The organising commitee is a continuation of the GRC 'Stem Cells & Cancer' conference series.

Stem cells are the building blocks during development and are essential for tissue maintenance throughout life. However, cells with stem cell properties can also serve as cells of origin for tumor initiation, growth and metastasis. In addition, tumors arising from both stem cell and non-stem cell origins can hijack molecular pathways of stem cell self-renewal, genomic maintenance and metabolic control to enable their deregulated growth. Thus, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that regulate proper stem cell function and tissue homeostasis under normal conditions directly informs understanding of how cancer starts and spreads throughout the body. Conversely, knowledge of the mutations and environmental signals that can trigger and maintain tumor cell renewal can suggest novel avenues to boost stem cell function and facilitate organogenesis and repair through regenerative medicine. This conference will provide a platform for scientists and clinicians working on topics such as organogenesis, tumorigenesis, stem cell function, regenerative medicine, and anti-cancer therapies to catalyze collaboration and cross-fertilize ideas.

Key Sessions

•    Metabolism
•    Developmental signaling pathways in cancer
•    Heterogeneity and tumor evolution
•    Mechanical cues in growth and metastasis
•    Models for development and cancer (organoids, organs on a chip, bio-engineering and emerging technologies)
•    Regulation of self-renewal (intrinsic and extrinsic cues)
•    Plasticity and mutant cell competition
•    Novel therapies in regenerative medicine and cancer therapy
•    Mutant clonal landscape
•    Cell fate reprogramming

Confirmed Plenary Speakers

Catriona Jamieson (UCSD)
Peter Dirks (The Hospital for Sick Children)

Confirmed Invited Speakers

Helen Abud (Monash University)
Cedric Blanpain (Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
MECHANISMS REGULATING STEM CELL PLASTICITY DURING TUMOR INITIATION
Anwesha Dey (Genentech)
Hiro Fujiwara (Riken Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research)
ECM DYNAMICS IN SKIN MORPHOGENESIS
Nikolche Gjorevski (Roche)
FROM ORGANOIDS TO ORGANS: MODELING INFLAMMATION IN ENGINEERED INTESTINAL TISSUES
Joo-Hyeon Lee (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
Scott Lowe (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
Miguel Ramalho-Santos (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute)
Tannishtha Reya (Columbia University)
Wolf Reik (Altos Cambridge)
SINGLE CELL MULTI-OMICS LANDSCAPE OF DEVELOPMENT AND AGEING?
Ataman Sendoel (University of Zurich)
Quinton Smith (University of California, Irvine)
COAXING VASCULATURE IN ENGINEERED STEM CELL MODELS
Andrea Sottoriva (Human Technopole)
Amy Wagers (Harvard Medical School)
Valerie Weaver (UCSF)
Len Zon (Harvard University)

Target Audience

This meeting will be useful for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, academic and industry scientists and clinicians who wish to learn about the ways in which features of stem cells, development and tissue homeostasis can be applied to understanding tumour initiation, growth and metastasis. This will serve as a platform to build a network across two complementary disciplines/fields that do not traditionally intersect in other meetings. This emerging community will pave the way to advancing towards a new era of cancer cell biology, aiming at cancer prevention and early detection by focusing on the causes of early tumour formation and transitions between benign and malignant stages.  

Educational Need

Although meetings exist that focus broadly on stem cells or cancer and more specifically on different organ systems, few meetings are held that are geared toward the overlap of areas that are shared between the two. This meeting will serve to bridge that gap. 

Learning Objectives

This meeting will provide opportunities to learn the newest findings related to how stem cell behavior is regulated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, how these factors also influence cancer cell growth and strategies for enhancing stem cell activity or blocking cancer cell growth. 

We have a number of $750 registration grants available for students, postdocs and junior investigators in the field!

Applications must be submitted to amy@fusion-conferences.com by 17 April for consideration and include;

• An abstract for short talk or poster consideration
• A short message outlining why they would benefit from attending the conference.

The hotel is approximately 20 minutes from Malta International Airport, the official airport of the Maltese Islands.

Taxis

Taxis are available outside the airport, however we would strongly recommend you use one of the transport app providers below.

There are 3 options for booking transport with an app- Uber, Bolt and eCabs. They all operate in and around Malta, and the fares are generally cheaper than a taxi. The cost of transfers between Malta International Airport and the city of St Julians generally ranges from €15 to €20.

Local activity details will be announced here soon. 

Group activity details will be announced here soon.