Symposia

Register to attend: https://yalesurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iJiKKBQ4wi7QEu

For Zoom link, please contact Katie.Behr@yale.edu

Presentations by pilot project awardees:

Oneida Arosarena, MD (Fox Chase Cancer Center): A Small Molecule Leucine Carboxyl Methyltransferase-1 Inhibitor Radiosensitizes Head and Neck Squamous Carcinoma Cells

Yash Chhbra, PhD (Fox Chase Cancer Center): Deciphering Age and Sex Disparity in the HPV-negative Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma Microenvironment

Michael Chiorazzi, MD, PhD (Yale Cancer Center): Remodeling of the HPV+ HNSCC Tumor and Lymph Node Microenvironment by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Demethylating Therapy

Lilian Kabeche, PhD (Yale Cancer Center): Leveraging ATR Regulation of Centromere Identity in HNSCC

Samuel Katz, MD, PhD (Yale Cancer Center): Engineering the T Cell Cytoskeleton for Improved Solid Tumor CAR-T Cytotoxicity

Travis Schrank, MD, PhD (University of North Carolina): Pharmacological NF-kB activation as a strategy for radio-sensitization of high-risk HPV+ HNSCC

Thuy Tran, MD, PhD (Yale Cancer Center): Targeting the MIF/DDT-CD74 Signaling Axis to Enhance Immunotherapy Responses to SCCs

On June 28, 2024, the Yale Head and Neck SPORE held its annual Career Enhancement and Developmental Research Programs Symposium at The Anlyan Center Auditorium at Yale.

Nearly 50 head and neck research investigators across three participating institutions — Yale University, Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC)/Temple University, and University of North Carolina (UNC) — joined in-person and via Zoom.

The SPORE developmental research programs are directed by Barbara Burtness, MD and Karen Anderson, PhD and career enhancement by Kathryn Ferguson, PhD and Curtis Pickering, PhD. Each program is designed to recruit and promote investigators in head and neck cancer research and the symposium aimed to strengthen future collaborations that advance knowledge of the biology and treatment of head and neck cancers.

The 2024-2025 investigators chosen for the programs presented their projects and discussed their future plans with an engaged audience at the auditorium. Talks included:

• Three career enhancement awardees: Yale’s Michael Chiorazzi, Md, PhD and Thuy Tran, Md, PhD and Pedro Torres-Ayuso, PhD (FCCC/Temple)
• Investigators leading developmental research projects: UNC’s Lee Graves, PhD, Travis Schrank, MD, PhD and Natalia Issaeva, PhD and Yale’s He (Peter) Wang, MD, PhD and Curtis Pickering, MD, PhD.