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This conference recognizes and promotes the excellent cancer research within the province and provides valuable learning and networking opportunities for the participants. The conference will include keynote lectures, presentations from other researchers and poster sessions featuring the work of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Purpose
Scientific conferences often act as a welcomed source of motivation for clinicians and scientists to come together and build a translational application that can be rapidly progressed to the clinics. Although there are large international cancer conferences such as the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conferences, they often fail to connect people that work within a local neighborhood. Towards this, the Saskatchewan Cancer Research Conference (SCRC) directly aims to bring all basic scientists and clinicians within the province of Saskatchewan to one place in a single event. We expect that this annual conference will serve as a valuable networking and learning event for students, physicians and scientists that are driven towards one goal - finding breakthrough therapeutics.
Benefit to student and trainees
Beyond hearing inspiring stories, we learn how others solved problems similar to ours, which may help move us past the roadblock in our own research. The students and trainees will have the opportunity to share their research findings with others in their field, learn what others in the field are doing. This can also lead to new ideas that can lead to new opportunities for collaborative efforts. In presenting their work students and trainees will a) Grow as a researcher and presenter; b) Obtain feedback on their research; c) Meet and get to know their peers; and d) Gain visibility in their field.
Registration is free and lunch is provided!
There will be poster prizes for trainees!
Poster
Registration
Registration is free and is now closed.
Deadline for registration was May 25, 2026.
Program
The program will be a full day from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Wed June 10, 2026.
It will include the Keynote Speaker presentation, presentations from a variety of Saskatchewan cancer researchers, a morning and afternoon poster session where the trainees can present their research, and plenty of networking opportunities both at lunch and at the poster sessions.
Poster Prizes
The posters were judged and cash prizes ($200 each) were awarded in several different categories.
The winners are:
PhD:
Nima Daneshvar Baghbadorani (Health Sciences; Supervisor Dr Dean Chamberlain)
Microenvironment-Driven LGR5 Induction Defines Cancer Stem Cell Plasticity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Microtissues
Vincent Maranda (Health Sciences; Supervisor: Dr Franco Vizeacoumar)
Developing combination therapies for telomerase-overexpressing cancers
Mahboubeh Pordeli (Oncology; Supervisor: Dr Franco Vizeacoumar)
Reprogramming Inflammatory CAF Networks to Overcome Immune Suppression and Stromal Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer
MSc (> 1 year):
Parnaz Soori (Health Sciences; Supervisor Dr Dean Chamberlain)
Building Patient Avatars For Precision Medicine Using Tissue Engineering Techniques
MSc (< 1 year):
Paul Oni (Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology; Supervisor: Dr Linda Chelico)
Deoxycytidine/cytidine deaminase APOBEC3A inhibits telomerase activity
Yohichi Fukuyama (Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine; Supervisor: Dr Monique Mayer)
Preliminary findings of minibeam radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in a translational animal model, the woodchuck
Left to Right: Yohichi, Nima, Dean (co-organizer), Mahboubeh, Parnaz
Location
Saskatoon, SK - Health Sciences Building - Room B450
Contact
If you have any questions about the Saskatchewan Cancer Research Conference, contact:
Chantel Lautsch: email chantel.lautsch@saskcancer.ca
Organizing Committee
Dr. Dean Chamberlain (Co-Chair), SCA, Cancer Cluster
Dr. Deborah Anderson (Co-Chair), SCA, Cancer Cluster
Sponsors
