Please note that this special conference will take place as an in-person event in Philadelphia and will not live-stream content for virtual participation. The conference content will be recorded and made available as an on-demand program after the conference.

All presentations are scheduled to be live, in-person presentations at the date and time specified below unless noted otherwise. Program in progress.

*-Short talk from proffered abstract

Tuesday, September 22

• Opening Plenary Session

Wednesday, September 23

• Plenary Session 1: Cell States, Plasticity, and Metastatic Progression
• Plenary Session 2: Emerging Mechanisms and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities
• Plenary Session 3: Developmental Pathways in Pediatric Cancer
• Plenary Session 4: Early-Career Investigator Perspectives Across the Pediatric Oncology Landscape

Thursday, September 24

• Plenary Session 5: Tumor Microenvironment and Immunity
• Plenary Session 6:  Advances in Immunotherapy for Pediatric Cancer
• Plenary Session 7: Tumor Genomics, Predisposition, and Mosaicism
• Accelerating Breakthroughs Together: An Industry Perspective on Collaboration: Panel Discussion

Friday, September 25

• Plenary Session 8: Cancer Cell Biology, Organelle Function, and Metabolism
• Plenary Session 9: Transformative Technologies for Clinical Care

Opening Plenary Session

5-7 p.m.

• 5 p.m. | Keynote: Toward a cure of acute leukemia through the lens of genomics
  Charles Mullighan, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
• 6 p.m. | AACR-St. Baldrick’s Foundation Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship Awardee Lecture
  Understanding and targeting NUP98 fusion oncoprotein condensates
  Nicole Michmerhuizen, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York

Opening reception / poster session a

7-8:30 p.m.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

7-8 a.m.

plenary Session 1: Cell States, Plasticity, and Metastatic Progression

8-9 a.m.

Session Chair: David M. Langenau, Mass General Brigham, Boston, Massachusetts

• 8 a.m. | Cell state heterogeneity and therapy resistance in rhabdomyosarcoma
  David M. Langenau
• 8:30 a.m. | Single-cell regulatory network analysis of cell state heterogeneity and remodeling under therapy to design treatment strategies in osteosarcoma
  Jovanna Pavisic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
• 9 a.m. | Metabolic flexibility at the crux of aggressive behavior in Ewing sarcoma
  Poul Sorensen, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• 9:30 a.m. | Immunocompetent models reveal lineage state-specific immune escape mechanisms in neuroblastoma*
  Adam J. Wolpaw, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 9:30 a.m. | A genome-derived non-coding cell state reporter guides therapeutic  strategies for transcriptional reprogramming in neuroblastoma
  Noha Shendy, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee

break

10-10:30 a.m.

Plenary Session 2: Emerging Mechanisms and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Session Chair: Annie A. Huang, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• 10:30 a.m. | Strategies to Eliminate Drug-Tolerant Neuroblastoma Persister Cells   
  John Maris, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 11 a.m. | New insights into mechanisms of oncogenic miRNAs
• Annie A. Huang
• 11:30 a.m. | NF1 loss disrupts a SMARCA2–CTCF–H1 chromatin-remodelling axis and creates DNA repair vulnerability in retinoic acid–resistant high-risk neuroblastoma*
    Khushboo Agarwal, Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
• 11:45 a.m. | Characterization of patient-specific CHEK2 genetic variants in high-risk neuroblastoma*
  Xueting Xiong, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 12 p.m. | Investigating mechanisms of resistance in Philadelphia chromosome-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia*
  Sally George, Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom

lunch on own/free time

12:30-2:30 p.m.

PLENARY Session 3: Developmental Pathways in Pediatric Cancer

2:30-4:30 p.m.

Session Chair: James Amatruda, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

• 2:30 p.m. | Identity theft: origins of rhabdomyosarcoma
  Mark Hatley, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
• 3 p.m. | Cell fate and lineage plasticity in the development of Ewing sarcoma
  James Amatruda
• 3:30 p.m. | Dissecting the differentiation block in Fusion-driven AMKL
  Kim Stegmaier, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
• 4 p.m. | Activated ALK and MYCN drive neuroblastoma initiation through tissue-specific dynamics of neuroblast persistence and transformation*
  Isabelle Janoueix-Lerosey, Inserm/Institut Curie, Paris, France
• 4:15 p.m. | Overcoming drug resistance in Sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma*
  Rodney Stewart, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah

Plenary Session 4: Early-Career Investigator Perspectives Across the Pediatric Oncology Landscape

Organized by the Pediatric Cancer Working Group

4:45-6:45 p.m.

• 4:35-4:40 | Pediatric Cancer Working Group social media talk
• 4:40 p.m. | Immune related toxicities of CART
  Caroline Diorio, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 5:10 p.m. | From acute adaptation to durable response in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma
  Anand Patel, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
• 5:40 p.m. | Identifying and targeting tumorigenic signals in the developing liver
  Peng V. Wu, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
• 6:10 p.m. | Supportive care/survivorship
  Katie A. Greenzang, Dana Farber Cancer Institute/ Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Poster session B

7-9 p.m.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

7-8 a.m.

Plenary Session 5: Plenary Session 5: Tumor Microenvironment and Immunity

8-10 a.m.

Session Chair: Catherine Bollard, Children’s National Research Institute, Washington D.C.

• 8:05 a.m. | Marking and modulating microenvironmental reprogramming in pediatric cancer progression
  Rosandra Kaplan, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
• 8:35 a.m. | Enhancing tumor associated antigen-specific T cell responses for pediatric cancer
  Catherine Bollard
• 9:05 a.m. | Oligodendrocyte-secreted factor L-PGDS potentiates phagocytosis of tumor-associated myeloid cells in pediatric high-grade gliomas*
  Kevin Hu, The University of Houston, Houston, Texas
• 9:20 a.m. | Using omics technologies to understand hepatoblastoma heterogeneity and identify tumor cell types and their microenvironment for precision medicine*
  Elise Lelou, University of San Francisco, San Franciso, California
• 9:35 a.m. | Elucidating epigenetic regulators of GD2 in Ewing sarcoma*
  Xiaochen Zhang, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

break

9:50 – 10:20 a.m.

Plenary Session 6: Advances in Immunotherapy for Pediatric Cancer

10:25 a.m.-12 p.m.

Session Chair: Terry Fry, Children’s Hospital Colorado Anschutz, Aurora, Colorado 

• 10:30 a.m. | GD2-CAR T cells for H3K27M DMGs: Status Update
  Crystal Mackall, Stanford University, Stanford, California
• 11:00 a.m. | Addressing challenges with CAR T cells for AML
  Terry Fry
• 11:30 a.m. | Real-world efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors when used in a selected population of pediatric solid cancers – A retrospective multicenter study*
  Andy Huy-Dat Vu, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Laval University,Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
• 11:45 a.m. | Unveiling the immunoregulatory role of tumoral B7-H3 in promoting the immunosuppressive TME of medulloblastoma*
  Kirsten Moziak, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York

lunch on own/free time

12-2 p.m.

Plenary Session 7: Tumor Genomics, Predisposition, and Mosaicism

2-4:20 p.m.

Session Chair: Suzanne P. MacFarland, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• 2:05 p.m. | New frontiers in childhood cancer predisposition: Harnessing genomics for early detection and tumor interception
  David Malkin, SickKids, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2:35 p.m. | Defining phenotype and polyp development in Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome
  Suzanne P. MacFarland
• 3:05 p.m. | The germline-somatic dialogue in Ewing sarcoma susceptibility
  Olivier Delattre, Inserm/Institut Curie, Paris, France
• 3:35 p.m. | Childhood cancer data initiative’s research characterization data reveals novel biology*
  Emily Boja, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
• 3:50 p.m. | Male Y chromosome loss as a candidate driver in high-risk neuroblastoma*
  Esther Rheinbay, Mass General Brigham, Boston, Massachusetts
• 4:05 p.m. | Zebrafish cancer models predict clinical outcomes in human acute lymphoblastic leukemia*
  Mohamed Bakr, Mass General Brigham, Boston, Massachusetts

Accelerating Breakthroughs Together: An Industry Perspective on Collaboration: Panel Discussion

4:20-5:20 p.m.

• Panelists
  Joe McDonough, The Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation, Wilmington, Delaware
  Adam S. Levy, Bristol Myers Squibb, Jericho, New York
  Kerri Nottage, Johnson & Johnson, Flemington, New Jersey
  Devona Williams, AstraZeneca, Washington, District of Columbia

Poster Session C

5:30-7:30 p.m.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

7-8:30 a.m.

Plenary Session 8: Cancer Cell Biology, Organelle Function, and Metabolism

8-10 a.m.

Session Chair: Olivier Delattre, Inserm/Institut Curie, Paris, France

• 8 a.m. | New insights into drug resistance
  Alejandro Gutierrez, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
• 8:35 a.m. | Chromatin regulation by EWS fusion proteins
  Miguel N. Rivera, Mass General Brigham, Boston, Massachusetts
• 9:05 a.m. | Multi-omic integration and lipid dependency in Medulloblastoma
  Olivier Ayrault, Institut Curie, Paris, France
• 9:35 a.m. | Revealing a novel role for YB-1 as metabolic regulator in Ewing sarcoma*
  Annalena F. Renner, BC Cancer Research Center, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• 9:50 a.m. | Multi-omic profiling reveals endothelial cell plasticity in metastatic osteosarcoma*
  Troy A. McEachron, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland      

break

10:05-10:30 a.m.

Plenary Session 9: Transformative Technologies for Clinical Care

10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Session Chair: Brian Compton, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

• 10:35 a.m. | Advancing liquid biopsies for the clinic and discovery in Pediatric Cancer
  Brian Compton
• 11:05 a.m. | Overcoming Heterogeneity: Deep learning for automated subtyping of pediatric sarcomas
  Jill Rubinstein, The Jackson Laboratory, Farmington, Connecticut
• 11:35 a.m. | Advancing a comprehensive pediatric liquid biopsy platform, LBSeq4Kids, using Illumina 5-Base technology*
  Laura A. T. Kagami, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
• 11:50 a.m. | Tumor-free RB1 molecular diagnosis: Aqueous humor liquid biopsy enables comprehensive in vivo characterization of biallelic rb1 inactivation in retinoblastoma*
  Liya Xu, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
• 12:05 p.m. | Robust identification of recurrent gene expression programs across samples from the Single-cell Pediatric Cancer Atlas Portal*
  Allegra G. Hawkins, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania

Closing Remarks 

12:20-12:35 p.m.