PICI-affiliated Researchers Featured at #AACR23

Philip Greenberg, MD, will begin his term as president of the American Association for Cancer Research. Honorees include Carl H. June, MD; E. John Wherry, PhD; Robert D. Schreiber, PhD; and Andrea Schietinger, PhD.

More than 20 investigators affiliated with the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) will be featured at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023, April 14-19 in Orlando.

Philip Greenberg, MD, (Twitter: @HutchGreenberg) of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will be installed as AACR president for the 2023-2024 term and will be at the April 18 “Meet the 2023-2024 AACR President” session. He has served as president-elect for the past year.

Honorees include leaders of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania:

• Center Director Carl H. June, MD, (Twitter: @CarlHJune) who will receive the AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research – a recognition of his groundbreaking work in developing the first gene-edited cell therapy for cancer and for demonstrating that adoptive T-cell therapy can induce remission and in some cases cure patients with advanced cancer.
• Center Co-Director E. John Wherry, PhD, (Twitter: @EJohnWherry) who will receive the AACR-Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology for outstanding and innovative research that has had a major impact on the cancer field and has the potential to stimulate new directions in cancer immunology.

Two other PICI Network members also are being honored with lectureships:

• Robert D. Schreiber, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who will deliver the AACR-Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship on April 17. The lectureship award recognizes an individual scientist whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the detection, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancer, and who embodies the dedication of Princess Takamatsu to multinational collaborations.
• Andrea Schietinger, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who will deliver the AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship on April 18. This award acknowledges an individual whose outstanding personal innovation in science and whose position as a thought leader in fields relevant to cancer research has the potential to inspire creative thinking and new directions in cancer research.

PICI Network member Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, of the University of Pennsylvania, is program committee chair of this year’s meeting. He will chair the opening and closing plenary sessions:

• “Advancing the Frontiers of Cancer Science and Medicine,” on April 16, and
• “AACR Annual Meeting 2023 Highlights: Vision for the Future,” on April 19

Beatriz M. Carreno, PhD, also of the University of Pennsylvania, will deliver a plenary presentation during the “Beating Kras: A 30-Year Overnight Sensation” session on April 15.

Below are details about these and other sessions featuring PICI-affiliated investigators. Unless otherwise noted, each session will be at the Orange County Convention Center.

Please note that programming is subject to change. For the most current information, visit the conference schedule or download the app. Follow the meeting live on Twitter using the hashtag #AACR23.

Saturday, April 15

Session: ED053 – Fostering Entrepreneurship I: Commercializing Innovative Ideas – Where to Start?
Panelist: Yvonne Y. Chen, PhD, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Time: 8-9:30 a.m.
Location: Room W315

Session: ED036 – Understanding Neutrophil Dynamics in Cancer: Mouse to Human and Back Again
Time: 10-11:30 a.m.
Location: Valencia BC

Presenter: Taha Merghoub, PhD, (Twitter: @merghout) Weill Cornell Medicine
Presentation: Immunotherapies trigger neutrophil activation to eliminate tumor antigen escape variants
Time: 11-11:20 a.m.

Session: ED046 – Recent Advances and Future Directions in Immunotherapeutic Approaches to Childhood Solid Malignancies
Time: 2:30-4 p.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 3-4 (WF3-4)

Presenter: Crystal L. Mackall, MD, (Twitter: @mackalllab) Stanford University
Presentation: CAR T cells for children’s cancers
Time: 3:30-3:50 p.m.

Session: PL01 – Beating KRAS: A 30-Year Overnight Sensation
Time: 4:15-6:15 p.m.
Location: W Hall A2-3

Presenter: Beatriz M. Carreno, PhD
Presentation: KRAS is personal: Just ask the immune system
Time: 5:40-6:07 p.m.

Sunday, April 16

Plenary Session: PL02 – Opening Plenary Session: Advancing the Frontiers of Cancer Science and Medicine
Chairperson: Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil
Time: 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Location: W Hall A2-3

Session: CTPL01 – Harnessing the Immune System in the Clinic
Time: 12:45-3:15 p.m.
Location: Chapin Theater

Discussant: Margaret Callahan, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Time: 1-1:10 p.m.

Session: SY06 – Contributions of the Tumor Glycome to Immune Suppression and Immunotherapy Resistance and Opportunities for Therapeutic Intervention
Chairperson: Avery D. Posey, PhD, (Twitter: @IAmDrDex) University of Pennsylvania
Time: 1-2:30 p.m.
Location: Room W224

Presenter: Avery D. Posey, PhD
Presentation: Interactions between truncated O-glycans and the immune system, and opportunities for intervention
Time: 1:55-2:15 p.m.

Session: MS.CL07.01 – Immunotherapy
Time: 3-5 p.m.
Location: Room W414

Presenter: Zinaida Good, PhD, (Twitter: @GoodZinaida) Stanford University
Presentation: 1128 – Lineage tracing of CAR T cells in patients with B cell malignancies
Time: 4:07-4:22 p.m.

Session: LE03 – AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
Awardee and Invited Speaker: Carl H. June, MD
Time: 4:30-5:15 p.m.
Location: Valencia D

Monday, April 17

Session: MG04 – Meet the Editors-in-Chief of Cancer Immunology Research: Robert D. Schreiber, PhD and Philip D. Greenberg, MD
Discussants: Robert D. Schreiber, PhD, and Philip D. Greenberg, MD
Time: 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Location: Publications Booth 2743 – W Halls B-E1

Session: SY12 – T Cells and the Tumor
Time: 10:15-11:45 a.m.
Location: Valencia A

Presenter: Ansuman T. Satpathy, MD, PhD, (Twitter: @satpathology) Stanford University
Presentation: Enhancing T cell effector function in cancer
Time: To be announced

Session: MS.IM02.01 – From Cancer Immunology to Immunotherapy
Chairperson: Taha Merghoub, PhD
Time: 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Location: Valencia A

Session: LBMS01 – Minisymposium: Late-breaking Research
Chairperson: Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil
Time: 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Location: Room W307

Session: LE11 – AACR-Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology
Chairperson: Crystal L. Mackall, MD
Awardee and Invited Speaker: E. John Wherry, PhD
Time: 3:30-4:15 p.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 2 (WF2)

Session: SS04 – AACR-ASCO Joint Session: Myeloid-targeted Agents for Solid Tumors
Time: 4:45-6:15 p.m.
Location: Room W315

Presenter: Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD, (Twitter: @PamSharmaMDPhD) The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Presentation: From the clinic to the lab: Investigating myeloid cells that drive resistance to immune checkpoint therapy
Time: 5:17-5:39 p.m.

Session: FO07 – CAR Cells: Which CAR to Drive?
Time: 5-6:30 p.m.
Location: Chapin Theater

Presenter: Yvonne Y. Chen, PhD
Presentation: Synthetic biology for CAR protein engineering
Time: 5:05-5:20 p.m.

Presenter: Christine E. Brown, PhD, City of Hope
Presentation: CAR protein engineering: Practical considerations and functional implications?
Time: 5:20-5:35 p.m.

Session: LE15 – AACR-Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship
Time: 5:30-6:15 p.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 3-4 (WF3-4)

Presenter: Robert D. Schreiber, PhD
Presentation: The Complex Roles of CD4+ T Cells in Promoting or Inhibiting Immune Responses to Cancer
Time: 5:40-6:15 p.m.

Session: PAS06 – Navigating the Path to a Successful Career in Cancer Research
Co-Chairperson: Katie M. Campbell, PhD, (Twitter: @CampKatiee) University of California, Los Angeles
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: Rosen Centre Hotel, Junior Ballroom F

Tuesday, April 18

Session: ADT04 – Cancer Vaccines: Back to the Future
Chairperson: Vinod P. Balachandran, MD, (Twitter: @TheVinodLab) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Time: 10:15-11:45 a.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 3-4 (WF3-4)

Presenter: Catherine J. Wu, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Presentation: Title to be announced
Time: 10:20-10:40 a.m.

Presenter: Vinod P. Balachandran, MD
Presentation: Individualized mRNA neoantigen vaccines for pancreatic cancer
Time: 10:40-11 a.m.

Session: SY18 – Dharma Master Jiantai Symposium in Targeted Therapy: Cellular Therapies for Cancer
Chairperson: Christopher A. Klebanoff, MD, (Twitter: @KlebanoffLab) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Time: 12:30-2 p.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 2 (WF2)

Presenter: Christopher A. Klebanoff, MD
Presentation: Immunogenicity and therapeutic targeting of recurrently mutated ‘public’ neoantigens
Time: 12:35-12:55 p.m.

Session: ADT11 – Immune Profiling and Immune Health in Cancer
Time: 12:30-2 p.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 3-4 (WF3-4)

Presenter: E. John Wherry, PhD
Presentation: Immune cells as ‘biosensors’ and the basis for immune health profiling of cancer and beyond
Time: 1:25-1:45 p.m.

Session: MG11 – Meet the 2023-2024 AACR President, Philip D. Greenberg, MD, FAACR
Time: 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Location: AACR Central – W Halls B-E1

Session: MS.IM01.02 – New Opportunities for Combinatorial Immunotherapies
Co-Chairperson: Crystal L. Mackall, MD
Time: 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 2 (WF2)

Session: LE20 – AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship
Invited Speaker: Andrea Schietinger, PhD
Time: 4:45-5:30 p.m.
Location: Room W331

Session: FO11 – Driving Towards Rational Combination ICT Trials
Moderator: Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD
Time: 5-6:30 p.m.
Location: Chapin Theater

Presenter: Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD
Presentation: Investigating mechanisms of response and resistance for the development of ICT combinations
Time: 5:01-5:21 p.m.

Session: FO05 – What Does a Biostatistician Really Think of Your Study and Why?
Time: 5-6:30 p.m.
Location: Room W311 A-D

Presenter: Christopher Cabanski, PhD, PICI
Presentation: Designing a clinical trial: best practices and pitfalls to avoid
Time: 5:05-5:20 p.m.

Wednesday, April 19

Session: SY19 – Engineered T Cells for Solid Tumors
Time: 10:15-11:45 a.m.
Location: Tangerine Ballroom 2 (WF2)

Presenter: Kole Roybal, PhD, (Twitter: @KoleRoybal) University of California, San Francisco
Presentation: Towards the development of synthetic immunity to cancer
Time: 10:20-10:40 a.m.

Presenter: Cristina Puig-Saus, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Presentation: Engineering a potent T-cell response against solid tumors
Time: 10:45-11:05 a.m.

Session: PL06 – AACR Annual Meeting 2023 Highlights: Vision for the Future
Chairperson: Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil
Time: Noon-1:25 p.m.
Location: Chapin Theater