News
Annual Meeting Inspires With Messages of Inclusion, Resilience
Clockwise from top left: Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, Loriana Hernández-Aldama, meeting participant, and Dr. Harold P. Freeman
Photo credit: Randy Belice
Representing 96 AACI member cancer centers, 520 cancer center directors and administrators, industry partners, and representatives of government agencies gathered in Chicago and virtually last month for the 2024 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting.
On Saturday, October 19, AACI hosted a meeting for new cancer center directors designed to prepare them for their leadership roles and provide opportunities for peer-to-peer networking. On October 19 and 20, AACI also hosted the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Summit in partnership with the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Center DEI Network. Over 200 registrants from 72 AACI cancer centers were in attendance at the summit.
View Photos From the 2024 DEI Summit
The annual meeting formally kicked off on Sunday, October 20, following meetings of the AACI Board of Directors (pictured) and Corporate Roundtable. In a compelling keynote, Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, Indiana University School of Medicine, discussed his use of innovative therapies to dramatically improve the cure rate of testicular cancer, as well as recent progress in oncology, including the development of personalized, targeted therapies. Dr. Einhorn stressed the importance of the oncology workforce, noting, "It has to do with people more than drugs .... It’s the optimism and the brilliant minds that go into the field that are moving the field forward."
Following the keynote, the 12th Annual AACI PCLI Meeting focused on applications of artificial intelligence and big data in cancer care and research. Attendees gained practical knowledge and strategies for integrating new technologies, as well as insights into what lies ahead in AI. Day 1 of the meeting concluded with a panel discussion on bioengineering in cancer, exploring advancements in areas such as imaging, cancer detection and therapy, bioinformatics, and nanotechnology.
On Day 2, the program opened with a session that delved into the impact of cancer on patients' mental health, moderated by Loriana Hernández-Aldama, a cancer survivor, award-winning journalist, and steering committee member for Inclusive Excellence, Dr. Robert A. Winn's AACI presidential initiative. Hernández-Aldama was joined by panelists who explored the emotional burdens of cancer on patients and caregivers, and the relationship between depression and poor outcomes--including lower survival rates--in patients with cancer.
Next was a look at the history and future of oncology patient navigation, moderated by Patient Advocate Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dr. Alan Balch (pictured in foreground) and featuring Dr. Harold P. Freeman (also pictured) who established the first patient navigation model for patients with cancer, and Dr. Shanthi Sivendran of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Freeman summarized patient navigation as a tool for health equity, stating, “People shouldn’t die of cancer because they’re poor .… or because they’re Black.”
AACI honored leading lights in cancer research and care with three award presentations.
AACI Distinguished Scientist Award
Dr. Paula D. Bos, associate professor of pathology and the co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, received the Distinguished Scientist Award. She shared an overview of her research, which focuses on the identification of tumor-promoting mechanisms by regulatory Treg cells, a subset of CD4 lymphocytes prominently found in tumors and associated with poor prognoses. The award was presented to Dr. Bos by AACI President and VCU Massey Director Dr. Robert A. Winn.
AACI Cancer Health Equity Award
The late Dr. Edith P. Mitchell was recognized with the Cancer Health Equity Award, in honor of her unwavering commitment to advancing minority investigators and promoting health equity. Dr. Andrew E. Chapman, director of Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Jefferson, gave the award to Dr. Mitchell's daughter, Dale Edith Hobbs, who said, "My mother is looking down with immense pride at the work you are doing and cheering you on."
AACI Champion for Cures Award
The Champion for Cures Award went to Friends of Dartmouth Cancer Center (the Friends) and its signature fundraising event, the Prouty. Since its founding in 1977, the Friends has raised more than $65 million to support cancer research and patient and family support services at Dartmouth Cancer Center. Dr. Stephen D. Leach, the cancer center's director (pictured, center), presented the award to Jaclynn Rodriguez, executive director (pictured, left), and Judy Csatari, board chair emerita (pictured, right), who were joined at the awards ceremony by other members of the Friends team.
View Photos From the AACI Awards Presentations
Afternoon sessions included a deep dive into academic integrity and public trust in an era of misinformation and a look at innovation and technology at AACI basic science centers with directors from four NCI-Designated Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers: Dr. Andrew Mesecar, Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research; Dr. Reuben Shaw, Salk Institute Cancer Center; Dr. David Tuveson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center; and Dr. Matthew Vander Heiden, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.
The final day of the meeting opened with a session on maximizing cancer centers' financial and human resources to support clinical research, co-moderated by Dr. Barry Sleckman, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Nick Fisher, Siteman Cancer Center.
Dr. Krzysztof Ptak provided an update on the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Office of Cancer Centers, focusing on the Plan to Enhance Diversity component of the Cancer Center Support Grant and the NCI-Designated Cancer Centers Directors' Retreat. Topics discussed at the retreat included transdisciplinary innovation and establishing national networks to accomplish shared goals.
Dr. John Carpten, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, moderated a discussion that illuminated the historic precedent for today's legal rulings on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Rounding out the panel were Dr. Brian Gonzalez, Moffitt Cancer Center; Kevin Williams, National Institutes of Health (NIH); and AACI President Dr. Robert A. Winn, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. They identified strategies for framing messaging and democratizing recruitment, networking opportunities, and career development while complying with legal standards. Williams said, "If this is the work that you believe is your life's work, I need for you to dig down, to be resilient, because the hope is that we give up and give in."
Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell closed the day with the NCI Director's Report, in which she outlined the framework of the National Cancer Plan, provided updates on recent progress in cancer research, and called for cancer centers to communicate the value of their work.
Meeting recordings, slides, and President's Highlights are available on the meeting app. The 2025 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting is set for October 19-21, 2025, at the Salamander Washington DC.
AACI gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for providing program and exhibit support: Adminformatics; Advarra; Caris Life Sciences; ConcertAI; Deep 6 AI; Flatiron; Florence; Huron; IgniteData; InfoReady; Inspirata; LeanTaaS; Lilly; Medidata; Merck; Mint Medical; nCartes; RealTime (Complion) eClinical Solutions; STAT Informatic Solutions; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James; Triomics; VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center; Verily; and Yunu, Inc.
View Photos of Exhibitors and Supporters