GCI Research Day 2024

On December 5^th, the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI) held its annual Research Day: a scientific conference celebrating research excellence at the GCI and in the Montreal cancer research community. The event was an inspiring day of sharing trainee-led science through 3-minute thesis presentations, short talks and poster presentations.

Anna-Maria Lazaratos received an award, sponsored by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec, for presenting the best short talk. Stefanie Valbon and Guy Namir received prizes, sponsored by Wisent Inc., for their 3-minute thesis presentations. Hailey Dall-Proud and Vandana Nathan were awarded for best poster presentations, sponsored by Diamed Lab Supplies Inc. All the oral and poster presentations featured were of exceptionally high caliber, and the groundbreaking science shared was the heart of the event. 

The GCI had the opportunity to host Brad Nelson, Scientific Co-Director of BC Cancer's Immunotherapy Program and a professor at both the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, as the keynote speaker for the event. His keynote lecture, “Deciphering and Re-engineering the Immune Response to Cancer”, explored current developments in cancer immunotherapy. He described the challenges behind CAR-T cell therapies, and his pioneering role in developing the infrastructure to produce and deliver these engineered immune cells to patients in Canada. The GCI thanks him for attending and sharing a fascinating lecture.

This successful day of scientific collaboration was made possible by a dynamic team of organizers and supportive sponsors. Many thanks to the Research Day organizing committee, Ozgun Varol, Paulina Varela Castillo, Maria Guerra, and Ruomeng Fang. The execution of the event would also not have been possible with out support from Leigh Dickson and Diana Lee, as well as the GCSS co-presidents Mariam Ali and Phillipe Hutton. Finally, the GCI would like to thank the sponsors of the event for their generosity and support: GeneBio Systems Inc., Carl Zeiss Canada Limited, D-Mark Biosciences, Wisent Inc., Diamed Lab Supplies Inc., and BZiShows Inc. All the contributions that made the day possible are greatly appreciated!