues. I was inspired by the proffered talks, too. It was great to see how you can perform great research no matter your level.

Home institution and country: i3s, Portugal and EMBL-EBI, UK

I am using computational data from tumour samples to address different questions in cancer. For example, studying the impact of genomic variations in protein abundance and signalling pathways. Also, studying the characterisation of the gender differential transcriptomes in gastric and thyroid cancers, two cancer types with a high gender bias.

I have never attended a conference featuring an exceptional international faculty as Cancer Genomics 2019

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

There were multiple highlights. These included the excellence of the value, the amazing speakers and researchers, and the cutting-edge topics in cancer genomics. However, if I was asked to pick one, I would say the intimate and cosy environment. It was a truly an amazing opportunity for networking and scientific interaction.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

Cancer Genomics 2019 was different from other conferences I have attended in many ways. The size and number of participants had a great impact on its outcome and ultimate purpose because of the opportunity to make social and scientific interactions. It eased the social and scientific interactions between the speakers and the participants. Furthermore, I have never attended a conference featuring an exceptional international faculty as Cancer Genomics 2019. The opportunity to watch and learn from scientific world leaders in cancer big data and modelling, cancer immunogenomics, and cancer single cell domains was spectacular.

Were there any social/networking highlights you want to tell us about?

During the conference, I had many opportunities to interact and discuss topics with people I previously knew and with new faces. Some of them could be potential collaborators. I would like to mention a positive meeting I had with a starting group leader. Cancer Genomics 2019 allowed me to expand my social and research network, which might create good working opportunities in the future.

Home institution and country: University of Bern, Switzerland

Cancer arises when somatic mutations (DNA changes accumulated during our lifetime) target specific genes. Protein coding genes have been detected as cancer drivers by searching for mutations that are recurrent between hundreds of patients. However, most of the somatic mutations fall in non-coding regions like Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Despite many lncRNAs being implicated in cancer through non-driver mechanisms, they remain understudied as cancer driver genes. I address this point through bioinformatics analyses to find somatic mutations in lncRNAs that may drive the onset of cancer.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

The networking possibilities. The opportunity to interact with people from such a diverse background and from so many countries was an invaluable experience.

Were there any social/networking highlights you want to tell us about?

I met scientists from my field, that under normal circumstances, I would not have been able to meet.

Did you take part in any interesting local or cultural activities in your free time?

Free time was essential to expand conversations on non-scientific discussion, such as ways of life or career paths. The bars, parks and streets of Cambridge were fantastic for these exchanges.

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

I met some potential collaborators and I received important feedback for my current research.

When you got home, was there anything from the conference that you immediately wanted to tell your colleagues about?

For me, it was the excellent state of the cancer genomics field. For example, I was excited to share the most discussed technologies and the outlook of research in other institutes and countries. I spoke to my supervisor about specific ideas, tools and databases that could be helpful in our line of work.