Live from AACR! [Video]

In this episode, host Oliver Bogler speaks with NCI fellows live at the American Association for Cancer Researchers (AACR) Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. They share their science, career path, and thoughts on attending the AACR annual meeting.

Show Notes:

· American Association for Cancer Researchers (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024

Wayne Lawrence, Dr.P.H.,M.P.H. , Research Fellow, Metabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI Abstract Title: “Severe housing cost burden and premature cancer mortality by state Medicaid expansion status”

Sonam Tulsyan, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Translational Genomics, Michael Dean Research Laboratory, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI Abstract Title: “A high rate of episomal HPV16 is present in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tumors by long-read whole genome sequencing”

Patricia Erickson, M.P.H., Predoctoral Fellow, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI Abstract Title: “Carbaryl use and cancer incidence in the agricultural health study – An updated analysis”

Katrina Jia, Postbaccalaureate Fellow, Oncogenomics Section, Center for Cancer Research, NCI Abstract Title: “Endogenous HiBiT-tagging of PAX3-FOXO1 reveals downregulation of the fusion oncogene by CDK inhibitors and has synergy with vincristine”

Jazmyn Bess, M.S., Postbaccalaureate Fellow and iCURE Scholar, Clinical Genetics Branch, Trans-Divisional Research Program, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI Abstract Title: “Impact of delayed processing on cfDNA quantity and quality using STRECK cfDNA tubes: Connect Pilot Study” Connect for Cancer Prevention Study Intramural Continuing Umbrella of Research Excellence (iCURE)Program

Deborah Tadesse, B.S., Postbaccalaureate Fellow, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI Abstract Title: “Interaction between solvent exposure and genetic susceptibility and risk for bladder cancer”

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TRANSCRIPT

Oliver Bogler

Hello and welcome to Inside Cancer Careers, a podcast from the National Cancer Institute where we explore all the different ways people fight cancer and hear their stories. I’m your host, Oliver Bogler from NCI’s Center for Cancer Training.

Today, we’re doing something a bit different – we are talking to people at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. This meeting is one of the high-points of the calendar for people working to end cancer as we know it for all, and it is truly big tent – at the April 2024 conference in San Diego, over 22,000 people registered to attend.

AACR is a strong community of over 55,000 people and 53% are Associate Members who, according to the AACR website, are young laboratory scientists and physicians-in-training (graduate students, medical students and residents, and clinical and postdoctoral fellows). I’ve been a member since my postdoc days – and I am proud of the way AACR welcomes and supports early career individuals.

There is a lot going on at the AACR annual meeting – far too much to cover in this episode – check out AACR.org to learn more. We are going to focus in on one of the most important elements of a scientific conference – the opportunity it gives to scientists to present their work to their peers. And specifically, we will visit with NCI fellows at their poster sessions.

Because of this format we won’t have a Your Turn segment – Your Turn will be back next time.

Let’s start by meeting some of our fellows and hearing about their science.

So I’m speaking with Wayne Lawrence, who’s here presenting his poster. You are a research fellow at NCI. Right, Wayne?

Wayne Lawrence

Yes, I am a research fellow.

Oliver Bogler

So tell me, where in the NCI are you?

Wayne Lawrence

I’m in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, specifically in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch.

So all my research seeks to understand why are certain people more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, and why is the mortality proportion greater amongst certain populations than others? So what role does the social environment contribute to disparities in cancer outcomes? So part of my work here, for example, is I want to examine the role of severe housing cost burden on premature death due to cancer. So we know that in the United States, more and more people are spending more of their household income on housing. So we’ve seen that recently, there’s been an increase in people expending 50% or more of their income on housing, which we know that if you spend that much on housing, you’re more likely to sacrifice seeking medical…