SEP 29 - 30 2020 Opens: 11:00 AM PDT

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2nd Annual PAWS FOR A CURE Research Symposium

Translational Potential Of Comparative Approaches To Accelerate Drug

Development In Shared Childhood & Canine Cancers

Join the world’s leaders

in pediatric and veterinary cancer research, pharma and biotech, human cancer and animal health foundations, and childhood and canine cancer patients as we explore the state-of-the-art in science in comparative cancer research. Our goal is to forge new collaborations and accelerate progress in cancers shared by children and man’s best friend. We welcome you to Paws for a Cure 2020!

Co-Presented by:

In Partnership with:

This year's symposium experience will feature:

a virtual auditorium with interactive,

multi-disciplinary seminars and discussions of cutting edge scientific content,

break-out sessions, a virtual lounge for networking with speakers and presenters, and more.

Speakers

Peter C. Adamson, MD

Past Chair, Children's Oncology Group
Matthew Breen, PhD

Professor of Genomics and the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology Genetics in the Dept. of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine
Melissa Renee Chambers, DVM, MD

Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama, Birmingham
Steven Dow, PhD

Professor of Immunology in the DCS and Director of the Center for Immune and Regenerative Medicine, Colorado State University
William Eward, DVM, PhD

Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University
Heather Gardner, DVM, PhD, DACVIM

Assistant Research Professor,Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University
Lee Helman, MD

Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Will Hendricks, PhD

Assistant Professor, Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, TGen
Carl June, MD

Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Janet Patterson Kane, PhD

Expert Veterinary and Biomedical Scientist, Morris Animal Foundation
Warren Kibbe, PhD

Vice Chair and Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University
Amy LeBlanc, DVM DACVIM

Director, Comparative Oncology Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
Dean Lee, PhD

Professor of Pediatrics and DiMarco Family Endowed Chair in Cell Based Therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, ACVIM

Research Professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University & Molecular Oncology Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center
Nicola Mason, PhD

Professor of Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
Rodney Page, PhD

Professor and Director of the Flint Animal Cancer Center Stephen Withrow Presidential Chair in Oncology
Adam Resnick, PhD

Director of Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
John Rossmeisl, DVM, MS

Neurology and Neurosurgery, Associate Department Head Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Elias Sayour, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics & Principal Investigator, RNA Engineering Laboratory in the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy & UF Brain Tumor Immunotherapy
Jay Storm, MD

Director, Translational Brain Tumor Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Connie Summers, PhD

Program Director at the ImmunoOncology Branch in the Developmental Therapeutics Program in the Division of Cancer Treatment & Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute
Roel Verhaak, PhD

Professor and Associate Director of Computational Biology, JAX Laboratory

Show Resources

Preliminary Topical Agenda

September 29-30, 2020

PRELIMINARY TOPICAL AGENDA & SPEAKER LINE-UP

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29^th, 2020 (12:00PM-5:00PM EDT)

11:00 AM-12:00 PM: POSTER AND EXHIBIT HALL OPEN

WINNING Young Investigator Mini-Presentations- 4 selected; featured in Poster Hall

12:00 PM EDT WEBINAR 1 WELCOME & OVERVIEW (TOTAL1 hour 20 min.)

OPENING REMARKS Organizers, Title Sponsors (10 Minutes)

KEYNOTE AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTVE (30 Minutes)

Peter Adamson, MD Past Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), Global Head, Oncology Drug Development & Lead, Pediatric Innovations Group, Sanofi, Inc; Dr. Adamson is Professor Emeritus at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. He is Board Certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology.

COURAGEOUS WARRIOR REMARKS – (5 minutes) Joshua Schiffman, MD, Professor of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Adjunct Professor of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Center, University of Utah; Childhood Cancer Survivor

COURAGEOUS WARRIOR: Scout’s Story – (Invited, 5-7 minutes, opening)

GOLDEN RETRIEVER LIFETIME STUDY: REVIEW OF FIRST COHORT OF CANCER-AFFLICTED PARTICIPANTS (30 Minutes)`

Rodney Page, DVM, Flint Animal Cancer Center & Principal Investigator & Janet Patterson-Kane DVM, Chief Scientific Officer, Morris Animal Foundation

1:45 PM EDT 15 Minute Break: Poster Hall/Exhibit Hall open

2:00 PM EDT Program Resumes

2:00 PM WEBINAR 2: EMERGING DATASETS & DATA INTEGRATION INITIATIVES (2 Hours)

Canine Genetic and Biomarker Data in Context of Human (95 minutes)

History & Overview: Perspective from the National Cancer Institute(15 Minutes)

Amy LeBlanc, DVM Director, Comparative Oncology Program, National Cancer Institute
and Scientist, NCI Molecular Imaging Program

Key Datasets

Amy LeBlanc, DVM, PhD Comparative Oncology Program, National Cancer Institute &
Heather Gardner DVM, DACVIM (Oncology) Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine (15 minutes together)

Will Hendricks, DVM Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, TGEN (15 minutes)

Roel Verhaak, PhD The Jackson Laboratories (15 minutes)

Andrea Webber, Assistant Head, Clinical Biomarkers Translational Oncology, Merck (15 minutes)

Discussant: Jeff Trent, PhD TGEN (Invited) (DISCUSSION: 20 Minutes)

4:00 PM WEBINAR 3: DATA-DRIVEN COMPARATIVE ONCOLOGY RESEARCH: INTELLIGENT NTEGRATION OF HUMAN/PEDIATRIC AND CANINE CANCER DATA TO FUEL DISCOVERY & ACCELERATE DRUG DEVELOPMENT (TOTAL 60 Minutes)

Significant advances in comparative research hinge on adequately defined canine genomic and immunologic profiles (genomic sequencing, mutational load, and immunologic characterizations) Efforts including the Precision Medicine and Moonshot Canine Immunotherapy initiatives are yielding exciting new datasets, which must be housed in an open-source environment (data commons) and harmonized to allow comparison/contrast with relevant human datasets. Here, leading experts provide insights into the status of various data generation and warehousing initiatives in the comparative context.

Adam Resnick, PhD Director of Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D3b) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) (10- 15 minutes)

Connie Sommers, PhD Program Director at National Cancer Institute (10- 15 minutes)

Matthew Breen, PhD PhD, C. Biol, FRSB. Professor, Genomics Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor, Comparative Oncology Genetics (10- 15 minutes)

Discussant:

Warren Kibbe, PhD Chief for Translational Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and Chief Data Officer for the Duke Cancer Institute (20 minutes DISCUSSION)

PROGRAM CLOSE: 5:00 PM EDT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30^th, 2020 (12:00PM-5:00PM EDT)

11:00 AM-12:00 PM: POSTER AND EXHIBIT HALL OPEN

12:00 PM EDT PROGRAM BEGINS

12:00 PM WEBINAR 4 TITLE TBD (TOTAL 60 min)

COURAGEOUS WARRIORS: Rally Foundation Ambassador: 5 Minute opening
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES: UNITING HUMAN & ANIMAL PHARMA/BIOTECH TO STRENGTHEN & ACCELERATE DRUG DEVELOPMENT (LIVE Panel discussion) approx. 55 minutes)

The engagement of drug developers is critical to accelerating progress in human (especially pediatric) and canine cancers. Here we cover the challenges of uniting human, animal pharma/biotech, present case studies to demonstrate real world examples and the utility and value of intelligent integration of canine patients into the drug development pipeline. We also hear from pharma and biotech what their needs are and how they envision receiving canine data that is useful to complement and inform their preclinical and clinical drug development plans, with a particular eye also to RACE Act requirements.

Participants from Small biopharma, large pharma, regulators, veterinary oncology, pediatric oncology - TBA

Discussant: Peter Adamson , MD Global Head, Oncology Drug Development & Lead, Pediatric Innovations Group, Sanofi, Inc

1:00 PM 15 Minute BREAK POSTER AND EXHIBIT HALL OPEN, Meet the Experts Sessions

1:15 PM (EDT) WEBINAR 5 : COLLABORATIONS AT BOTH ENDS OF THE LEASH – ONGOING COMPARATIVE INIITIATIVES RELEVANT TO CHILDHOOD CANCER: PART 1: (TOTAL 90 Minutes)

Courageous Warriors (5 minutes): Collin Tanner (16) Childhood Cancer Survivor
Sarcoma/Osteosarcoma Collaborations & Comparative Research (85 Min)

Significant comparative research is underway which could inform and potentially advance our understanding of shared cancers in canines and in children and/or inform clinical trials of novel therapies or combinations for pediatric application. This section will include state of the art presentations regarding sarcomas, particularly osteosarcoma. Investigators involved in these critical projects will present updates on this ongoing research.

Dean Lee, MD, PhD Director of the Cellular Therapy and Cancer Immunology Program, Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and the DiMarco Family Endowed Chair in Cell Based Therapy (15 minutes)

Steven W. Dow, DVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM Colorado State University, Flint Animal Cancer Center & Cheryl London (Tufts) (15 minutes)

Amy LeBlanc & Alex Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine & UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital (15 minutes)

William Eward, MD, DVM Duke University School of Medicine & NC State School of Veterinary Medicine (15 minutes)

Discussant: L Lee Helman, MD Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases & Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California (Discussion: 25 Minutes)

2:45 PM 15 Minute BREAK POSTER AND EXHIBIT HALL OPEN, Meet the Experts Sessions

3:00 WEBINAR 6 : COLLABORATIONS AT BOTH ENDS OF THE LEASH – ONGOING COMPARATIVE INIITIATIVES RELEVANT TO CHILDHOOD CANCER: PART 2 (2 Hours total)

Significant comparative research is underway which could inform and potentially advance our understanding of shared cancers in canines and in children and/or inform clinical trials of novel therapies or combinations for pediatric application. This section will include state of the art presentations regarding brain cancers (notably gliomas) and lymphoma. Investigators involved in these critical projects will present updates on this ongoing research.

Lymphoma: CAR-T Cell Immunotherapy in the Comparative Setting– 30 Minutes (Followed by Zoom Room)

Carl H. June, MD University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine &

Nicola Mason, PhD, BVetMed University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

Brain Cancer

Steven W. Dow, DVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM Colorado State University, Flint Animal Cancer Center (20 Minutes)

Wayne Carter, D.V.M., Ph.D., Diplomate ACVIM CEO TVAX Biomedical & Jeffrey Bryan, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology), University of Missouri School of Veterinary Medicine (15 Minutes)

Elias Sayour, MD, PhD Departments of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, University of Florida. Principal investigator of the ribonucleic acid engineering laboratory at the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy. (15 Minutes)

Melissa Rene Chambers, DVM, MD School of Medicine, University of Alabama (15 Minutes)

Moderator: Jay Philip Storm, MD, Chief of Neurosurgery, Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania DISCUSSION 20 Minutes

PROGRAM CLOSE: 5:00 PM EDT

____

Speakers

More great speakers added daily!

Peter C. Adamson, MD
Past Chair, Children's Oncology Group

Biography
For nearly a decade, Peter C. Adamson, MD served as Chair of the Children's Oncology Group (COG), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported international consortium of more than 220 childhood centers that conducts clinical-translational research, including large-scale clinical trials, in children with cancer. After a long and distinguished career in academia, Dr. Adamson recently joined Sanofi, Inc. as Global Head, Oncology Development and Global Head, Pediatric Innovation. Dr. Adamson is Professor Emeritus at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. He is Board Certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Adamson was appointed by President Obama and serves on the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) and has served as a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel for Vice President Biden's National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. Prior to becoming Chair of the COG in 2011, Dr. Adamson was Director for Clinical and Translational Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as Chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Other past roles include being co-Director of the University of Pennsylvania's - CHOP Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA), Program Director of the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and Principal Investigator of CHOP's Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit (PPRU).
Matthew Breen, PhD
Professor of Genomics and the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology Genetics in the Dept. of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine

Biography
Dr. Breen is a Professor of Genomics and the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology Genetics in the Dept. of Molecular Biomedical Sciences at the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine. He is also a member of the NCSU Comparative Medicine Institute (CMI), the Center for Human Health for the Environment (CHHE), the NCSU Genetics Program in the College of Science, and the Cancer Genetics Program at the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Breen was a charter member, and now serves on the Board of Directors, of the Canine Comparative Oncology and Genomics Consortium (CCOGC), a 501c3 not-for-profit organization established to promote the role of the dog in comparative biomedical research. He is also a charter member of the Sea Lion Cancer Consortium (SLiCC).
Melissa Renee Chambers, DVM, MD
Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama, Birmingham

Biography
Dr. Chambers earned her bachelor's and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees from Auburn University and her medical degree from UAB. She completed the Halsted Surgical Internship at Johns Hopkins University and Neurosurgical Residency at Vanderbilt University. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. Chambers' clinical interests include all areas of neurological surgery involving brain, spine and peripheral nerve with an emphasis on surgical, stereotactic and computer-assisted treatment of brain tumors. Her academic interests include brain tumor therapies, vertebral fractures associated with osteoporosis, and degenerative spinal conditions. She is the principal investigator in two pending spinal instrumentation trials at UAB. With her veterinary background, she is involved in brain tumor therapy collaborations between Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and UAB School of Medicine, where she teaches neurosurgical residents and medical and nursing students. She is a strong proponent of the One Health Initiative, an effort to improve animal and public health worldwide and strengthen medicine by working together.
Steven Dow, PhD
Professor of Immunology in the DCS and Director of the Center for Immune and Regenerative Medicine, Colorado State University

Biography
Dr. Dow received his DVM degree from the University of Georgia and completed a residency in small animal internal medicine at Colorado State University. He then completed a PhD program in Comparative Pathology in the laboratory of Ed Hoover at Colorado State University. After that, Dr. Dow completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Jewish Center in the laboratory of Dr. Terry Potter, before joining the faculty of the Department of Clinical Sciences at CSU in 2002. He is currently a professor of immunology in the DCS and the director of the Center for Immune and Regenerative Medicine at CSU.
William Eward, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University

Biography
Having spent his childhood in the company of a wide variety of animals, Dr. Eward fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a small animal veterinarian in 2000 when he graduated from Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine. He was particularly captivated by his patients with cancer and decided to pursue this interest further. In 2002, he returned to school, receiving an MD degree from the University of Vermont. He currently is on faculty at Duke University with an adjunct appointment at the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. He spends the first part of the week taking care of humans with cancer and the latter part of the week taking care of animals with cancer. As an Orthopaedic Oncologist, he specializes in preserving and reconstructing limbs that have been jeopardized by a type of cancer called Sarcoma. Given his dual roles in human and animal health, Dr. Eward is committed to using a One Medicine approach to solving the terrible problem that cancer presents to all of us, whether we walk on two legs or four. He runs a lab at Duke that attempts to identify common elements between types of cancer across different species.
Heather Gardner, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Assistant Research Professor,Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University

Biography
Heather Gardner, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology) is an assistant research professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Her laboratory efforts center on comparative and translational oncology, using the tumor genome to inform novel therapeutic approaches. Dr. Gardner earned her DVM at Washington State University and completed her Residency in Medical Oncology at the Ohio State University before completing her PhD in Genetics at Tufts University.
Lee Helman, MD
Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Biography
Lee J. Helman received his M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine magna cum laude in 1980 and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital Washington University also serving as Chief Resident. Dr. Helman began his fellowship training at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1983. He did his post-doctoral training in the Molecular Genetics Section, Pediatric Branch, NCI, and became Head of the Molecular Oncology Section, Pediatric Oncology Branch, NCI, in 1993. He served as Chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch from 1997-2007, and served as Scientific Director for Clinical Research in the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute from 2007 to 2016. He will join CHLA and the University of Southern California (USC) on March 12 as director of Basic and Translational Research within the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases (CCCBD) and the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He will also serve as director of the Cancer and Blood Diseases Program at The Saban Research Institute. In addition, Dr. Helman will be a professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and a member of the Sarcoma Program and executive leadership team at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians and is a founding member and past president of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society. Dr. Helman is the past Chairman of the Board of Directors and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of and is a Clinical Advisor to The Children's Inn at NIH and is a past member of the Board of Governors of the Clinical Center at NIH. Dr. Helman is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and a past chair for its Bylaws Committee. He received the 2011 ASCO Pediatric Oncology Award and is a Fellow of ASCO. He has served on the Science Education, Publications, and Clinical & Translational Research committees of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and was the inaugural chair of its Pediatric Oncology Task Force and has been on the Scientific Program Committee for several of its annual meetings. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of Stand Up To Cancer, a scientific partner to the AACR. Dr. Helman's laboratory currently studies the biology and treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, osteosarcoma, and pediatric GIST tumors. Major areas of research include the study of the pathophysiologic consequences of IGF signaling; identification of the molecular/biochemical determinants of the biology of these sarcomas; and the application of functional genomics to develop novel clinical studies for these sarcomas.
Will Hendricks, PhD
Assistant Professor, Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, TGen

Biography
Despite decades of progress in the clinical management of cancer and amidst recent innovations in genomics-guided medicine, we are still incapable of curing most patients who are diagnosed with advanced cancers. Our laboratory focuses on shifting paradigms in cancer treatment to enable cures through programs at the intersection of personalized medicine and comparative genomics. Dissecting biological determinants of therapeutic vulnerability in human melanoma through integrated analysis of genomic data. As part of the Stand Up to Cancer and Melanoma Research Alliance Dream Team, we are directing a clinical trial evaluating the hypothesis that genomics-guided drug selection can outperform physician-guided treatment in melanoma patients. Our laboratory is also working to characterize the biology of therapeutic sensitivity in melanoma cell lines through integrated analysis of comprehensive genomic, proteomic, and therapeutic data (including exome sequencing, array CGH, gene expression profiling, proteomic profiling, and high-throughput RNAi and drug screens). Hypotheses tested in vitro are contextualized through ongoing genomic analysis conducted in patient samples collected during the course of the genomics-guided clinical trial and alongside data available through public portals such as the TCGA. Mapping canine cancer landscapes for identification of actionable targets to guide comparative clinical trials. The work described above will support development of targeted inhibitors and combinations to spur further survival gains in human melanoma. Yet, testing novel agents, combinations, and dosing schedules can be challenging in human clinical trials due to their restrictive nature. Thus, we have turned to comparative oncology where it has long been recognized that extraordinary potential lies in aligning studies of sporadic cancers in pet dogs with drug development in human cancers. To this end, we have mapped the genomic landscape of canine mucosal melanoma, a common and lethal cancer in dogs that is equally deadly, but far less common, in humans. Integrated analysis has revealed genomic landscapes that resemble the human disease while also identifying novel therapeutically-relevant mutations that are reshaping our understanding of the human disease. We are now pursuing integrated comparative analysis of additional tumor types while these data are informing the development of comparative veterinary trials. Integrating genomic and therapeutic analyses of pediatric cancers. We have recently discovered frequent inactivating mutations and concomitant loss of the tumor suppressor SMARCA4 in the majority of cases of a rare cancer that afflicts girls and young women - small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT). This mutation occurs amidst an otherwise stable cancer genome and thus provides a unique opportunity to study an isolated driver mutation of relevance to more genomically complex cancers with higher mutation rates (such as melanoma). More importantly, it provides a clear target in an extremely rare cancer for our ongoing pursuit of an empirically-derived therapeutic option for these underserved patients.
Carl June, MD
Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Biography
The June Lab is primarily responsible for developing new CARs and new vectors for current and proposed indications. This lab also fosters the development of Penn students both in doctoral and post-doctoral programs. The June Laboratory provides researchers with the tools they need to translate laboratory insights into safe and effective cancer therapies. The June Laboratory works with University of Pennsylvania faculty members interested in moving biologically-focused research ideas into clinical trials. In addition, the June Laboratory has a cadre of faculty researchers focused on developing ways to enhance the ability of the natural immune system to recognize and eliminate tumor cells. Translational research is a core unit of the The Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Created in December 1997 with a $100 million pledge from the Abramson Family Foundation, the Cancer Research Institute integrates research, education, and comprehensive patient care at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. For more information, see the Translational Research Mission Statement.
Janet Patterson Kane, PhD
Expert Veterinary and Biomedical Scientist, Morris Animal Foundation

Biography
Dr. Patterson-Kane received her veterinary degree and PhD from Massey University, New Zealand. She completed specialty training in the field of veterinary anatomic pathology at the University of Florida followed by the University of Kentucky, before becoming board-certified in 1999. Dr. Patterson-Kane was a faculty member at the Royal Veterinary College (University of London), and then the University of Queensland (Australia), before holding the Chair in Veterinary Pathology at the University of Glasgow (United Kingdom). After leaving academia in 2014 she worked in private diagnostics and the biotechnology industry before joining the Morris Animal foundation as Chief Scientific Officer in 2019.

Dr. Patterson-Kane’s research interests are broad, including cellular stress and ageing, and cancer pathology. She is co-author of the only currently available equine oncology textbook, ‘Clinical Equine Oncology’.
Warren Kibbe, PhD
Vice Chair and Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University

Biography
Warren A. Kibbe, PhD is Vice Chair and Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University, and the chief of the Division of Translational Biomedical Informatics. His research interests include data representation for clinical trials, especially improving the computability and interpretability of biomarker and eligibility criteria; data interoperability between medical records and decision support algorithms; improving data representation and interoperability for biomedical research using ontologies, developing novel analysis and visualization tools for next gen sequencing data, especially methylseq. Prior to joining Duke, he served as an acting deputy director of the NCI and was the director of the NCI's Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information for four years. He was one of the architects of the Genomic Data Commons initiative, which was the NCI's foray into creating a highly accessible and highly accessed cancer data repository for clinical, proteomic, imaging and genomic data. Dr. Kibbe has been a proponent for open science and open data in biomedical research and helped define the data sharing policy for the NCI Cancer Moonshot program. He also helped architect the joint NCI-DOE computational and biomedical research collaboration. Dr. Kibbe is the co-Founder of the Cancer Informatics for Cancer Centers (Ci4CC.org) society, and through Ci4CC organized twice-yearly meetings of cancer informatics faculty and leaders from the majority of NCI-designated Cancer Centers.
Amy LeBlanc, DVM DACVIM
Director, Comparative Oncology Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

Biography
Amy LeBlanc is board-certified veterinary oncologist and the Director of the intramural National Cancer Institute's Comparative Oncology Program. In this position she conducts preclinical mouse and translational canine studies that are designed to inform the drug and imaging agent development path for human cancer patients. She also advises leading pharmaceutical companies as well as NCI's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis on the inclusion of pet dogs with cancer into the development path of novel approaches for a variety of malignancies, including immunotherapeutics, targeted small molecules, oncolytic viruses, and cancer imaging agents. She directly oversees the NCI Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC), which provides infrastructure necessary to connect participating veterinary academic institutions with stakeholders in drug development to execute fit-for-purpose comparative clinical trials in novel therapeutics and imaging agents. Dr. LeBlanc obtained her veterinary degree from Michigan State University, and completed post-graduate training in small animal medicine, surgery and oncology at Texas A&M University and Louisiana State University. Prior to her appointment at NIH, Dr. LeBlanc was an Associate Professor with tenure and Director of Translational Research at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and UT Graduate School of Medicine (GSM). Dr. LeBlanc's group at the University of Tennessee published the first comprehensive studies describing molecular imaging of dogs and cats using PET/CT, focusing on the forward and back-translation of 18F-labelled radiopharmaceuticals.
Dean Lee, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics and DiMarco Family Endowed Chair in Cell Based Therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Biography
Brief Faculty Profile - Dr. Lee is Professor of Pediatrics and DiMarco Family Endowed Chair in Cell Based Therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He is the founding Director of the Cellular Therapy and Cancer Immunotherapy Program, a joint program between NCH and The Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital. Dr. Lee conducts clinical and translational research on natural killer (NK) cells and their potential for cancer immunotherapy. His laboratory identified a crucial role for IL-21 and STAT3 signaling in NK cell function and proliferation, which has enabled a method for large-scale propagation of clinical-grade NK cells for adoptive transfer. NK cells expanded with this approach have been infused into adult and pediatric patients with leukemia, brain tumors, and solid tumors in investigator-initiated Phase I trials. Dr. Lee is chair of the Cellular Therapy Strategy Group for the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium, member of the NIH Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee and member of the Cell Therapy Steering Committee of the Children's Oncology Group. His work in cancer immunotherapy and cellular therapy has been supported by NIH, DOD and numerous foundation research grants, and has led to over 100 peer-reviewed publications, patents, and commercial licenses. Dr. Lee practices clinically in the area of bone marrow transplantation, with a particular interest in haplotransplantation and cellular therapy.
Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, ACVIM
Research Professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University & Molecular Oncology Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center

Biography
Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, ACVIM (Oncology) is a Research Professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and the Molecular Oncology Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center. She has an active laboratory research program centered on comparative and translational oncology and is involved in the training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. She has recently joined the Clinical Trials Office at Cummings School to expand operations and enhance capacity and breadth of trials performed in client owned animals. Dr. London is also an Associate Faculty Professor at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine (OSU CVM) where she remains Director of the Clinical Trials Office at the CVM and Director of Translational Therapeutics at the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, OSU College of Medicine. Prior to her time at OSU, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Dr. London earned her DVM at Cummings School, completed her Residency in Medical Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her PhD in Immunology at Harvard University, where she was also a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathology.
Nicola Mason, PhD
Professor of Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

Biography
Our translational research program focuses on a comparative approach, utilizing immunologically intact, canine patients with spontaneous cancer. This comparative approach provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of next generation immunotherapies in a parallel canine patient population that presents the same challenges to effective immunotherapy as seen in human patients. The aim of this approach is to accelerate the translation of the most promising pre-clinical discoveries into the human clinic. Our lab is actively involved in developing the canine "model" for evaluating CART cell therapies. We have successfully translated several promising strategies to generate anti-tumor immunity from the lab and pre-clinical murine models into client owned dogs suffering from lymphoma, osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma. Our lab evaluates the immunological consequences of immune-based therapies in client owned dogs using flow cytometric phenotyping and functional assays including cytokine production, cytotoxicity assays and ELISpot assays to investigate canine T cell responses. Dr. Mason leads a multi-institutional clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a recombinant Listeria to prevent metastatic disease in dogs with osteosarcoma. She also leads the coordinating center for Canine Cancer Immunotherapy Trials (U24) as part of the Cancer Moonshot program. The lab has extensive experience in methodology to robustly expand and genetically modify canine T cells ex vivo and is the first to perform clinical trials using CART cells in client owned dogs with treatment naïve or relapsed B-NHL. This single site trial is performed at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Rodney Page, PhD
Professor and Director of the Flint Animal Cancer Center Stephen Withrow Presidential Chair in Oncology

Biography
Dr. Rodney Page, Director of the Flint Animal Cancer Center Professor and Director of the Flint Animal Cancer Center Stephen Withrow Presidential Chair in Oncology College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Colorado State University Dr. Page received his DVM from Colorado State University and completed specialty training in the field of medical oncology in NYC. Dr. Page is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Oncology. He was a faculty member at North Carolina State University prior to his appointment at Cornell University as the founding director of The Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research. In 2005 Dr. Page was appointed Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences. Dr. Page returned to Colorado as the Director of the Flint Animal Cancer Center in 2010 (www.csuanimalcancercenter.org ). Dr. Page has authored or co-authored about 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 30 book chapters and co-edited the 5th Edition of Withrow & MacEwen's Small Animal Clinical Oncology in 2012. Dr. Page's research interests have recently been focused on a 'One Medicine' approach to cancer. He has served as PI of the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study since 2008 and has initiated a national effort to bring translational and comparative oncology to a greater audience.
Adam Resnick, PhD
Director of Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Biography
"Adam Resnick is the Director of Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D3b) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) responsible for leading a multidisciplinary team to build and support a scalable, patient-focused healthcare and educational discovery ecosystem on behalf of all children. He is also responsible for all scientific and fiscal responsibility for projects within the Center including: center leadership, supervision of bioinformatics, genomics, visualization tools and software development for the data resource portal shared by various center initiatives. Adam's research is focused on defining the cell signaling mechanisms of oncogenesis and tumor progression in brain tumors. His research lab studies cell signaling cascades and their alterations in pediatric brain tumors to elucidate the molecular and genetic underpinnings of each tumor in an effort to identify and develop targeted therapies. Adam serves as Scientific Chair for several consortia-based efforts, including the Children's Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium (CBTTC) and Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), which include more than 20 pediatric hospitals across the globe. Adam earned a dual-bachelor's in neuroscience and English & literature from the University of Florida before completing a PhD in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD."
John Rossmeisl, DVM, MS

Neurology and Neurosurgery, Associate Department Head Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Elias Sayour, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics & Principal Investigator, RNA Engineering Laboratory in the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy & UF Brain Tumor Immunotherapy

Biography
Elias Sayour, M.D., PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, and Pediatrics and Principal Investigator of the RNA Engineering Laboratory within the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy and UF Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program. He completed undergraduate training at Fordham University, received his medical degree from the University at Buffalo, and his doctorate from Duke University. After finishing his pediatric residency at the Cohen's Children's Medical Center of New York at North-Shore-LIJ, he completed a hematology-oncology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center before accepting a faculty position at the University of Florida. Dr. Sayour is currently an NIH funded investigator, a University of Florida Term Professor, and a board certified pediatrician and oncologist. He is working to develop lipid-nanoparticles to train the immune system to fight cancer, and has received many awards for his work including the U.S. Department of Defense Cancer Research Award, the American Brain Tumor Association Discovery Award, and Hannah's Hereos St. Baldrick's Scholar Award. Dr. Sayour has spearheaded new paradigm treatments currently being tested in canine (pet dog) patients with terminal brain cancer, and also serves as Principal Investigator/Study Chair on first-in human immunotherapy studies for children with aggressive brain cancers.
Jay Storm, MD
Director, Translational Brain Tumor Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Biography
Dr. Storm directs CHOP's translational brain tumor laboratory and maintains a research program focusing on cell signaling cascades in pediatric brain tumors. The goal of this research is to understand and identify potential targets that can be developed into clinical therapy. His team is also leading collaborative efforts to de-silo research by engaging in open source platforms and cloud-based sharing.
Connie Summers, PhD
Program Director at the ImmunoOncology Branch in the Developmental Therapeutics Program in the Division of Cancer Treatment & Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute

Biography
Dr. Connie Sommers is a Program Director at the ImmunoOncology Branch in the Developmental Therapeutics Program in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis in the National Cancer Institute. Her grant portfolio covers all aspects of immuno-oncology including immune checkpoint therapies, adoptive cell therapies, combination therapies, and multiple preclinical model systems including canines. She has co-organized conferences on adverse events of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, cell-based therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, and combination radiation therapy and immunotherapy . Her research background is in breast cancer and T cell immunology.
Roel Verhaak, PhD
Professor and Associate Director of Computational Biology, JAX Laboratory

Biography
We are a computational cancer biology lab with a research focus on the analysis of cancer genomics data to improve our understanding of cancer biology. We have a specialized research interest in understanding disease progression of brain tumors, particularly glioblastoma and glioma. We mostly use high throughput sequencing and computational analysis in our research.

Posters

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Submissions Due:

NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM Pacific time on Monday August 31^st, 2020

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR POSTER

Overview

The Paws for a Cure Research Symposium (PFAC) welcomes submissions from all participants to present their research in a poster format. The purpose of the Poster Session is to visually stimulate interest in pediatric-relevant canine comparative oncology research; to convey methods, results, and significance of their work; and to promote conversations and networking among Symposium participants. Abstract submissions will be displayed in a poster session/Reception on September 29, 2020.

To give promising young investigators an opportunity to discuss their comparative oncology research with colleagues from other fields and disciplines, four (4) Assistant Professor, Post-Doctoral trainee and Graduate Student finalists will be selected from the abstracts to give oral presentations during the 2020 Paws for a Cure Symposium.

CRITERIA:

We encourage submission of abstracts spanning a range of comparative topics, with particular interest in pediatric-relevant research, including, but not limited to:

Immunology
Genomics
Immunotherapy, to include combination therapies
Other therapies of cancer
Imaging
novel drug delivery approaches

Submissions will be reviewed by a cross-disciplinary Scientific Review Committee. Abstracts selected for poster presentation will be notified ***.

The Committee will select four exemplary projects from the submitted abstracts who will be invited to give a 5-10 minute pre-recorded oral presentation to be featured in the Poster Hall of the virtual 2020 Paws for a Cure Symposium. These four presenters will also have an opportunity to interact with participants in a live chat/Q&A format.

RULES FOR SUBMISSION:

Submissions for poster session accepted from all participants (academic, industry, etc.) Eligible submissions for Young Investigator finalist (oral) presentations must come from junior faculty level or below (e.g. Assistant professor, Post-Doc or Graduate student)
Participants must be registered for the 2020 Paws for a Cure Symposium.
Only one Abstract submission per participant is allowed.
Previously published manuscripts are not eligible.

KEY DATES:

July 2nd, 2020 - 11:59 PT

Abstract Submission & Meeting Registration Site Opens

August 31st, 2020 - 11:59 PT

Abstract Submission Deadline

September 15, 2020

Notification of Acceptance of Abstracts for Poster Presentations

September 15, 2020

Notification of Abstract Finalists for Young Investigator plenary (oral) video presentation

***If your abstract is NOT accepted for PFAC Symposium, you will be notified.

Abstracts will be made available to all registered participants and may be posted on the symposium or CNK Foundation website. Your consent will be required during submission.

Abstract Evaluation and Notification

Abstracts will be peer-reviewed for clinical and/or scientific content, relevance to heartworm, and clarity of writing.
All research to be presented should have been conducted with due regard to ethical practices. For human studies and animal studies, please provide indication of any reviews, or standards of care that were followed. For example, review by an IRB, IACUC, VCSC, or following Good Clinical Practices.
Authors will be notified regarding abstract eligibility and acceptance by September 15, 2020.

Poster Session Specifics

Scientific posters will be displayed in the virtual Poster Hall of the of the 2020 Paws for a Cure Symposium virtual meeting on September 29 from 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM, EDT

For additional information, contact the Poster Session Committee Chair, Ryan Roberts at Ryan.Roberts@nationwidechildrens.org.

Title Sponsors

SPONSORS

Title Sponsors

in collaboration with

If your company and organization would like to financially support the 2020 Paws for a Cure Research Symposium, please contact: Info@pawsforacuresymposium.com

Make A Donation

#GivingOnceSavesTwice

WITH ONE GIFT, YOU CAN SAVE TWO LIVES!

The Canines-N-Kids Foundation is committed to funding cutting edge research to help children and our canine best friends beat the devastating cancers they BOTH develop.

With one gift you can help us fund research that can help save two lives:

$50 will fund one hour of cancer research
$400 will fund one day of cancer research
$2,500 will fund a week of research
$10,000 covers costs for a month of research

You can also to make a special Tribute Donation in honor of a special child or canine on our "Tribute Donation" page.

It feels great to know that #GivingOnceSavesTwice™! Thank you in advance for your generous support!

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