The Midwest Tumor Microenvironment Meeting

PROJECT SUMMARY We request partial funding for the Midwest Tumor Microenvironment Meeting to be held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Pyle Center in Madison, WI on May 20-22, 2024. The meeting was inaugurated in 2015 and is the only meeting on the tumor microenvironment in the Midwest region. This meeting is a highly valued

contribution to the interdisciplinary scientific field of the tumor microenvironment, with a focus on the role of immune system and the stroma in cancer growth and progression. The conference co-organizers, Lisa M. Arendt, D.V.M., Ph.D. and Suzanne Ponik, Ph.D., are specifically committed to creating a diverse and inclusive

conference. The meeting with convene 24 speakers and up to 150 participants. A special effort will be made to recruit participants underrepresented in science. The meeting will also provide a forum for trainees and scientists who are in early stages of their career to present their data and network with others in the field. Program topics

will be multidisciplinary including cutting-edge technologies to study tumor-stroma interactions and cellular and extracellular matrix factors affecting tumorigenesis. The program format is an approximately equal mix of invited speakers with speakers selected from abstracts submitted in the spring of 2024 with an emphasis on broad

representation of speakers from multiple disciplines, career stages, demographic and geographic backgrounds. Our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Brendan Harley is a leader in designing biomimetic models of the tumor microenvironment, with a focus on glioblastoma multiforme. An interactive panel discussion will focus on

emerging technologies in the tumor microenvironment field. All trainees and early-stage investigators will have the opportunity to present their work in poster blitz oral presentation sessions. In addition, there will be two poster sessions, which will allow all participants to contribute to the meeting and network. Nastaran Zahir, Ph.D.,

Branch Director from the Center for Cancer Training at NCI, will present a trainee focused presentation on early- stage grant opportunities and will host one of the round table discussions focused on trainee career development. Funding through this R13 mechanism is requested for to defray the cost of participating in the meeting for early-

stage investigators and trainees. We expect that researchers studying various aspects of cancer biology and the microenvironment will cultivate new collaborations and the trainees will identify new mentors as a result of the networking opportunities from this meeting.