We were delighted to welcome the cancer research community to Rotterdam, Netherlands for the EACR Annual Congress 2024: Innovative Cancer Science between 10 – 13 June 2024.
We enjoyed a jam-packed programme of fascinating science with a range of Plenary sessions, Symposia, Meet the Expert panels and Educational Sessions. We saw participants from 66 countries come through the Rotterdam Ahoy venue doors, of whom 97% told us in our feedback survey that they would recommend the Congress. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us!
This year’s programme included six keynote lectures, including a talk from EMBO Member and Past President Caroline Dive. There were Proffered Paper presentations throughout the week on a range of topics, and 928 posters on display.
Award Lectures
The first day saw the presentation of four prestigious awards: the EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award, the Pezcoller Foundation-EACR Translational Cancer Researcher Award, the Pezcoller-Marina Larcher Fogazzaro-EACR Women in Cancer Research Award, and the Mike Price Gold Medal Award.
Stamatis Papathanasiou, a Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Germany, received the Rising Star Award which recognises an exceptional researcher in the field of cancer research. Mariano Barbacid, the AXA-CNIO Professor of Molecular Oncology at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Spain received the biennial Mike Price Gold Medal Award, which recognises a senior researcher who has made exceptional contributions to the progress of cancer research in Europe.
The Translational Cancer Researcher Award was presented to Elisa Oricchio of the Swiss Institute of Experimental Cancer Research and EPFL, followed by the presentation of the Women in Cancer Research Award to Maria Rescigno of the Humanitas University and Humanitas Research Hospital in Italy.
Each recipient then delivered an Award Lecture as part of the main Congress programme.
Speed Networking and Career Discovery Sessions
On Tuesday and Wednesday the programme included opportunities especially for student and early-career participants, including the introduction of a new Speed Networking Session.
We also hosted Career Discovery Sessions dedicated to young researchers who were looking to boost their career by learning tips and tricks on different professional pathways. Participants could join various ’round tables’, each focused on a given topic and expertise.
Topics included pursuing a career in publishing, determining the best match between a PI and an institute, and designing a translational research project, amongst others.
The Sessions proved to be hugely popular and well received by those who pre-registered to attend. They were praised multiple times in our participant feedback survey as a key highlight of the Congress programme.
Exhibition Passport Competition
The EACR 2024 Congress was supported by 110 companies and associations who joined the exhibition. A big hall and lots of companies to visit can be overwhelming, so we wanted an ice-breaker to connect you with all the friendly company reps ready to chat.
After a successful introduction last year, our passport competition returned to encourage participants to explore the exhibition. Each stand hosted a unique QR code; the more companies you visited and scanned, the more entries you got into the prize draw to win a 10th Gen Apple iPad and free registrations to next year’s Congress.
After 6,400 individual entries, we were delighted to draw the winner on the last evening, who picked up their prize before the end of the Congress. We hope everyone enjoyed the friendly competition and touring the exhibition. We hope you’ll take part again next year in Lisbon!
#KeepResearchCurious
The Congress was a great opportunity for us to showcase our campaign to #KeepResearchCurious because we believe that early-stage, curiosity-driven cancer research is the cornerstone of future medical breakthroughs.
To continue to save the lives of future cancer patients we must maintain and increase funding to continue exploring the unexpected and unknown. Support for this type of curiosity-driven research opens the door to treatment, prevention and cures we can’t even imagine yet. This potential for exploration and discovery is what makes our work so vital and promising.
#EACR2024 on Twitter and Instagram
We loved seeing the Congress from a participant’s point of view, and were thrilled to see so many attendees sharing their own photos and videos in social media posts. Here are some select highlights from the activity we saw on the Congress hashtag…
#EACR2024 has been incredible so far – seeing so much great science and many wonderful friends @ErezNeta @deVisserKarin @EACRnews https://t.co/du2zscKcc7
— Johanna Joyce (@Johanna_A_Joyce) June 12, 2024
Excited to be at #EACR2024 in Rotterdam! Looking forward to the talk by amazing @ShiraSagie later today.#CancerResearch! pic.twitter.com/KIYUzmmhJo
— Vishnu Mohan (@vishnu88mohan) June 12, 2024
This week, I’m thrilled to be attending and presenting my work at the Annual Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) in Rotterdam. It’s been an incredible experience so far, filled with fascinating talks and invaluable networking opportunities.#EACR2024 pic.twitter.com/gal3vxLD9N
— Sofía Mirón Barroso (@sofiamironb) June 11, 2024
Fantastic few days at the #EACR2024 congress in the beautiful Rotterdam. Looking forward to attend more insightful talks and sessions this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/MseaiG8M8l
— Himani Shah (@Himani__Shah) June 12, 2024
EACR 2025
We’re already looking forward to next year’s event! Come and join us in Lisbon, Portugal in 2025 for more engaging science and fantastic networking opportunities. Sign-up to the mailing list for the EACR 2025 Annual Congress to be the first to know when registration opens in the autumn.
