Oncology seminars

Anthony Letai discusses how understanding programmed cell death can guide the selection of cancer treatments. The seminar explains how apoptotic signalling can be measured and how these measurements can identify drugs capable of killing cancer cells. Hybrid: New Research Building Auditorium, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, and Zoom. Monday 5 October 2026, 16:30–17:30 EDT (America/New_York; UTC−4). Use the attendance registration form or the event’s Zoom link on the organizer page. Organized by Georgetown’s Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series. Letai is Director of the National Cancer Institute. An in-person reception follows the seminar.

Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology Seminar by Christine Brown, PhD (Deputy Director, T Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratories) on developing and refining redirected CAR T cells for malignant brain tumors, including glioblastoma, tumor heterogeneity, immunosuppressive microenvironments, delivery routes, and manufacturing.

Gliomas are brain tumors formed by networks of connected tumor cells, nested in and interacting with neuronal networks. Neuronal activities interfere with tumor growth and occurrence of seizures affects glioma prognosis, while the developing tumor triggers seizures in the infiltrated cortex. Oncometabolites produced by tumor cells and neurotransmitters affect both the generation of epileptic activities by neurons and the growth of glioma cells through synaptic-related mechanisms, involving both GABAergic / Chloride pathways and glutamatergic signaling. From a clinical sight, epilepsy occurrence is beneficial to glioma prognosis but growing tumors are epileptogenic, which constitutes a paradox. This lecture will review how inhibitory and excitatory signaling drives glioma growth and how epileptic and oncological processes are interfering, with a special focus on the human brain.

Observational data have become a popular source of evidence for causal effects when no randomized controlled trial exists, or to supplement information provided by those. In practice, a wide range of designs and analytical choices exist, and one recent approach relies on the target trial emulation framework. This framework is particularly well suited to mimic what could be obtained in a specific randomized controlled trial, while avoiding time-related selection biases. In this abstract, we present how this framework could be useful to emulate trials in malignant melanoma, and the challenges faced when planning such a study using longitudinal observational data from a cohort study. More specifically, two questions are envisaged: duration of immune checkpoint inhibitors, and trials comparing treatment strategies for BRAF V600-mutant patients (targeted therapy as 1st line, followed by immunotherapy as 2nd line, vs. immunotherapy as 2nd line followed by targeted therapy as 1st line). Using data from 1027 participants to the MELBASE cohort, we detail the results for the emulation of a trial where immune checkpoint inhibitor would be stopped at 6 months vs. continued, in patients in response or with stable disease.

WEBINAR 1 Breaking the barrier: Using focused ultrasound for the development of targeted therapies for brain tumours presented by Dr Ekaterina (Caty) Salimova, Monash Biomedical Imaging Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) - brain cancer - is aggressive and difficult to treat as systemic therapies are hindered by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Focused ultrasound (FUS) - a non-invasive technique that can induce targeted temporary disruption of the BBB – is a promising tool to improve GBM treatments. In this webinar, Dr Ekaterina Salimova will discuss the MRI-guided FUS modality at MBI and her research to develop novel targeted therapies for brain tumours. Dr Ekaterina (Caty) Salimova is a Research Fellow in the Preclinical Team at Monash Biomedical Imaging. Her research interests include imaging cardiovascular disease and MRI-guided focused ultrasound for investigating new therapeutic targets in neuro-oncology. - WEBINAR 2 Disposition of the Kv1.3 inhibitory peptide HsTX1[R14A], a novel attenuator of neuroinflammation presented by Sanjeevini Babu Reddiar, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences The voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv1.3) in microglia regulates membrane potential and pro-inflammatory functions, and non-selective blockade of Kv1.3 has shown anti-inflammatory and disease improvement in animal models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Therefore, specific inhibitors of pro-inflammatory microglial processes with CNS bioavailability are urgently needed, as disease-modifying treatments for neurodegenerative disorders are lacking. In this webinar, PhD candidate Ms Sanju Reddiar will discuss the synthesis and biodistribution of a Kv1.3-inhibitory peptide using a [64Cu]Cu-DOTA labelled conjugate. Sanjeevini Babu Reddiar is a PhD student at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is working on a project identifying the factors governing the brain disposition and blood-brain barrier permeability of a Kv1.3-blocking peptide.