It's a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Monroe, Louisiana, to New Orleans, and University of Louisiana Monroe cancer researcher Suri Murru, PhD, said it was “absolutely well worth it” to attend the Louisiana Cancer Research Center’s (LCRC) annual symposium.

Murru and ULM graduate students Ernest Owusu-Boadi and Fahima Afroja were among the more than 260 scientists from across the state, including LCRC partner institutions LSU Health New Orleans, Tulane University School of Medicine, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Ochsner Health, who participated in a day full of sharing research, learning from one another and discovering resources to support their work.

“We had insightful roundtable discussions focused on developmental therapeutics for cancer treatment, which opened avenues for potential collaborations. My students especially appreciated the meaningful scientific interactions during their poster presentations. It was a wonderful experience, and we look forward to building fruitful collaborations that contribute to the advancement of cancer therapeutics.”

—ULM Professor and LCRC Member Siva Murru, PhD

The crowded room reflected the ever-expanding field of cancer research in Louisiana, where more than 30,000 people  received a cancer diagnosis last year.

This year's event featured a new format with a mix of succinct presentations, energetic roundtable discussions, and breakout sessions, all designed to encourage attendees to talk with one another. "Instead of the typical format of program leaders giving highlights, you'll be interacting with our peers about emerging research topics and cancer biology," LCRC Cancer Biology Co-Lead and Tulane Cancer Center researcher Tiffany Seagroves, PhD, told the group. "We're here to get to know each other and to celebrate our discoveries and our accomplishments," she said, noting that more than 385 Louisiana researchers from 14 institutions are members of the LCRC. All totaled, the group authored 300 cancer-relevant publications last year.

"Collaboration and connections are really, really important across programs, institutions, and our research themes, and the LCRC wants to try to facilitate those things,” said LSU Health New Orleans Professor and Genes X Environment Co-Lead John West, PhD. “LSU is going to be submitting for NCI designation. We're trying to be inclusive and to think down the road. We're all going to be working in the same community, and we're going to need partners. I encourage you very strongly to utilize the chance to network, make yourself a new friend, make several, and use the breakout sessions to try to strategize for collaborative efforts."

In keeping with the LCRC’s mission to cultivate the next generation of cancer scientists, three LCRC travel grant recipients presented information previously shared at scientific meetings funded by the grants. Roundtable sessions focused on: Obesity and Metabolism, Environmental Exposure, Developmental Therapeutics, New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), and programmatic breakout sessions concluded the day. Two separate poster sessions included over 100 submissions.

During a series of "Core Short Talks," Monika Rak, PhD, LSU Health New Orleans assistant professor, noted how collaborative efforts between Tulane and LSU "shape and strengthen my research. My work on human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in glioblastoma illustrates how core facilities function as true scientific partners rather than simply service providers. Through close collaboration with the Tulane Cancer Center Next-Generation Sequencing Bioinformatics Core and the LSUHSC-NO Center for Translational Viral Oncology (CTVO) Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Core, we implemented tailored approaches to analyze RNA sequencing data and uncover meaningful insights into HERVs in glioblastoma."

The event was an impressive showcase of the breadth and depth of cancer research in Louisiana and the largest annual gathering in the LCRC's history, which was established by the Louisiana Legislature in 2002 as a collaborative hub to advance cancer research, improve prevention, and accelerate innovative treatments.

"The feedback about the new format has been very positive," LCRC Administrative Officer Sven Davisson said afterwards. "The roundtable discussions spurred discussion among attendees who would otherwise not have met before, let alone discuss the details of their research with an eye toward collaborating."

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