Alayjha Edwards, left, speaks with Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, about her poster during the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 27th Annual Scientific Symposium in the Student Life Center at Vanderbilt University. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

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By: Yolanda James

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center hosted its 27th Annual Scientific Symposium, themed “Cancer and Environment at Every Scale,” last month. More than 300 people attended, including faculty, trainees, staff, community advisory board members, and cancer survivors from across Vanderbilt, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University and the broader community.  

This year’s event highlighted research examining the many factors that influence cancer development, progression and patient outcomes — from molecular mechanisms to neighborhood-level data that reveal patterns across communities.   

For the second consecutive year, it was organized by a trainee-led steering committee and included four co-chairs: Yash Pershad, a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program; Michael Robinson, MD, MSCI, Instructor in Pediatrics; Molly Talman, MD, Pediatric Hematology Clinical Fellow; and Jared Rhodes, PhD candidate. The symposium is faculty-mentored by Christopher Williams, MD, PhD, Associate Director for Research Education at Vanderbilt-Ingram, and Kim Dahlman, PhD, Assistant Director for Research Education.  

“Our goal is to build an environment where not only do our trainees participate in cutting-edge, impactful scientific research, but they actually help shape it,” said Williams, who holds the MSTP Directorship. “Watching this committee take full ownership of the planning for a second consecutive year has been extremely rewarding.”  

Vanderbilt-Ingram Director Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology, gave opening remarks and introduced the Mission Moment speaker, Roberta Casanova, a breast cancer patient and Research Advocate. Casanova shared her personal experience with breast cancer and highlighted both the challenges of treatment and the ongoing complexities of survivorship.  

Attendees heard from two nationally recognized keynote speakers:  

  • Mikala Egeblad, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor and Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Program, talked about how environmental stressors — such as microplastics — can trigger inflammation and influence cancer progression.  
  • Scarlett Lin Gomez, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Co-Leader of the Cancer Control Program at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed how neighborhood-level data can reveal differences in cancer incidence and outcomes, underscoring the role of nonmedical factors that impact health.  

Another highlight was the presentation of annual scholar awards for exceptional contributions to cancer research and care:  

  • Yash Pershad received the Graduate Student of the Year award for his work on the mutation-specific risk of clonal hematopoiesis in the laboratory of Alex Bick, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, and holder of the Edward Claiborne Stahlman Chair. Pershad’s research has significantly advanced understanding of the condition, its progression toward malignancy, and opportunities for cancer interception. He is the author of nearly a dozen first-author publications in journals including Blood, JAMA Oncology and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.   
  • Youngmin Kwon, PhD, was named Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year. Recognized as an outstanding collaborator, mentor and educator, he authored 22 peer-reviewed publications in journals including Health Services Research and JAMA Health Forum. His research focuses on access to cancer care in Medicare, and he is mentored by Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research.  

A cornerstone of the symposium, the poster session featured 106 presentations. Biochemistry PhD candidate Gabriela Gonzalez-Vasquez received the overall exceptional poster award for her research on ATR signaling in DNA replication.   

Other poster honorees were:

Basic Science  

  • Sydney Henriques   
  • Brandon Goldstein   
  • Alyssa Jarabek   

Population Science  

  • Marin Arnoletti, MPH   
  • Guochong Jia, PhD, MPH  
  • Duc Huy Le, MD, MBA   

Clinical/Translational Science  

  • Sarah Ginther   
  • Julia Steele   
  • Breelyn Karno   

Shared Resources  

  • Kevin Schey, PhD