The Midwest Tumor Microenvironment Meeting will be held at the Pyle Center located at the heart of UW-Madison Campus.
702 Langdon St, Madison, WI 53706
MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024
12:30-1:30 Registration and Poster Set-up
1:30-1:45 Welcome and Introduction
1:45-2:45 Session I: Cancer Associated Fibroblasts and ECM
Discussion Leader: Shelby Fertal
1:45-2:15 Sufi Thomas (University of Kansas): “TRIM16, a critical regulator of secretory autophagy in CAFs”
2:15-2:45 – Speakers from selected abstracts
Brajesh Kumar Savita (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Fibroblast-derived CPXM1 as a novel target in melanoma”
Christopher Halbrook (University of California, Irvine) “Single-cell sequencing reveals unique stromal populations and crosstalk mechanisms in liver metastatic pancreatic cancer”
2:45-3:00 Poster Blitz I
3:00-3:15 Break
3:15-3:30 Poster Blitz II
3:30-4:30 Keynote Address
Brendan Harley, Robert W. Schaefer Professor (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign): “Building Tumors – engineering complexity through biomaterial design”
4:30-6:00 Poster Session I
6:00-8:30 Dinner
TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024
7:30-8:00 Morning walk by Lake Mendota
8:00-9:00 Breakfast
9:00-10:15 Session II: TME in Early-Stage Cancer
Discussion Leader: Cristina Sanchez de Diego
9:00-9:30 Nina Steele (Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center and Wayne State University): “Extracting mechanisms of cellular cross-talk in pancreatic cancer using big data”
9:30-10:15 Speakers from selected abstracts
Athena Golfinos-Owens (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Integrated omics analysis of anal cancer and pre-cancer tumor microenvironment”
Erin Dickerson (University of Minnesota) “MCT1 regulates the progression of oral premalignant dysplasia to early invasive squamous cell carcinoma”
Brenna Walton (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Acrylamide exposure in obesity enhances mammary epithelial oxidative stress and promotes mammary tumor metastasis in a p53-/- model of tumorigenesis”
10:15-10:45 Break & Group Photo
10:45-12:00 Session III: Targeting the Adaptive Immune System
Discussion Leader: Marvis Monteiro
10:45-11:15 Adam Mailloux (University of Iowa)
11:15-12:00 Speakers from selected abstracts
Elizabeth Elias (University of Iowa) “RABL6A promotes PD-L1 expression in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors”
Donovan Drouillard (Medical College of Wisconsin) “CCL20 recruits super suppressor CCR6+ Tregs in gastrointestinal malignancies”
Alexis Elfstrum (University of Minnesota) “LYVE-1-expressing macrophages clear apoptotic tumor debris and drive immunosuppression to promote mammary tumor growth”
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:45 Session IV: Cancer Immune Interactions
Discussion Leader: Alexa Heaton
1:30-2:00 Meenal Datta (University of Notre Dame): “Immunomechanics and mechano-immunology in glioblastoma”
2:15-2:45 Speakers from selected abstracts
Olivia Kuckhahn (University of Minnesota) “‘MacroTools’: Enhancing the anti-tumor potential of tumor-associated macrophages in breast cancer”
Marrion Yap (University of Kansas) “COL11A1 associated with HNSCC immunosuppression”
2:45-3:00 Break
3:00-3:15 Poster Blitz III
3:15-4:00 Special Session
Nastaran Zahir, Branch Director, Cancer Training Branch, NCI
“Funding opportunities for early investigators”
4:00-4:45 Panel Discussion: Emerging technologies in TME
Panel Moderator: Kevin Eliceiri
Panel Members:
Filiz Yesilkoy (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Yang Liu (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Meghan Driscoll (University of Minnesota)
Huy Dinh (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
4:30-6:00 Poster Session II
6:00 Dinner (on your own)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024
8:00-9:00 Breakfast
9:00-10:30 Session V: Mechanisms of Therapy Resistance
Discussion Leader: Brittany Heil
9:00-9:30 Brittany Allen-Peterson (Purdue University): “Phosphatase dysregulation drives epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and therapeutic resistance in NSCLC”
9:30-10:30 Speakers from selected abstracts
Adeline Ding (University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Osteoclasts mediate chemotherapy resistance in a fully humanized microphysiologic system of prostate cancer bone metastases”
Amanda Pope (University of Iowa) “Fluid shear stress enhances metastatic potential and rapidly alters metabolism of circulating tumor cells”
Sanya Hayati (Indiana University) “Impact of genetic alterations in Ref-1 using CRISPR editing of cysteine residues (C65, C93, C99) on redox signaling, proliferation and metastasis in pancreatic cancer”
Emily Dykhuizen (Purdue University) “An essential role for the PBAF chromatin remodeling complex during epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vivo and in vitro”
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Session VI: Modeling the Microenvironment
Discussion Leader: Ali Abbaspour
10:45-11:15 David Wood (University of Minnesota): “Finding your niche: engineered in vitro models of the tumor microenvironment”
11:15-12:00 Speakers from selected abstracts
Alexa Sheehan (University of Iowa) “Therapeutic targeting of PRC2-driven MPNST metastasis”
Sarah Nano (University of Notre Dame) “Establishing an ex vivo metastatic model to investigate the role of mechanical loading on breast cancer tumor formation in human bone”
Gregory Gan (University of Kansas) “Intrinsic tumor MK2 regulates p16 negative head and neck cancer migration, invasion, and metastasis”
12:00 Adieu with Boxed Lunches