The 2025 Pediatric Cancer Research Symposium will be held Aug. 20 at the Truhlsen Events Center on the UNMC Omaha campus.
The annual event, organized by the Child Health Research Institute and Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, brings together leaders from medicine, academia, philanthropy and government to advance pediatric oncology research.
This year’s theme, hematological malignancies, focuses on critical challenges in childhood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. The program will feature cutting-edge research discussions and collaborative sessions.
Paul Liu, MD, PhD, senior investigator with the National Human Genome Research Institute through the National Institutes of Health, will deliver the keynote address, “RUNX1 in leukemogenesis: interaction with leukemia fusion gene CBFB-MYH11 and germline mutations in FPDMM.”
James Armitage, MD, Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine in the UNMC Division of Oncology and Hematology, will serve as the featured speaker.
This year’s symposium will feature the inaugural Nebraska Children’s Brain Tumor Collaborative Memorial Lecture, presented by Holly Lindsay, MD, associate professor of pediatrics-hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplantation at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. This lecture honors Jim and Esther Desrosiers and their family’s creation of Esther’s Miracles, a holistic, long-term support initiative for families facing childhood cancer.
Updates from the Pediatric Cancer Research Group’s Hematological Malignancies Group will be provided by Kate Hyde, PhD, associate professor in the UNMC Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and associate director for shared resources with the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, and Kyle Hewitt, PhD, associate professor in the UNMC Department of Genetics and Cell Biology and director of the Single Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Core.
Amanda Eggen, PhD, director of patient engagement and clinical programs with the RUNX1 Research Program, will discuss efforts to improve support for individuals with RUNX1 familial platelet disorder through advocacy and targeted clinical initiatives. A panel of local philanthropic leaders will join her for a discussion about research support and advocacy.
The event’s activities will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be served. A poster session will be viewable before the first speaker begins at 8 a.m. and over the lunch break. Registration and poster submission instructions are available through the symposium website.