This one day symposium showcases diverse yet allied disciplines for a distinctive take on cancer across a range of environmental scales.

Cancer Environments

• The special environment of the brain: The brain hosts some of the most deadly and hard to treat cancers. It is also the source of our ability to make decisions that can modify our risk of disease. Thanks to technological advances and our multi-disciplinary research in this area we are increasingly able to image brain tissue, explore the origin of brain cancers, target tumours in delicate locations, and utilise our understanding of human behaviour to affect policy and positive change. Speakers will include Professor Simona Parrinello (UCL Cancer Institute), Dr Sarah Jackson (Institute of Epidemiology & Health), and more to be confirmed.
• The tumour immune microenvironment: At the cellular and tissue level, different cell types work together to help or hinder cancer growth. Researching this complexity has led to advances in immunotherapy and cancer vaccines as well as stunning visualisations of the tumour microenvironment in action. Speakers will include Dr Chris Tape (UCL Cancer Institute),Dr Sophie Acton (MRC-UCL Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology) and Professor Mala Maini (UCL Division of Infection and Immunity).
• The urban environment: GUEST KEYNOTE – Professor Frank Kelly, Battcock Chair in Community Health and Policy, Imperial College London.   As we know, the urban environment of London and other major cities can present significant health challenges. Although it is widely believed that our risk of cancer and other diseases might be affected by exposure to exhaust particulates, microplastics and other pollutants, there is not always a clear picture of cause and effect. Professor Kelly leads research spanning all aspects of air pollution and human disease mechanisms, providing the evidence base behind policy in this area.
• Debate – ‘Reading the Extracellular Environment for Signs of Cancer: Tell-tale signs of cancer circulating in the body some distance from their source hold promise for screening and earlier, less invasive, detection of disease. This special session of talks from academic, industry and health service leaders, followed by a debate, explores the research, near-term possibilities, and the impact of cancer detection on patients and health services. GRAIL is a global leader on circulating DNA biomarker studies and we are delighted that we will be joined by our special guest speakers Sir Harpal Kumar, President of GRAIL Inc, and David Probert, Chief Executive of UCLH.

Call for abstracts for short oral talks or poster presentations – Deadline is 23:59 on 3rd April 2022. 

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