The 25th Annual Wilmot Cancer Institute Scientific Symposium will be held virtually via Zoom bringing together scientists working in basic, translational and clinical cancer research. The program will include a nationally renowned keynote speaker, plenary presentations from Wilmot members, and presentations from the short talk competition winners.

Click here to register to attend the 25th Annual Wilmot Cancer Institute Scientific Symposium.

Keynote Speaker: Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

“RNA splicing alterations and epigenetic regulation in leukemogenesis”

Short Talk Competition Details
This year, a short talk competition will replace the familiar poster presentation competition. This competition will occur virtually, with submissions due on Friday, October 30th. The short talk submissions will be available for virtual voting during the week of November 9th – 13th (website link will be announced prior to voting week).

All members of the University community are invited to submit short talks on basic, translational or clinical cancer-related research in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. “Cancer-related” may be interpreted in the broadest sense in this context. Presenters will need to identify which WCI research programs aligns with their short talk topic:

1.  Molecular Cancer Cell Biology/Bioinformatics (Hallmarks)

2.  Tumor Microenvironment/ Immunology

3. Cancer Control/ Prevention/Epidemiology

Short talk presentations are limited to 10 slides maximum. The first slide should include the presentation title, all author names, and author affiliations. The second slide should contain a short abstract/summary not exceeding 250 words.  The remaining eight slides can be used as the presenter best sees fit but should include applicable references.

Selection Process and Prizes
Short talk submissions will be evaluated by faculty judges and three winners will be selected for each research program focus area (9 winners) to receive a $300 prize. There will also be an opportunity for symposium attendees to vote on the presentations and the winning presentation from this process will be awarded the WCI Fan Favorite designation and will also receive a $300 prize, for a total of 10 winners.

Judges will evaluate the top 50% of presentations submitted to each topic via personal zoom appointment and select three talks per topic for short (7 min) talks to be presented on Nov 20.  Zoom sessions be coordinated so that judges can discuss the presentations with the presenters during the week of November 9th – 13th.

Short Talk Submission Form
Please submit short talk presentations here.The deadline for short talk submissions is 11:59 pm on Friday, October 30th, 2020. Submissions received after this date will not be judged.  If you have any questions about the short talk competition, or have issues submitting, please reach out to Nicole O’Dell at nicole_odell@urmc.rochester.edu.