ConferenceSeries

We’re listeningThank you for sending your suggestions for future Conference Series meetings in the 2017 members’ survey, they will help to inform our discussions on future topics:

Apoptosis • Autophagy • Biomarkers • Cancer Cytology • Immunotherapy • Metabolism • Prevention • Careers in Science • DNA Damage • Epidemiology • Epigenetics • Epithelial to Mesenchymal • Exosomes • Genomics • Glycobiology • Hereditary • Heterogeneity • Imaging • In Vivo Models • Interdisciplinarity • Liquid Biopsy • Metastasis • Microbiome • Microenvironment • Nanotechnology • NGS • Non-Coding RNA • Organoids • Proteomics • Rare Cancers • miRNA • Senescence • Stem cell *Topics covered in upcoming EACR Conference Series events

In addition to the biennial EACR Congress, we organise a series of excellent cancer research conferences where the latest research topics and networking opportunities for participants are our very highest priorities.

2016 was a great success for the EACR Conference Series, with three very well-received meetings.

51 speakers

Visit the EACR website www.eacr.org/conference-series to view the latest upcoming conferences.

3 conferences 416 participants

24 bursaries 194 posters

99%would recommend the conference they attended to others

Interactive... the conference series offers many opportunities to create new collaborations with other scientistsIntimate... the small number of participants (100-200) and extra networking activities encourage interaction Innovative + Focused... ‘hot topics’ and high quality talks by world-renowned speakers

How do participants define the Conference Series?

41%59%

“The meeting focused on a new era of cell biology: 3D cell culture models and applications. The topic was very timely and the list of invited speakers impressive. The meeting is kept very intimate to ease the communication between the participants. I attended this meeting for the second time. Again, I was very pleased with everything and learned a lot. This is definitely the meeting to learn the latest advances and methods in cell biology! This year organisers had improved participants’ interaction abilities as the schedule included: a networking event, a Meet the Expert session and the possibility to attend round table discussions with speakers.”

Meeting Bursary winner: Irene Ylivinkka, University of Helsinki, Finland

“As a young scientist I very much value the possibilities given by the conference to network with other researchers in the field, which is an exceptional opportunity for the exchange of experiences and establishment of collaborations. I highly recommend researchers to join the EACR community and attend the excellent EACR conferences.”

Meeting Bursary winner: Violetta Ritter, Institute of Cell Biology (Tumour Research), University Hospital Essen, Germany

A Matter of Life or Death: Mechanisms and Relevance of Cell Death for Cancer Biology and TreatmentAmsterdam, Netherlands, 28 - 30 January 2016

145 participants 82 posters 7 meeting bursaries

6th EACR-OECI Joint Training Course

Molecular Pathology Approach to Cancer

Amsterdam, Netherlands,

09 - 11 May 2016

“Great lectures presented by well-respected and knowledgeable speakers perfectly addressed important milestones in the field

of molecular pathology and emphasised its importance in the age of new molecular and biological therapies for cancer treatment. Thanks to important information provided during the lectures, lively discussions and friendly conversations during the breaks, I have already started to organise my work according to new cancer sub-classifications. I want to thank

the EACR once again for allowing me to use this opportunity and to live a memorable experience both professionally and

personally.”

Meeting Bursary winner: Ana Krivokuca, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia

2nd EACR Conference

Goodbye Flat Biology: Models, Mechanisms and Microenvironment Berlin, Germany, 02 - 05 October 2016

205 participants 112 posters 9 meeting bursaries

In 2016, we supported participants from 27 countries:• 24 Conference Series meeting bursaries• 53 Congress meeting bursaries • 10 bursaries for a partnered meeting

Meeting BursariesThe EACR provides bursaries of up to €500 plus a free registration to help early-career EACR members who have difficulty securing the necessary funding to participate in our conferences.

Visit www.eacr.org for more information

119 participants 8 meeting bursaries

EACR Goodbye Flat Biology finished with great faculty and impressive presentations by students and post docs. See you in 2018!

John A Hickman @Jhickmana • 05 Oct 2016

@Gradientech exhibiting at #EACRGoodbyeFlatBiology. Speed dating at its best!

Gradientech @Gradientech • 03 Oct 2016

Great atmosphere at the speed networking Session #EACRGoodbyeFlatBiology in Berlin!

EACR @EACRnews

Love teaching at the EACR-OECI Molecular Pathology Course. If you wanna learn how to profile whole cancer genomes, come next year! @EACRnews

Serena Nik-Zainal @SerenaNikZainal • 09 May 2016

EACR Yearbook 2017 17

Upcoming Conference

Series events

2017-2018Save the Date...

Defence is the Best Attack: Immuno-Oncology BreakthroughsBarcelona, Spain09 - 11 October 2017

7th EACR-OECI Joint Training Course: Molecular Pathology Approach to CancerAmsterdam, Netherlands08 - 10 May 2017

3rd EACR Conference on Cancer GenomicsCambridge, UK25 - 28 June 2017

Protecting the Code: Epigenetic Impacts on Genome StabilityBerlin, Germany29 October - 01 November 2017

Seed and Soil: In Vivo Models of MetastasisBerlin, Germany27 - 29 November 2017

2nd EACR Conference on DNA Damage ResponseOxford, UK12 - 14 March 2018

EACR Yearbook 201718

3rd EACR Conference

Cancer Genomics

Immuno-Oncology Breakthroughs

Defence is the Best Attack

Epigenetic Impacts on Genome Stability

2nd EACR Conference

Protecting the Code

Seed and SoilEACR-MRS Conference

In Vivo Models of Metastasis

DNA Damage Response

2nd EACR Conference

Molecular Pathology Approach to Cancer

7th EACR-OECI Joint Training Course

2nd Special Conference

EACRAACR

SIC24-27 JUNE2017

FLORENCE

ITALY

The Challenges of Optimising Immuno and Targeted Therapies

From Cancer Biology to the Clinic

Why participate?The conference will present the latest achievements in multidisciplinary research in targeted therapies and immunotherapies

Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits available

Basic, translational and clinical scientists

Physicians, practising medical, surgical and radiation oncologists

Experts involved in development of new therapeutics

Who should attend?

Challenges to the development of precision medicine approaches and drug resistance, and the ongoing efforts to better stratify patients for targeted therapy

Role of the microbiome and other microenvironmental factors in influencing therapy response

Utility of recent technical advances

The programme will include:

Regular rate registration deadline: 22 May 2017

For more information, visit www.ecco-org.eu/EAS2017

Conference Secretariat:c/o ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation+32 (0) 2 775 02 01EAS2017@ecco-org.euwww.ecco-org.eu/EAS2017

#EAS17

Claire had successfully applied for an EACR Travel Fellowship to support a three month research visit to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. Having read a report of Claire’s trip, which took place in early 2016, we were interested to find out more about the project and to discover how the award has helped to progress the work of the Marshall lab.

Professor John Marshall has been working in cancer research for over thirty years. He has spent most of his academic career studying invasion and metastasis. A particular research focus has been integrins, the molecules that ‘integrate’ the inside of the cell with the extracellular matrix. Better understanding the effect and impact of these molecules has great potential

to shape future cancer therapy, as John explains: “Because the integrins are involved at every stage of metastasis, they represent a really important potential target for inhibiting the ability of cancer cells to invade. And if you stop cells invading you would stop metastasis, which is the principle reason why people die from cancer.”

Since 1998, John’s lab has largely concentrated on the role of an integrin called αvβ6. “We were the first to publish that it promoted the ability of cancer cells to invade. It regulated the ability of cells to produce enzymes that could degrade collagens and other proteins, and it gave cells the ability to move - they could migrate better when they had this integrin

on their surface. It also did something which is probably of fairly major importance in many cancers; it was able to activate a growth factor that was embedded in the matrix around cells called TGFβ.”

Claire joined John’s lab at BCI in January 2013 as a PhD student looking at pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). It was not initially planned that Claire would travel abroad as part of her PhD: “I never even considered that as an opportunity to be honest.” The seed of the idea to visit the University of Michigan was planted at an international conference on pancreatic cancer, when it was suggested that Claire should explore the possibility of working in another lab for a few months. After returning to BCI, Claire discussed the idea with John: “We thought it was a really good idea, and we looked into where I was at with my PhD and what avenues I was interested in.” After deciding to focus the project on the role of αVβ6 in the tumour stroma, they approached Professor Andrew Rhim, a leading clinician-scientist based at the University of Michigan. As John explains, “Andy Rhim is one of the most highly respected clinical researchers in the field of pancreatic cancer. When it came to the possibility of Claire experiencing another laboratory, his was top of my list as somewhere that matched our goals.”

Professor Rhim was equally interested in the project, and warmly invited Claire to Ann Arbor for a three month lab visit. Claire explains how the trip provided a breakthrough in her investigations into the tumour stroma: “Previously we have cultured stellate cells in plastic dishes, however, over time the cells change their shape and behaviour from their original state. With access to Andy’s transgenic mice, and using a protocol developed by Claus Jorgensen at the University of Manchester to isolate stellate cells from mouse tissue, I was able to freshly isolate the pancreatic stellate cells and look at their interactions with pancreatic cancer cells in terms of αVβ6, using a 3D model we have developed in Professor John Marshall’s laboratory.”

For John, working with colleagues from around the world “really is one of the perks of the job”. The collaboration with the University of Michigan was absolutely crucial to the success of Claire’s project, and it is hoped that the relationship will continue to bear fruit: “Claire was able to go and establish a firm link with one of the leaders in the field, so that is a huge benefit to me going forward.”

The EACR meets its membersMembers are at the heart of the EACR, motivating everything that we do. However, with over 10,000 members, it can be easy to miss the detail of the amazing cancer research that is being done all across the world.

With this in mind, on a warm, sunny day in August 2016 we visited Barts Cancer Institute (BCI). The institute is tucked away in a quiet corner of central London, surrounded by a mixture of historic buildings and state-of-the-art scientific facilities. We were there to meet Claire Reader, a PhD student, and her supervisor Professor John Marshall.

Below: Claire Reader and Professor John Marshall

“The experiment provided some really exciting novel data”

- Claire Reader

“It is an essential component ofmodern research that you interact with multiple laboratories around the world and share ideas.” - John Marshall

John is optimistic about the future of cancer research: “I’ve been in the business long enough to see dramatic change for the better, in terms of real progress and real positive effects on patients’ lives. Lots of different strategies for treating patients and for understanding the biology of the cancer are just coming through now. Some of them are beginning to take effect and I have confidence that they are going to positively affect patients, and lots of patients.” Claire agrees: “We’re definitely moving closer to finding better treatments for patients, which is fundamentally what we’re all about.”

The EACR wishes the Marshall lab continued success as they strive, like all our members, to understand cancer more fully, and to work towards better treatments and patient care.

Image of the Month

When we visited the Barts Cancer Institute, John Marshall mentioned the need to promote high-quality scientific images. We talked about this back in the office. Coupled with other comments about the need to liven up our website, we came up with our Image of the Month competition which we launched in September 2016. It’s been a great success. We love receiving your images and working with a group of our EACR Ambassadors to select the winner each month. You can see a selection of the beautiful and meaningful images we have received so far on page 26.

Looking for collaborations?

In this year’s members’ survey we noticed some comments about creating a space for researchers to network, in order to facilitate the quest for collaborators. We have thought about how we can best respond to this and soon a page dedicated to cancer research collaborations will be available on the EACR website. We are really looking forward to seeing this in action and hearing your views about how it works.

You say, we do!

From left to right: Emily Saunderson, Milad Jeilani, Claire Reader, Robin Delaine-Smith, Ami Desai, Koorosh Korfi, Roger Doxat-Pratt, John Marshall, Jyotsana Singh, Caitlin Davies, Yasmine Tanner, Marta Freitas, Ketan Patel

For more information on the Marshall lab, visit: www.bci.qmul.ac.uk

Your lab in the spotlight?As a professional membership organisation, we want our members to be the focus of our activities. When time allows, we are keen to organise lab visits, interviews and member meet-ups.

To suggest a visit to where you work, you can contact Roger Doxat-Pratt,roger.doxat-pratt@nottingham.ac.uk.

EACR Yearbook 2017 21

Clear take home message - Ulrich Pfeffer

Never forget to write your references. It can be in small font but you have to show your readers that your sources of information are impeccable - Ashok Komaranchath

Thank and acknowledge patients, colleagues, funders and sponsors - Helen Winter

A smile and willingness to explain and answer questions - Ghalia Shelmani

A good poster must have a catchy title, a clear explanation of aims, methods and results - Ashok Komaranchath

Simplify the story to convey. Fight the urge to data dump to show-off how much has been done - Jesvin Samuel

Results must be clearly summarised. Clear conclusion responding to the objective of the study. Keep in mind that the reader is not a specialised fellow and he/she has other posters to read - Adouda Adjiri

EACR perfect poster by the EACR Community

3. Be creative

4. What else?

2. Design

Visual impact is important to attract attention. Choose 2-3 colours that are colourblind friendly - Laura Escudero

Be aware of font issues; Calibri or Arial are better than Times New Roman - Theodora Katsila

A picture can say a thousand words and use arrows and diagrams to make it easy to follow - Anushree Dwivedi

Use few colours: that is how your poster will not cause headaches - Marko Gerić

Avoid dense text, which is tedious and boring for the reader. Instead, use bullets, numbering and headlines, which make reading more comfortable - Pinelopi Samara

Make sure you use high resolution images. Images that look good on a screen might not look as good when printed - the EACR Team

1. Content

Share more content on your poster; want to show your impressive intravital imaging video, start a discussion about your poster on Twitter or find your next career move by sharing your LinkedIn profile, then generate a QR code online, place on your poster and any smartphone user can link directly to any website! - Steven Reid

Jump off the page! Why not add a pad of post-its to allow viewers to comment on your poster even when you’re not there - the EACR Team

Be prepared! Take some white tape and a thick pen to the conference to fix any mistakes you might have missed - the EACR Team

xx

x

Thank you to every member who responded to our call and sent us their suggestions. We have pulled these together and this is what you think makes a perfect academic research poster.

EACR Yearbook 201722

2017

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCESPresenting the most significant research on cancer etiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

Learn more and register at AACR.org/Calendar

AACR Annual Meeting 2017 Program Committee Chairperson: Kornelia Polyak April 1-5, 2017 • Washington, DC

AACR-AHNS Head and Neck Cancer Conference: Optimizing Survival and Quality of Life Through Basic, Clinical, and Translational Research Conference Chairperson: Jeffrey N. Myers Conference Cochairpersons: Jennifer Rubin Grandis, J. Silvio Gutkind, and Quynh-Thu Le April 23-25, 2017 • San Diego, CA

AACR International Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine Conference Cochairpersons: Carlos L. Arteaga and Carlos Gil M. Ferreira May 4-6, 2017 • São Paulo, Brazil

Hematologic Malignancies: Translating Discoveries to Novel Therapies Conference Chairperson: Jonathan D. Licht Conference Cochairpersons: Lucy A. Godley, Louis M. Staudt, and Catherine J. Wu May 6-9, 2017 • Boston, MA

Advances in Sarcomas: From Basic Science to Clinical Translation Conference Cochairpersons: Irene L. Andrulis, Ping Chi, Jonathan A. Fletcher, and Lee J. Helman May 16-19, 2017 • Philadelphia, PA

International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) ICML President: Franco Cavalli Chairperson, Local Organizing Committee: Michele Ghielmini June 14-17, 2017 • Lugano, Switzerland

EACR-AACR-SIC Special Conference 2017: The Challenges of Optimizing Immuno- and Targeted Therapies: From Cancer Biology to the Clinic Conference Cochairpersons: Anton J.M. Berns, Nancy E. Davidson, and Silvia Giordano June 24-27, 2017 • Florence, Italy

Third CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference September 6-9, 2017 Mainz/Frankfurt, Germany

Advances in Modeling Cancer in Mice: Technology, Biology, and Beyond Conference Cochairpersons: Cory Abate-Shen, Kevin M. Haigis, Katerina A. Politi, and Julien Sage September 24-27, 2017 • Orlando, FL

Tenth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved Conference Cochairpersons to be announced September 25-28, 2017 • Atlanta, GA

AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Conference Cochairpersons to be announced October 26-30, 2017 • Philadelphia, PA

Prostate Cancer Conference Cochairpersons: Johann S. de Bono, Karen E. Knudsen, Peter S. Nelson, and Mark A. Rubin December 2-5, 2017 • Orlando, FL

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Presented by CTRC-AACR-BCM Codirectors: Carlos L. Arteaga, Virginia G. Kaklamani, and C. Kent Osborne December 5-9, 2017 • San Antonio, TX

1701135_UpcomingConf_Jan17_EACR_Yearbook_210x297mm.indd 1 1/27/17 12:02 PM

210x297_COL11295_0216_TFS-CLI #5576 Liquid Biopsy 2016_v3.indd 1 17/02/2016 18:12

210x297_LT-4634 Oncomine Ad_V5.indd 1 19/02/2016 11:46

EACR Image of the Month

November 2

016

- P

atr

icia

Pe

reira

(Port

ugal)

Ja

nu

ary

20

17 - B

rooke Pereira (Australia)

October 2016 - John Marshall & An

ne

We

ston

(UK

)

December 2016 - Ruizhi Tang (F

ran

ce

)

February 2017 - Lucia Borriello & Y

ves D

eC

lerc

k (US

A)

We want more!Send us the cancer research pictures you are proud of!

Email: claire.sullivan@nottingham.ac.uk

www.eacr.org/image-of-the-month

Your image here?

The winners on this page capture the beauty in the research process and illustrate concepts such as (top to bottom):

- Two human squamous carcinoma cells invading into a collagen rich gel

- Increased F-actin staining in human bladder cancer cells after

photodynamic therapy - Mesenchymal cell stained with DAPI and anti-α smooth muscle actin - 3D melt electrospun scaffold model of the human prostate tumour microenvironment

- Cancer associated fibroblast (CAF) isolated from a patient with

neuroblastoma

We love celebrating the work of EACR members and in September 2016 we launched an appeal for your scientifically and visually stunning images which portray genuine cancer research.

26 EACR Yearbook 2017

In 2016 we expanded our membership benefits to include opportunities to win free registrations as an EACR correspondent at external meetings. You will have seen these prize draws regularly in the e-news bulletin. All EACR members are welcome to participate regardless of seniority or location. Why not enter next time you spot one in the e-news bulletin!

Let’s see what some of our 2016 EACR correspondents have to report back to the community...

IARC 50th Anniversary Conference07 - 10 June 2016, Lyon, FranceEACR Correspondent: Mieke Van HemelrijckKing’s College London, UK

The IARC anniversary was a celebration of 50 years of commitment to international cancer research collaborations; an anniversary to be proud of. Half a century of lessons to be learned, and the enthusiasm and possibilities of planning the next 50 years.

It was an amazing experience

New membership benefit!Win free registrations at external meetings

19th Cancer Research UK Beatson International Cancer Conference: Modelling the Mechanisms of Malignancy - In Vivo Veritas03 - 06 July 2016, Glasgow, ScotlandEACR Correspondent: Ceren SucularliHacettepe University, Institute of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey

On a beautiful evening in Glasgow, scientists from all over the world gathered at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute. The focus of the conference was the mechanisms that drive cells to cancerous and metastatic states, and studies with cancer models.

One of the most anticipated and exciting talks was by the EACR President at the time, Prof. Richard Marais. In the lecture, Prof. Marais emphasised the importance of understanding cancer biology to improve patient care. One of the highlights of the conference was the Colin Thomson Memorial Medal award which Prof. Marais received for his exceptional contributions to cancer research.

Overall, the conference was very informative and inspiring for the participants. It provided detailed information on cancer mechanisms, treatment options and the latest developments in cancer research. During the conference, I was very impressed by how new technologies were extensively used in recent cancer studies and how the results are interpreted to find new therapeutic approaches.

DKTK Translational Summer School24 - 28 October 2016, Algarve, PortugalEACR Correspondent: Terézia Kisková Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, Košice, Slovak Republic

As a basic researcher I sometimes lose the vision of why and what I am doing during the routine of everyday laboratory work. But in my point of view, the Summer School in translational cancer research has bridged the gaps between medical doctors and basic researchers. I understand now even better the need for basic research in the clinic. I learnt to understand the “language of clinicians”. Moreover, I got to know many fantastic young researchers and I am looking forward to collaborating with them. In addition, the professors gave us the opportunity to write to them in need of help with some scientific problems. I would highly recommend everybody to attend the Summer School next year.

EACR Yearbook 2017 27