Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center hosted its 27th Annual Scientific Symposium, themed “Cancer and Environment at Every Scale,” last month. More than 300 people attended, including faculty, trainees, staff, community advisory board members, and cancer survivors from across Vanderbilt, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University and the broader community.  

This year’s event highlighted research examining the many factors that influence cancer development, progression and patient outcomes — from molecular mechanisms to neighborhood-level data that reveal patterns across communities.   

For the second consecutive year, it was organized by a trainee-led steering committee and included four co-chairs: Yash Pershad, a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program; Michael Robinson, MD, MSCI, Instructor in Pediatrics; Molly Talman, MD, Pediatric Hematology Clinical Fellow; and Jared Rhodes, PhD candidate. The symposium is faculty-mentored by Christopher Williams, MD, PhD, Associate Director for Research Education at Vanderbilt-Ingram, and Kim Dahlman, PhD, Assistant Director for Research Education.  

“Our goal is to build an environment where not only do our trainees participate in cutting-edge, impactful scientific research, but they actually help shape it,” said Williams, who holds the MSTP Directorship. “Watching this committee take full ownership of the planning for a second consecutive year has been extremely rewarding.”  

Vanderbilt-Ingram Director Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology, gave opening remarks and introduced the Mission Moment speaker, Roberta Casanova, a breast cancer patient and Research Advocate. Casanova shared her personal experience with breast cancer and highlighted both the challenges of treatment and the ongoing complexities of survivorship.  

Attendees heard from two nationally recognized keynote speakers:  

• Mikala Egeblad, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor and Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Program, talked about how environmental stressors — such as microplastics — can trigger inflammation and influence cancer progression.  

• Scarlett Lin Gomez, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Co-Leader of the Cancer Control Program at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed how neighborhood-level data can reveal differences in cancer incidence and outcomes, underscoring the role of nonmedical factors that impact health.  

Another highlight was the presentation of annual scholar awards for exceptional contributions to cancer research and care:  

• Yash Pershad received the Graduate Student of the Year award for his work on the mutation-specific risk of clonal hematopoiesis in the laboratory of Alex Bick, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, and holder of the Edward Claiborne Stahlman Chair. Pershad’s research has significantly advanced understanding of the condition, its progression toward malignancy, and opportunities for cancer interception. He is the author of nearly a dozen first-author publications in journals including Blood, JAMA Oncology and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.   

• Youngmin Kwon, PhD, was named Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year. Recognized as an outstanding collaborator, mentor and educator, he authored 22 peer-reviewed publications in journals including Health Services Research and JAMA Health Forum. His research focuses on access to cancer care in Medicare, and he is mentored by Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research.  

A cornerstone of the symposium, the poster session featured 106 presentations. Biochemistry PhD candidate Gabriela Gonzalez-Vasquez received the overall exceptional poster award for her research on ATR signaling in DNA replication.   

Other poster honorees were:

Basic Science  

• Sydney Henriques   
• Brandon Goldstein   
• Alyssa Jarabek   

Population Science  

• Marin Arnoletti, MPH   
• Guochong Jia, PhD, MPH  
• Duc Huy Le, MD, MBA   

Clinical/Translational Science  

• Sarah Ginther   
• Julia Steele   
• Breelyn Karno   

Shared Resources  

• Kevin Schey, PhD   

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Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center will host “The Future of Lung Cancer Care,” a one-day educational event scheduled for May 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University.

The conference will focus on recent improvements in patient outcomes and survival resulting from early detection, advanced imaging, minimally invasive procedures, and breakthroughs in targeted and immune-based therapies. Those improvements have resulted in the five-year survival rate nearly doubling over a decade, according to the State of Lung Cancer report from the American Lung Association.

The conference will feature nationally and internationally known experts.

• Daniel Sterman, MD, director of the Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Oncology Program at New York University Langone Health, will speak about “Interventional Pulmonology: Bronchoscopically Delivered Treatment of Early Lung Cancer.”
• Mohamed Shanshal, MBChB, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Vanderbilt Health and clinical director of Thoracic Oncology, will address “Medical Oncology: Integrating Immunotherapy, Targeted Therapy, and Beyond.”
• Joseph Mammarappallil, MD, PhD, associate professor of Radiology and cardiothoracic imaging specialist at Duke University School of Medicine, will discuss “Interventional Radiology: Imaging-Driven Precision and Local Control.”
• Several Vanderbilt Health lung cancer experts will also speak.

Discussion topics include advances in early detection and diagnostic precision, breakthroughs in minimally invasive biopsy and surgical techniques, the expanding role of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, evolving approaches to survivorship, and supportive care. The conference is open to families, caregivers, clinicians, trainees and anyone interested in lung cancer care. Physicians who attend the conference may claim 7.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits toward continuing medical education.

Reservations can be made via Eventbrite.

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