Our top picks at AACR 2024
As AACR 2024 approaches, we bring you everything you need to know before the event and highlight our picks for those attending.
Where? When? Who?
This year’s annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) will take place at the San Diego Convention Center (CA, USA) from the 5–10 April 2024. This year’s theme is “Inspiring Science, Fueling Progress, Revolutionizing Care,” but the real headline is that this event will strive to address seemingly the hottest topic of our time with extensive coverage of the influence of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science in cancer research.
The all-inclusive bench-to-bedside theme of the conference and its data science focus is reflected in the AACR’s decision to take on two Program Chairs this year: Christina Curtis, Professor of Medicine, Genetics and Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University (CA, USA), who brings the data science expertise; and translational, clinical researcher Keith Flaherty, Director of Clinical Research and a physician investigator at Mass General Cancer Center (MA, USA).
This year’s President, Philip Greenberg (University of Washington, WA, USA), will preside over what looks set to be the largest meeting of the AACR in its history. Greenberg made his name with a series of discoveries that elucidated the pathways and mechanism involved in the T-cell response to tumors and viral infections, and has impressed the importance of this field with the presidential select symposium: “Cancer immunotherapy – where do we go from here?”
Greenberg has also highlighted the critical importance of communicating science to the public, casting his gaze out of his specialism and taking learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic. Commenting on how the pandemic altered his perception of science and its status in wider society, he revealed that, “it made us realize that there’s a disconnect here between our understanding of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it and how a very large fraction of the public perceives that.”
With the ambitious theme resulting in a vast program to select from, we have compiled our top picks for the BioTechniques audience below.
Our top picks for AACR 2024
Strategies to effectively communicate science to the public
When: 6 April 2024, 2:00 pm
Where: Ballroom 6 A – Upper Level – Convention Center
Curated by the AACR President, this session aims to ensure that scientists can begin to “treat public outreach like any other professional skill development. Many researchers have become more effective teachers by observing and modeling the behaviors of mentors. It is also necessary to seek out role models who can demonstrate effective scientific communication with non-scientists.”
The session brings together five expert researchers with excellent science communication skills who can serve as these mentor figures and impart their knowledge and experience in this sphere to the audience.
Discovery science in early cancer biology and interception
When: 6 April 2024, 4:15 pm
Where: Hall GH – Ground Level – Convention Center
The first plenary session of the meeting is not one to be missed for the bench-side basic researcher, exploring early cancer biology, from clonal hematopoiesis to DNA damage responses.
Eavesdropping on the immunosuppressive crosstalk between the myeloid and T cell compartments
When: 7 April 2024, 1:00 pm
Where: Ballroom 6 A – Upper Level – Convention Center
As our technical capabilities improve with relation to multiplex and single-cell and spatial investigations, the intersection of different systems, cell types and disciplines is becoming more accessible. This session highlights that change with insights into T-cell regulation by myeloid cells and their potential therapeutic applications.
Molecular profiling in breast cancer and racial/ethnic minorities: dedicated to the memory of Edith P. Mitchell
When: 8 April 2024, 10:15 am
Where: Room 31 – Upper Level – Convention Center
Disparities in outcomes for cancer patients remain a blight on the field, despite significant efforts to address them and improve performance for cancer treatments across the full spectrum of the diversity of the human race. This session focuses on the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer among women in the USA and efforts to address disparities with corrective molecular studies of samples from underserved groups.
Presidential select symposium: cancer immunotherapy – where do we go from here?
When: 8 April 2024, 10:15 am
Where: Room 31 – Upper Level – Convention Center
Featuring titans from the immunology field such as Nobel laureate James Allison (MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX, USA) and AACR president Philip Greenberg, this session will provide a fascinating insight into the current landscape of immunotherapies and their future perspectives.
Antigen discovery and validation for cancer vaccines
When: 9 April 2024, 10:15 am
Where: Room 33 – Upper Level – Convention Center
Since their inception, the cancer vaccines field has continually drawn vast amounts of attention for their promising clinical implications, particularly after the rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccines, which relied on highly similar technologies to succeed. This session will examine the approaches used to identify novel antigens for these emerging therapeutics.
Molecular glues, PROTACs and next-gen degraders: discovery and early preclinical advances
When: 9 April 2024, 10:15 am
Where: Room 31 – Upper Level – Convention Center
Protein degraders constitute one of the fastest-growing therapeutic modalities in cancer. This session will explore the targeting and delivery of these ground-breaking molecules.
AI at the interface: accelerating evidence generation, advancing disparities research and improving trial design
When: 10 April 2024, 08:00 am
Where: Ballroom 20 – Upper Level – Convention Center
Truly encompassing the theme of the AACR 2024 meeting, this final plenary session will examine the impact of AI in drug discovery, health disparities and clinical settings of cancer research.
Get the full AACR 2024 program here.
Top tips for AACR first timers
Prepare in advance
There are thousands of meetings! Have a list of must-see sessions you don’t want to miss and a list of sessions that would be a nice bonus. Check if there is anyone presenting that you’d like to connect with and drop them an email before going to their talk so you can meet up with them afterwards.
Don’t try and attend it all
Attend 2–3 sessions a day and really engage with them, then spend time networking and catching up with acquaintances. It’s easy to burn yourself out and you want to make sure that you can take things on board as much on the last day as you did on the first!
Don’t underestimate networking
Carve out time in between and after sessions to chat and make connections, attend the networking events and socialize. It can be a good way to restore your brain in between the deep concentration needed for sessions and you never know where the connections you make could lead! Particular sessions of note include the Meet the research grant reviewers session to discuss the grant review process and the AACR associate member meet and greet for early career members of AACR.
Don’t miss the Professional advancement track
At AACR this year, the Cancer and Biomedical Research Career Fair will be in Hall F – Ground Level – Convention Center from 09:00 am– 3:00 pm on Saturday 6 April, and numerous sessions on grant writing, peer review and much more in the professional advancement tracks. Particular sessions of note this year include the Women and power workshop: advancing and securing your career in science and Minorities in cancer research professional development forum.
Where can you find us?
You can find us at booth 4329 in the exhibition hall. Come and say hi to discuss any research you may want to submit, how you could work with us to share research news from your lab or just to chat. But most of all, enjoy AACR 2024!
