Pediatric Cancer Research Symposium
The 2025 Pediatric Cancer Research Group Symposium will take place Wednesday, August 20 at the UNMC Campus at the Truhlsen Event Center in the Michael Sorrell Center (MSC) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theme of this year's symposium will be hematological malignancies.
Event Parking & Access
Guests can park in lots 61, 62, 63. Employees and students should use assigned lots or daily rate parking. Refer to the embedded event map to see details on the guest parking lots and the full campus parking map.
Traffic Update for 42nd and Emile Streets
Drivers should be aware that westbound traffic on Emile Street will be closed between 41st and 42nd Streets beginning Monday (Aug. 11).
The three-week interruption will allow MUD to connect utilities to the main utility line and to both Bennett Hall and the Academic and Research Services building. During this time:
- Southbound traffic on 42nd Street will remain closed at Emile Street until after Labor Day.
- Northbound traffic from Leavenworth Street to 42nd Street can continue to turn left at Emile Street and head west. Drivers also can continue to turn right at Emile Street and head east.
Agenda
8:00 a.m. Welcome & Panel Discussion
- Don Coulter, MD, Director, Pediatric Cancer Research Group
- Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, President, University of Nebraska
- Chanda Chacón, President & Chief Executive Officer, Children's Nebraska
- Danielle Conrad, Nebraska State Senator
9:15 a.m. Keynote Speaker
- Paul Liu, MD, PhD, Senior Investigator, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health
RUNX1 in Leukemogenesis: Interaction with Leukemia Fusion Gene CBFB-MYH11
and Germline Mutations in FPDMM
10:00 a.m. Poster Session / Break
10:30 a.m. Featured Speaker
- James O. Armitage, MD, Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine, Professor, Division of Oncology & Hematology, UNMC
Working Together: Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group
11:00 a.m. Hematological Malignancies Group Update
- Kate Hyde, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UNMC; Associate Director for Shared Resources, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, UNMC
- Kyle Hewitt, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, UNMC; Co-Director, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology PhD Program, UNMC; Director, Single Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Core, UNMC
11:30 a.m. Lunch
12:00 p.m. RUNX1 Research Program - a non-profit advocacy
organization focused on patients with RUNX1 Familial Platelet Disorder
- Amanda Eggen, PhD, Director of Patient Engagement and Clinical Programs
From Patient Voices to Scientific Breakthroughs: The RUNX1 Research Program Model
- Amanda Eggen, PhD, Director of Patient Engagement and Clinical Programs, RUNX1
Research Program - Aly Goedeken, CFRM, Director of Development, Angels Among Us
- Joe Falter, Patient Community Outreach Senior Manager, Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society - Kylie Dockter, Executive Director, Team Jack Foundation
1:15 p.m. Nebraska Children's Brain Tumor Collaborative Update
- Sidharth Mahapatra, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics; UNMC; Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UNMC ; Chair, Nebraska Children’s Brain Tumor Collaborative; Co-Director, Pediatric Cancer Research Group
1:30 p.m. Inaugural Nebraska Children’s Brain Tumor Collaborative Memorial Lecture
In memory of Jim and Esther Desrosiers, father and daughter, whose family created
Esther's Miracle, a holistic, long-term support program for families facing childhood
cancer
- Holly Lindsay, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Pediatrics-Heme/Onc and Bone Marrow
Transplantation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Molecular Risk Stratification in Medulloblastoma: Guiding the Future of Clinical Trials
2:30 p.m. Poster Session / Break
3:00 p.m. Flash Talks
- Chittal Raulji, MBBS, Associate Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology, UNMC
- Shibiao Wan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and
Anatomy, UNMC; Co-Director, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Core, UNMC - Samantha Swenson, PhD, Instructor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, UNMC - Gargi Ghosal, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and
Anatomy, UNMC
4:00 p.m. Conclusion & Poster Awards
2025 Scientific Poster Gallery
Click to link above to access a virtual gallery of the submitted research posters for the Pediatric Cancer Research Symposium. The link above requires a UNMC email address. Use the link below if you do not have a UNMC email address to access the poster gallery site.
