AACR Grantees Highlight Research Progress at the AACR Annual Meeting 2026

The AACR Annual Meeting 2026 will convene the global cancer research community at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, from April 17-22. AACR grantees will showcase the scientific advances made possible through AACR and its funding partners, presenting their work in oral and poster sessions that span the full spectrum of cancer research. Together, these presentations highlight the meaningful progress driven by AACR-supported investigators and the collective impact of this investment on advancing cancer science. Explore the wide range of topics to be featured throughout the six-day meeting by following the links below and adding sessions of interest to online itineraries.

Saturday, April 18

EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS

3D Tissue Imaging and Cancer

12:30-2 p.m., Room 28 – Upper Level – Convention Center

Ashley Kiemen, PhD, 2023 Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in Honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Mechanotransduction in Tumor Development, Metastasis, and Therapy Resistance

2:30-4 p.m., Room 31 – Upper Level – Convention Center

Jing Yang, PhD, 2021 AACR-Bayer Innovation and Discovery Grant

Sunday, April 19

MINISYMPOSIUM

Noncoding RNA Regulation of Cancer Hallmarks, Therapeutic Resistance, and Biomarker Discovery

3:05-3:20 p.m., Room 15 – Mezzanine Level – Convention Center

Putzer J. Hung, MD, PhD, 2025 AACR-John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation Basic Cancer Research Fellowship

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

CAR T cells engineered via mRNA exhibit enhanced targeting of colorectal cancer

Poster Session: RNA, Gene and Cell Therapies, and Enabling Assay Technologies

Pedro Pires Goulart Guimaraes, PhD, 2024 AACR Maximizing Opportunity for New Advancements in Research in Cancer (MONARCA) Grant for Latin America

Synergistic inhibition of PARP and ATM leads to unresolved DNA damage and cohesin-mediated collapse in pediatric osteosarcoma

Poster Session: Targeting DNA Repair, Cell Cycle, and Tumor Metabolism:

Janeala Morsby, PhD, 2025 AACR-QuadW Foundation Sarcoma Research Fellowship in Memory of Willie Tichenor

Cyclopamine tartrate enhances antitumor immunity and suppresses triple-negative breast cancer growth

Poster Session: Novel Antitumor Agents

Li Liu, PhD, 2025 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Rising Innovator Grants, in Partnership with Pelotonia and AACR

Monday, April 20

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

SMARCB1-Mediated chromatin remodeling underlies sex differences in gliomagenesis 

Poster Session: Chromatin Structure and Function

Adham Halaoui, MD, 2024 AACR-Merck Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship

Pan-cancer 3D genomic analysis revealed extremely long Polycomb loops as the biomarker for sensitivity to Polycomb inhibition

Poster Session: Chromatin Structure and Function

Xiaotian Zhang PhD, 2022 AACR-MPM Oncology Charitable Foundation Transformative Cancer Research Grant

Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) may weaken glioblastoma network connectivity, with implications for malignancy

Poster Session: Molecular Targets

Miriam Ratliff, Dr. med Dipl. Biol., 2024 AACR-Novocure Cancer Research Grant

Itaconate acts as an oncometabolite to drive lethal pediatric ependymomas

Poster Session: Metabolic Studies in Brain, Pediatric and Hematologic Cancers

Siva Kumar Natarajan, PhD, 2025 AACR-Sontag Foundation Brain Cancer Research Fellowship

Identifying determinants of molecular testing for advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the rural United States

Poster Session: Science and Health Policy

Dena P. Rhinehart, MD, 2025 AACR-EMD Serono “I’M IN” Oncodisparity Fellowships in Lung and Urothelial Cancers.

Tuesday, April 21

AWARDS AND LECTURES

AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award Lecture: Harness insights from chromatin priming for early interception of basal-like breast cancer

12-12:30 p.m., Room 15 – Mezzanine Level – Convention Center

Carman M. Li, PhD, 2025 AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award

MAJOR SYMPOSIA

Beyond Genetics: Macroenvironmental and Microenvironmental Determinants of Cancer Risk, Disease Progression, and Treatment Response

12:30-2 p.m., Room 15 – Mezzanine Level – Convention Center

Karin Pelka, PhD, 2024 AACR-MPM Oncology Charitable Foundation Transformative Cancer Research Grant

Inflammaging and Cancer: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Opportunities

12:30-2 p.m., Room 14 – Mezzanine Level – Convention Center

Sandra McAllister, PhD, 2013 Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award and 2023 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Rising Innovator Research Grant, in Partnership with Pelotonia and AACR

ADVANCES IN ORGAN SITE RESEARCH

Leveraging driver and truncal fusion RNAs as therapeutic triggers with a programmable nucleic acid sensing syste

10:15-11:40 a.m., Room 30 – Upper Level– Convention Center

Nolan Priedigkiet, MD, PhD, 2024 AACR-Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation Young Investigator Award for Translational Cancer Research

Insights into CA19-9 in pancreatic cancer and in pancreatitis: Mechanisms and models

12:30-2 p.m., Ballroom 6A – Upper Level– Convention Center

Danielle Engle, PhD, 2021 Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Pancreatic Cancer Career Development Award, in Honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

MINISYMPOSIUM

Aging Micro- and Macro-Environments in Tumor Progression and Therapy

3:50-4:05 p.m., Ballroom 6A – Upper Level– Convention Center

Milos Spasic, PhD, 2023 AACR-AstraZeneca Breast Cancer Research Fellowship

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Fatty acid exposure promotes age-related mammary tissue alterations with pro-tumorigenic potential

Poster Session: Senescence and Cell Stress

Mariana Bustamante Eduardo, PhD, 2023 AACR-Pfizer Breast Cancer Research Fellowship

Decoding new mechanisms of stromal-driven inflammation in breast cancer

Poster Session: Fibroblasts as Architects of the Tumor Microenvironment

Fernanda G. Kugeratski, PhD, 2025 Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

ID4 maintains undifferentiated and immune-evasive states in aggressive triple-negative breast cancer and represents a novel druggable vulnerability

Poster Session: Molecular Targets

María Teresita Branham, PhD, 2025 Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

Using functional CRISPR screening to investigate metabolic genes in lung squamous cell carcinoma adoptive T cell therapy

Poster Session: Novel Experimental Platforms and Causal Inference

Verra Ngwa, PhD, 2024 AACR-Johnson & Johnson Lung Cancer Initiative Stimulating Therapeutic Advances through Research Training (START) Grant

Tumor Treating Fields remain effective in therapy-resistant glioblastoma with kinome shifts revealing novel therapeutic opportunities

Poster Session: Tyrosine Kinase, Phosphatase, and Other Inhibitors

Anita B. Hjelmeland, PhD, 2024 AACR-Novocure Cancer Research Grant

Effects of cumulative tobacco exposure on lung cancer genomic profiles in Latin Americans

Poster Session: Biostatistics in Clinical Trials/Surgical Oncology

Javiera Garrido, PhD, 2023 AACR Maximizing Opportunity for New Advancements in Research in Cancer (MONARCA) Grant for Latin America

Wednesday, April 22

ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGIES

The 4D oncologist: AI that watches the drug work

10:15-11:45 a.m., Ballroom 6B – Upper Level – Convention Center

Tae Hyun Hwang, PhD, 2024 AACR Innovation and Discovery Grant

ADVANCES IN EARLY DETECTION AND INTERCEPTION

Molecular and cellular alterations associated with malignant progression in the pancreas

10:15-11:45 a.m., Ballroom 6DE – Upper Level – Convention Center

Laura D. Wood, MD, PhD, 2020 AACR-Bristol Myers Squibb Midcareer Female Investigator Grant

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

A genomic deletion variant controls super-enhancer-driven overexpression of LINC00636 and CD47 to promote tumor cell survival in breast cancer

Poster Session: Chromatin architecture and Regulatory Landscapes

Paola Betancur, PhD, 2024 Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

A SWI/SNF-specific Ig-like domain, SWIFT, is a transcription factor binding hub

Poster Session: Chromatin Architecture and Regulatory Landscapes

Siddhant U. Jain, PhD, 2021 AACR-John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation Basic Cancer Research Fellowship

Defining molecular interfaces of glyco-immune checkpoint ligands using tandem mass spectrometry and ion-ion reactions

Poster Session: Multi-Omics, Systems Biology, and Biological Mass Spectrometry

Nicholas M. Riley, PhD, 2025 AACR-Ocular Melanoma Foundation Miriam Counts Innovation and Discovery Grants

Targeting the extracellular matrix in Wilms tumor 

Poster Session: Therapeutic Modulation of the Tumor Microenvironment: New Targets and Approaches

Astgik Petrosyan, PhD, 2025 AACR-KidneyCAN Kidney Cancer Innovation and Discovery Grant  

Epitope-encoded mRNA-LNP vaccine to enhance anti-tumor potency and persistence of PHOX2B peptide-centric CAR T cells

Poster Session: Immunotherapies in Pediatric Cancers

Timothy Spear, MD, PhD, 2023 Friends of the AACR Foundation Early Career Investigator Award

A stromal-immune spatial transcriptomic signature associated with MUC4 identifies potential biomarkers of trastuzumab resistance in HER2-positive breast cancer

Poster Session: Biomarkers Predictive of Therapeutic Benefit

Maria Florencia Mercogliano, PhD, 2024 AACR Maximizing Opportunity for New Advancements in Research in Cancer (MONARCA) Grant for Latin America