Virtual Conference: 10am-3pm EST, Sept. 8 & 9, 2026

Abstracts due:
July 24, 2026

Talk/poster notifications:
Aug. 10, 2026

Registration closes: Sept. 4, 2026

REGISTER

SUBMIT ABSTRACT

GATHER LINK will be sent to registered participants

10-11 a.m. • Tuesday, Sept. 8

CAREER KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Ralph DeBerardinis M.D., Ph.D.

An unexpected career
in cancer metabolism

Professor & Director, Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth & Development, UT Southwestern

Professor, Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

PROGRAM

Talks from submitted abstracts

10 minutes for talks; 5 minutes Q&A

Day 1: Tuesday, Sept. 8

11a.m - 12:45p.m

Patricia Munteanu, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen
“Artesunate Exploits Glutathione-Dependent Redox Vulnerability in Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinoma (NSCLC)”
Neelanjana Gayen, University of Nebraska Medical Center
“Metabolic regulation of pancreatic cancer stemness through PDK3-dependent SOX2 lactylation”
Yichi (Tony) Zhang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Leads to Anemia and Cachexia Through Hepcidin-Mediated Iron Sequestration”
Carson Poltorack, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
“Neutrophil Extracellular Trap-derived Arginine Fuels Pancreatic Cancer”
Sravya Palavalasa, University of Michigan
“Immune-microenvironment-derived acetylated amino acids promote treatment resistance in glioblastoma.”
Ryan Elbashir, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“Physiological folate restricts nucleotide synthesis and increases dependence on nucleotide salvage”

Day 2: Wednesday, Sept. 9

10 a.m 12:45p.m

Miriam Lisci, University of Lausanne
“Functional nutrient-genetic profiling reveals biotin and FBXW7 are essential to bypass glutamine addiction”
Josep Tarragó Celada, The Francis Crick Institute‍ ‍
“Targeting cystine addiction to treat breast cancer lung metastasis”
Yu-Jin Jeong, Van Andel Institute
“High-fat diet-induced lipotoxic stress re-wires lipid metabolism in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma”
Fatemeh Alimohammadi, University of Rochester Medical Center
“Understanding glutathione-related dipeptide metabolism in cancer”
Nina Zhang, University of Michigan
“Defining the role of exogenous lipids in decreasing the function of anti-tumor CD8+ T cells in colorectal cancer”
H. Furkan Alkan, UT Southwestern (CRI)
“Metabolic Regulation of Melanoma Immunogenicity and Metastasis”
Sayantap Datta, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
“Glutamine-dependent pyrimidine synthesis as a viable therapeutic target for NF1 and RAS-mutant sarcoma treatment”
Le Jin Sun, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
“xCT dictates PDAC preferential metastasis to the lung”
Marwa Elderany, University of Michigan‍ ‍
“Therapeutic inhibition of HIF2α reprograms the tumor microenvironment and restores antitumor CD8+ T cell immunity in hepatocellular carcinoma”
Daniel Mobilio, McMaster University
“Hijacking a pyrimidine-dependent metabolic circuit induces pyroptosis in brain metastases”

Poster presentations

Both days 12:45p.m - 2p.m
Interactive poster session on GatherTown

Day 1 Workshops:
Building Skills

2-3 p.m. • Tuesday, Sept. 8

Table 1:Expanding your network
(collaboration and connections)
Issac Harris (Univ. of Rochester)
Sheng Toni Hui (Harvard Univ.)

Table 2:Science Communication
Costas Lyssiotis (Univ. of Michigan)
Evan Lien (Van Andel Institute)

Table 3:Applying for funding
Thekla Cordes (TU Braunschweig)
Jessalyn Ubellacker (Harvard Univ.)

Table 4:Machine Learning and AI in cancer metabolism research
Ramon Sun (Univ. of Florida)
Ed Reznik (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

Table 5:Balancing Life and Lab
Naama Kanarek (Harvard Medical School)
Jonathan Colloff (Univ. of Illinois Chicago)
Mike Oliphant (CU Anschutz)

Table 6: Record keeping and data management
Gina DeNicola (Moffit Cancer Center)
Eoin Fahy (UC San Diego)

Day 2 Workshops:
YOUR Next Step

2-3 p.m. • Wednesday, Sept. 9

Table 1:Preparing for the academic job search
Abir Mukherjee (Univ. of Pittsburg)
Thekla Cordes (TU Braunschweig)
Mike Oliphant (CU Anschutz)

Table 2:Transition from PhD to postdoc in Academia
Pallavi Joshi (Postdoc at UT Southwestern)
Zoe Piran (Postdoc at Genentech/Stanford Univ.)

Table 3:Transition into a position in Industry
Brent Fitzwalter (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals)
Roma Kaul (Aktis Oncology)

Table 4:Transition into a position in Publishing
Michele Hartsough (editor Cancer Discovery)
Lisa Situ (editor Cancer Discovery)

Table 5:Transition into a position in a Core Facility
Ryan Sheldon (VAI Mass spec core Director)
Thomas Matthews (UTSW_CRI Metabolomics core)
Feroza Choudhury (Moffit Cancer Center)

Table 6:Meet the editors in metabolism journals
Jean Nakhle (editor Nat.Metabolism)
Brendan Manning (editor Cancer Research)
Mari-Carmen Fernández-Agüera (editor Cell Metabolism)

Registration is FREE.

As a virtual conference, this Showcase is unique. While the audience is everyone (including faculty scientists), it will feature oral and poster presentations by non-faculty scientists only.

This format provides the maximum opportunity for students, postdocs, and faculty to interact and network.

Workshops will feature a mix of training sessions and panel discussions.

Virtual Conference: 10am-3pm EST, Sept. 8 & 9, 2026