AACR Annual Meeting 2026: Bite-sized Research
In case you missed it: During the AACR Annual Meeting 2026, we interviewed researchers at lunch time for morsels of knowledge about their work—and see how they were enjoying their meal of choice. We discovered that their hunger for tacos was no match for their thirst for scientific discoveries as they work to better understand myeloid-derived suppressor cells, glycan biosynthesis, and the tumor microenvironment. A few of the early-career researchers we spoke with also shared details about the exciting next chapters of their careers, including getting to work with Nobel laureate James P. Allison, PhD, FAACR, and heading to Germany to start their own lab.
Watch our “Bite-sized Research” video interviews below.
Brian G. Morreale, PhD
Brian G. Morreale, PhD, who recently completed his graduate studies at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Division of the University at Buffalo, will join Allison’s lab later this summer as a postdoctoral fellow. He is also a member of the AACR Associate Member Council and recently cowrote a blog post about how graduate students can make the most of AACR membership.
Prashanth Gokare, PhD
Prashanth Gokare, PhD, the immuno-oncology, discovery program lead at Johnson & Johnson, was excited to attend the meeting to hear about the advances being made in drug development.
Amulya Sreekumar, PhD
Amulya Sreekumar, PhD, who was at the University of Pennsylvania at the time, is now with the DKFZ German Cancer Research Center in Berlin. During the meeting, she presented her work on how residual breast cancer cells can co-opt SOX5-driven endochondral ossification to maintain dormancy at the session “Advances in Understanding Disseminated Tumor Cells: An Emerging Opportunity to Prevent Lethal Breast Cancer?”
Long Chi Nguyen, PhD, MD, and Eva Suarez
Long Chi Nguyen, MD, PhD, was joined by his mentee and cancer survivor Eva Suarez, who are both with the University of Chicago. During the meeting, Nguyen presented his research into how BACH1 drives hypoxia-induced stem-like transition states and immune evasion in breast cancer at the session “Mechanisms of Immune Evasion and Immune Dysregulation.”
