Hear from our Travel Grant winners at The Tumour Ecosystem: Cellular Interactions and Therapeutic Opportunities

Research Associate, Imperial College London, UK

Research: The lungs are constantly exposed to virus, such as influenza virus and coronavirus, that can lead to respiratory infections. To control these infections, a rapid immune response is triggered. The lungs are also susceptible to metastatic spread from distant tumours (such as melanomas and breast tumours). Although viral infections and cancer cells can co-exist in the lungs, the interplay between these diseases remains unknown. So, we are currently investigating how respiratory viral infections can affect the growth of cancer cells in the lungs.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

I moved to London from Argentina in 2019 after obtaining my PhD, to continue my scientific career as a research associate. Unfortunately, during the first years in the UK most conferences were cancelled or hosted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have attended the British Society of Immunology annual meeting since 2021, once meetings were held in person again. This conference was very different to the aforementioned meetings as it is a very niche specific topic, bringing together the most knowledgeable scientists with a very exciting program. A smaller meeting like this, allows participants to attend all the sessions, without having to choose between parallel sessions, being very beneficial for scientific discussions, especially for young researchers presenting their work.

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

Conferences are always a great fuel at any stage of the scientific career. During this conference, I felt particularly inspired while listening to unrelated groups leading to similar conclusions, giving the opportunity to bring different research fields to tackle cancer from a more collaborative approach. Having the opportunity to learn the latest advances from renown scientists in a very distended environment has given me the opportunity to expand my network and find collaborators eager to support early careers’ progression.

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

During this meeting I had the opportunity to present for the first time my postdoctoral work as a short talk. It was a great experience to showcase my project and to discuss my latest results. I had great feedback from the audience with many suggestions in which direction to continue our research.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

The conference was very well organised. Every session was well thought and had the perfect balance between “long” and short talks, making them very enjoyable. The poster sessions were also very well structured, and the scheduled time gave the possibility for the presenters to discuss science without the attendants being tired after a long day. I really enjoyed the meeting and I am very grateful for such a great committee that put it together.

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PhD Student, MSNZ, Germany

Research: In my project, we are investigating the role of tumour draining lymph nodes in the development of breast cancer metastasis. My project focuses on dissecting the role of stromal cells in metastatic dissemination and tumor immune evasion. We are interested in understanding how stromal cells in lymph nodes can be remodelled by the primary tumuor to create immunosuppressive niches through the recruitment of myeloid cells. We have seen that tumor draining lymph nodes can become immunosuppressive in aggressive breast cancer and that this mechanism can promote tumour metastasis.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

One of the personal highlights of the conference for me was the poster session. I had a great opportunity to get feedback on my project from some of the speakers as well as other attendees. It was also great for networking and getting to know people. I also found it very useful because I got a lot of useful feedback on my project and suggestions for possible experiments that I will try to implement in my research.

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

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the conference, which made it easier to network with people. I was also happy to have the chance to talk to Johanna Joyce, she was one of the speakers I admire because I find the research she does very cutting edge. It was very interesting to have the opportunity to share my data with her and get feedback and suggestions on it.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

I found this conference particularly interesting because it was aimed at the field I work in, and I found the science presented to be very interesting. I also liked that the number of participants was not so large, which made it easier to network with people. I found it easier to talk to the speakers and also to network and socialise with other graduate students. I also appreciated that there was a networking game organised by the organisers on the first day, which made it easier to start talking to people. The location and overall organisation was also very nice.

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

I think this conference gave me more motivation to continue my career in science. I especially liked the Meet the Experts session, where we had the opportunity to hear from scientists at different stages of their careers. I found it very interesting to see and hear how people have developed their careers. I also liked that there were some female PIs who talked about what it is like to be a woman and a lab manager at the same time. I found some of the advice they gave very useful and I hope I can benefit from it.

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Postdoctoral Researcher, European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Italy

Research: My group focuses its research on ovarian cancer (OC), an aggressive disease, often recurrent and chemo-resistant. These malignant features can be ascribed to the subpopulation of ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSC), which together with the normal cancer cells are components of the tumour. Therefore, our aim is to find mechanisms and targets useful to defeat such population. In particular, I am studying the crosstalk between tumour-associated vasculature and OCSC, focusing on a protein released by vessels, L1-ATM. L1-ATM protects OCSC from chemotherapy effects and fosters their growth, thus, neutralising it we could have an alternative strategy to eradicate OC.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

I’ve just finished my PhD and I’m wrapping up the story in order to publish my paper, so I’m in a very special moment for my career. Therefore, attending the conference helped me both from a scientific and a personal point of view. Indeed, it was an occasion to recharge the motivational battery and find the inspiration to finish all the final experiments or to get new ideas. I strongly believe that going to conferences is an active part of our job, because networking and sharing our findings enriches us.

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

Maybe I didn’t find a specific collaborator but different talks intrigued me for the presented models or the applied technologies, making me think about future collaborations with those experts. This possibility paves the way for the writing of grants or personal fellowships based on the expansion of my personal project towards fields or topics for which I don’t have enough expertise.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

Comparing the EACR conference to other conferences I found it very well organised and with a proper number of participants. The daily schedule of the talks was well balanced between morning and afternoon (with high quality and relevance to the topic), the idea to leave posters until the early coffee of the following morning gave the possibility to check again for the more interesting or to see the ones excluded the day before. The beautiful location allowed the audience to be as close as possible to the stage. The team game on day one was useful to break the ice among the participants and start networking.

How has this conference inspired you in your research?

During the talks I was particularly inspired by a couple of them because of the relevance of the topics for my project. Indeed, both of them gave me the opportunity to see my project from other perspectives and take advantage from their results or applied techniques to generate new data. What I found striking was the fact that thanks to one of the two talks, I started reasoning about hypothesis for new branches of the project with strong clinical impact.

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

At the end of the conference, I was enthusiastic about the quality and organisation of the conference, but also for the interesting talks that completely caught my attention. Furthermore, I was happy to have spent three days fully immersed in a stimulating environment, full of scientists proud of their job and happy to be involved in the oncological research.

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

Attending these international meetings allows us to connect with people from institutions very different from ours. This exchange is always very fruitful, indeed, this time what I understood is that the technological progress is running and that not only the bigger institutes must be updated and upfront. Therefore, to be scientifically competitive, we should learn how to import cutting-edge technologies in our laboratories or to collaborate more with foreign groups.

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PhD Candidate,  Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Research: Chronic inflammation is a key factor in the development of colon cancer linked to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). While this connection is known, the molecular mechanisms driving cancer development remain unclear. My research identified the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment, particularly fibroblasts, in promoting colon cancer through extracellular matrix remodelling and activation of inflammatory pathways. Currently, I investigate the changes in the stromal subsets during the development of colitis associated cancer, examining how they link colitis to cancer progression in both humans and mouse. By understanding these mechanisms, we aim to develop new diagnostic tools and therapies for patients with colitis associated colon cancer.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

My initial response to this question is less scientifically proper, but as a young researcher, woman, and mother, it was truly amazing and inspiring for me to see how many women are leading in this pivotal field of cancer research. The strong female representation and the high level of research and achievements that women presented at the conference were inspiring to me.

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

It was a pleasure to meet one of the alumni students from my lab at the conference, who is currently doing her postdoctoral in England. It was very interesting to understand what she is currently working on and also to learn more about my lab’s history. Due to her profound familiarity with the lab, as well as the new experiences she gained during postdoctoral, I was able to consult with her on ideas that arose during the conference, and we brainstormed about them together.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

This conference was my first international event abroad, unlike the previous conference I participated in my homeland, which covered nearly all research fields, in this conference most of the program was very relevant to our lab, focusing on how changes in the stroma affect the tumour microenvironment. But on the same time, I felt that the topics covered were also very varied, including metastasis and immunology research, which even though is considerably less related to my work, exploring these areas was very helpful, as it got me thinking more deeply about the goals of my research.

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

On the last day of the conference, I had a few hours before my flight back home, so I went for a stroll with a friend I met at the conference to explore Bergamo. We took the funicular and enjoyed the beautiful view of Bergamo from the upper city, then we enjoyed eating delicious gelato at Piazza Vecchia and explored through the Del Tesoro Della Cattedrale museum, where we learned about the city’s ancient history from the Roman period. From there, we took a short walk through the lovely streets of Bergamo, did some shopping, and picked up souvenirs for family and friends.

How has the conference inspired you in your research?

During the conference, I learned a lot, both from the lectures and the fantastic poster sessions. It was the first time I presented my work to people outside the lab, and it was a very significant learning experience for me, especially dealing with the presentation itself. Additionally, the questions I was asked and seeing the work done in other labs around the world helped me clarify how to progress with the project. I saw how methods I had only thought about in theory were being implemented, which inspired me to try them myself. For example, using mass spectrometry enriched for ECM proteins.

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

Our lab primarily focuses on understanding the tumour microenvironment, while there are significant portions of my project that deal with understanding the involvement of stromal cells in chronic inflammatory conditions, specifically in colitis. It was fascinating to discover how the fibrotic environment resembles in its features tissue with signs of chronic inflammation. Many of the genes mentioned, such as IL1B, and other populations referenced, also prominently appeared in my experimental results around chronic inflammation. It was intriguing to connect these events and see how they may be more similar than I initially thought. The way I examined the impact of inflammation on cancer mainly revolved around the development of the primary tumour, and the conference raised thoughts regarding the link between administering anti-inflammatory drugs to patients and the development of metastasis in these patients.

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PhD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine, US

Research: My research work focuses on uncovering the mechanisms by which exercise improves therapeutic responses to immunotherapy specifically pembrolizumab (anti-PD1) in triple-negative breast cancer preclinical models.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

A personal highlight for me was how open and welcoming the attendees were, and we had a mini game where we introduced each other and many people were curious and asked kind questions. They were genuinely interested in getting to know me. It made me more comfortable in a new space. I completely enjoyed discussing my science and I had quickly forgotten my anxiety.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

This conference was different from the others that I have attended in a social aspect, the social sessions were interspersed within the agenda, this made it easier for me to make connections and talk to people. Many of the conferences that I have attended leave the social networking to you, but this conference seemed to want to help with the social aspect too and make it easier for you to break the ice and talk to people. I really appreciated this aspect because I have crippling anxiety.

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

I was only able to take an evening walk to Cita Alta/upper city Bergamo and enjoyed seeing the city from an upper view. It was an amazing view of the entire city and made me appreciate the opportunity to see a city that I would otherwise never have seen. Italy has an amazing landscape, I must confess.

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

During the course of the conference and discussions of my work, I found that many great
discussion surrounded breast cancer metastasis and many people gave me specific protocol ideas on how to check for metastasis in my preclinical models, this has added more textural evidence to my current research project.

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PhD Student, National Cancer Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China

Research: My current research uncovers the “accelerators” and “brakes” involved in the development of esophageal squamous carcinoma. Just as cars need brakes to stop, our body’s epithelial inflammation has its brakes, but in esophageal cells, a malfunction in the secretion of ANXA1, which acts as a brake, can cause the microenvironment to go haywire. On the other hand, just like starting a car, the transformation of epithelial cells into malignant cells has its accelerators. In the esophagus, the interaction between EFNB1 and EPHB4 provides a significant thrust towards cancer development. When the accelerator is pushed to the max and the brakes fail, esophageal tissues enter a state of uncontrolled chaos.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

My personal highlight of the conference was undoubtedly the closing ceremony. The host expertly summarised the entire event, reviewing the key messages presented by the speakers. As a PhD student, this segment was particularly valuable as it helped me consolidate the information and pinpoint the most critical issues discussed. Additionally, the brilliant talks throughout the conference were truly inspiring, and the closing ceremony served as a great reminder of the insights and ideas I gained. This part of the conference not only enhanced my understanding but also energised my academic pursuits.

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

At the conference, I had the incredible opportunity to meet Prof. Ruth Scherz-Shouval from The Weizmann Institute of Science. I have long admired her work on the tumour microenvironment and tumour-associated fibroblasts. Most importantly, she wrote a highlight Preview for my paper on the role of ANXA1 in the co-evolution of epithelial cells and fibroblasts in the esophageal tumor microenvironment, providing insightful feedback. Meeting her in person was truly a privilege. Additionally, I also encountered Professors Douglas Hanahan and Erik Sahai, whom I have respected for years. I hope to collaborate with them in the future.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

This conference stood out markedly from others I have attended due to its meticulous organisation and the rich learning opportunities it provided. Initially, the detailed guidance and instructions before the conference set a comprehensive and welcoming tone. The speakers, who are leading experts in the tumour microenvironment field, delivered presentations that were both inspiring and informative. A highlight was the enjoyable and relaxed coffee breaks, which were perfect for networking and led to forming connections with potential collaborators. Additionally, the poster sessions were excellently curated, featuring cutting-edge research directly from the researchers. Overall, this conference was exceptionally beneficial for me.

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

Bergamo is an incredibly beautiful city and was my first visit to an Italian city. I stayed in the charming and ancient upper town, where I took a ride on the fascinating funicular. As it ascended during twilight, the view from the mountaintop was breathtaking, showcasing both the old upper town and the modern lower town under the stunning Lombardy moonlight. Enjoying a glass of Italian beer and a plate of prosciutto in the evening breeze was serene. Surprisingly, a waiter at the restaurant spoke to me in Chinese, as local schools offer Chinese as a major, which was delightfully unexpected. I am profoundly grateful to the EACR for hosting the conference in Bergamo and to the EACR and Worldwide Cancer Research for sponsoring my travel, making this an unforgettable experience.

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PhD Student, The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom

Research: Metastatic relapse, where cancer spreads to other parts of the body, can happen months or even years after the initial diagnosis. In this project we study the interaction between cancer cells and their microenvironment using a novel method of a bone-like environment in mice that mimics real bones. In detail we investigate how microenvironmental signals during inflammation lead to the reactivation of dormant cancer cells that are in the bone and how this affects metastatic relapse.

What was a personal highlight of the conference for you?

One personal highlight of the conference for me was being selected to present my research findings to fellow attendees. It was a rewarding opportunity to share my work and insights with a wider audience of peers and experts in the field. Presenting at the conference allowed me to showcase the significance of my research and receive valuable feedback from other researchers, which will undoubtedly strengthen the impact and quality of my work moving forward. Moreover, the experience of presenting my findings boosted my confidence and reaffirmed my passion for contributing to advancements in the understanding of tumour dormancy.

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

One memorable highlight from the conference was the poster session where I got the opportunity to connect with researchers whose work aligns closely with my own scientific interests. I had the chance to engage in meaningful discussions with several attendees who are leaders in the field, exchanging ideas and insights in the field of dormancy. In particular, I met with Julio Aguirre-Ghiso whose work I have admired for years. It was inspiring to hear his perspectives first-hand and to discuss common scientific ideas and the future direction of the field of dormancy.

How was this conference different from others you have attended?

This conference stood out from others I’ve attended in several ways. Firstly, the selection of speakers was exceptional, featuring leading experts whose research has been defining in the field of cancer research. Their diverse and cutting-edge perspectives enriched the discussions and provided valuable insights into the latest advancements in the field. Additionally, the thoughtful organisation of the conference particularly impressed me, since it allowed speakers and attendees to fully engage until the end of the conference and ensured that attendees had time to recharge during breaks and engage in informal discussions without feeling overwhelmed. This encouraged productive interactions and networking opportunities throughout the whole time of the conference.

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

The conference took place in Bergamo, a small city in the north of Italy. I took advantage of my free time outside of the conference to explore the old city of Bergamo and together with other attendees of the conference we explored the historic Piazza Vecchia by riding the funiculars that provided panoramic views of the city. Having the convenience of walking from the conference venue to historic upper city of Città Alta allowed us to make the most of our time in Bergamo!