Public Lecture: Exploration of the Unknown in the Age of Science

By Ronald A. DePinho, MD, PhD (hc), DSc (hc) 
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

This public lecture will address the escalating medical, economic, and social challenges posed by an aging world population, highlighting how scientific discovery is illuminating new preventive and curative strategies to mitigate this burden.

CRSy24 - The ‘Ecology’ of Cancer: Understanding and Targeting Cancer-Host Interactions

#CRSy24 #TheEcologyOfCancer aims to bring together a diverse range of researchers to explore fundamental aspects of cancer initiation and progression within the organism's broader context. A main focus of this symposium will be the multidimensional interplay of tumour cells with different components of the local microenvironment, including diverse subsets of immune cells, the vasculature, neurons and stromal cells.

This conference stands as a landmark event for the Botton-Champalimaud Pancreatic Cancer Centre in 2024 and will unite leading minds in translational science, oncology and surgery to tackle the complexities of pancreatic cancer.

The conference will serve as a pivotal platform for the exchange of groundbreaking insights, state-of-the-art surgical methodologies, and innovative therapeutic approaches that will ultimately enhance patient care and outcomes on a global scale.

Rita Fior, leader of the Cancer Development and Innate Immune Evasion Group at the Champalimaud Foundation (CF), has been studying for several years the power of zebrafish “avatars”, or zAvatars, of cancer patients to help guide therapeutic decisions. The goal: to predict individual cancer treatment outcomes, thus enabling the selection of the best available chemotherapy treatment for each patient.