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17th Annual Biomedical Research Symposium:
Systems Biology and Cancer

Held Friday, October 14, 2022

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Program Overview

 
 

Systems biology is a holistic approach to understanding the complexity of biological systems and stems from the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Cancer is a complex disease system that occurs through the orchestration of spatiotemporal processes at the molecular, cellular, and multicellular scales. These intracellular and intercellular processes undergo rewiring and adaptation in response to internal and external cues, with such evolution making it challenging to predict, prevent, and treat cancer. The unprecedented advances in technologies, such as single-cell and spatial multi-omics, CRISPR screening, and computational structural biology have produced an extensive amount of data for cancer research. Cancer systems biology leverages these technologies and integrates high-throughput and high-resolution data to decipher the heterogeneity and interactions of tumor cells with the tumor microenvironment. This information enables predictions of the biological mechanisms underlying disease progression or treatment response, and, ultimately, development of innovative therapies and improvements in the outcome for patients with cancer.

The 17th Annual St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Biomedical Symposium brings together leading experts in the fields of computational biology, single-cell omics, network biology, systems immunology, systems pharmacology, and protein engineering. These topics are of direct relevance to our mission to better understand and cure pediatric cancer and other diseases and will be of great interest to basic, translational, and clinical investigators.

 
 

Speakers

Andrea Bild

Andrea Bild, PhD
Professor, Medical Oncology and Therapeutics
Director, Cancer Systems Biology Center
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center

 
Nir Hahochen

Nir Hacohen, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Institute Member
Broad Institute

 
James Heath

James Heath, PhD
President and Professor
Institute for Systems Biology

 
Trey Ideker

Trey Ideker, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine
University of California, San Diego

 
Sachdev Sidhu

Sachdev Sidhu, PhD
Professor, Director of Toronto Recombinant Antibody Centre (TRAC)
University of Toronto

 
Sarah Teichmann

Sarah Teichmann, PhD, FMedSci, FRS
Head of Cellular Genetics and Senior Group Leader
Wellcome Sanger Institute

 
Stephen Wong

Stephen T. Wong, PhD
Professor of Computer Science and Bioengineering in Oncology
Houston Methodist, Weill Cornell Medical College

 

Introduction Speakers

 
Shannon Hughes

Shannon Hughes, PhD
Deputy Director, Division of Cancer Biology
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

 
Charles Roberts

Charles W. M. Roberts, MD, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Executive Vice President
Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center

 
J. Paul Taylor

J. Paul Taylor, MD, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty
Executive Vice President
Scientific Director
Chair, Cell & Molecular Biology Department
Director, Pediatric Translational Neuroscience Initiative

 

Symposium Hosts

 
Jiyang Yu

Jiyang Yu, PhD
Associate Member, St. Jude Faculty, Computational Biology Department

 
Hongbo Chi

Hongbo Chi, PhD 
Member, St. Jude Faculty, Immunology Department

 
Madan Babu

M. Madan Babu, PhD, FMedSci 
Member, St. Jude Faculty, Structural Biology Department

 
 

Agenda

8:00 – 8:30 am Registration, Coffee and Refreshments
8:30 – 8:40 am 

Opening Remarks – Jiyang Yu, PhD

8:40 – 9:00 am

J Paul Taylor, MD, PhD
Charles W. M. Roberts, MD, PhD 

“Overview of St. Jude Strategic Plan and Cancer Center Research”

9:00 – 9:50 am

James Heath, PhD
Institute for Systems Biology

“Single Cell Multiomics Toolsets and Immuno-oncology:  Technical Bottlenecks and Scientific Opportunities”

Host: Jasmine Plummer, PhD

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9:50 – 10:05 am Break
10:05 – 10:55 am

Sarah Teichmann, PhD, FMedSci, FRS
Wellcome Sanger Institute

“Mapping the Human Body One Cell at a Time”

Faculty Host: Dirk Loeffler, PhD

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10:55 – 11:45 am

Sachdev Sidhu, PhD
University of Toronto

“Systems Biologics”

Faculty Host: Chia-Hsueh Lee, PhD

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11:45 am – 1:00 pm  Lunch
1:00 – 1:15  pm

Introduction – M. Madan Babu, PhD, FMedSci

Shannon Hughes, PhD
National Cancer Institute

“Systems Biology Programs at NCI”

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1:15 – 2:05 pm

Trey Ideker, PhD
University of California San Diego

“Building a Mind for Cancer”

Faculty Host: Junmin Peng, PhD

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2:05 – 2:55 pm

Andrea Bild, PhD
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center

“Cancer Composition and Communication in Tumor Resistance, Evolution and Ecology”

Faculty Host: Anand Patel, MD, PhD

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2:55 – 3:10 pm Break
3:10 – 4:00  pm

Stephen T. Wong, PhD
Houston Methodist, Weill Cornell Medical College

“Identifying and Targeting Orchestrated Spatial Cell-Cell Communication in the Tumor Microenvironment”

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Faculty Host: Motomi Mori, PhD

4:00 – 4:50 pm

Nir Hacohen, PhD
Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

“Principles of Effective Tumor Immunity”

Faculty Host: Caitlin Zebley, MD, PhD

4:50 – 5:00 pm Closing Remarks - Hongbo Chi, PhD
6:00 pm Symposium Celebration
Inspiration4 Advanced Research Center - Penthouse (8th Floor)
 
 
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