Agenda

Frontiers in Cancer Immunotherapy

Monday, June 22, 2026, 8:30 AM - Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 5:20 PM

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Check-in and Breakfast
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Welcome Remarks

9:00 AM

Melanie Brickman Borchard, Phd, MSc, The New York Academy of Sciences
Andy Minn, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

9:15 AM - 9:55 AM
Day 1 Opening Keynote Address

9:15 AM

Targeting the microbiome to promote health and end cancer 
Jennifer Wargo, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center 

 

9:55 AM - 10:30 AM
Networking Coffee Break

 

 

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Session I: Cancer Vaccines

 

Chairperson: Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 

10:30 AM

Understanding and deploying natural immunity to cancer neoantigens

Stephen Schoenberger, PhD, La Jolla Institute for Immunology

 

 11:00 AM

Developing Mutated Neoantigen Vaccines for Lynch Syndrome Carriers

Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center 

11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Networking Lunch

 

 

12:45 PM - 2:05 PM
Session II: Brief Industry Updates

Chairperson: George Zavoico, PhD, Northwest Biotherapeutics 

12:45

Metabolic mechanisms of resistance to cancer vaccination
Lisa Butterfield, PhD,
 Consultant

1:05 PM

Leveraging Synthetic Antigens to Create Universal Immunotherapies for Solid Tumors
Lex Johnson, PhD
, Dispatch Bio 

1:25 PM 

Robert Fenstermaker, MD, MimiVax 

1:45 PM

Introducing Normunity’s Immuno-Smart Targets: Novel Immuno-Relevant Tumor-Specific Targets to Optimize the Safety and Efficacy of Payload-Carrying Biologics
Rachel Humphrey, MD
, Normunity  

2:05 PM - 2:40 PM
Networking Break
2:40 PM - 3:40 PM
Session III: Cancer Associated Fibroblasts


Chairperson: Renier Brentjens, MD, PhD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center 

2:40 PM

Evolution of the Pancreatic Cancer Microenvironment
Marina Pasca di Magliano, PhD,
University of Michigan 

 3:10 PM

FAP Targeted CAR T Cells
Ellen Puré, AB, PhD,
University of Pennsylvania

3:40 PM - 4:40 PM
Session IV: Bispecifics

 

Chairperson: Bas Baaten, PhD, Pfizer 

3:40 PM

Whole is greater than the sum: Mechanistic evaluation of PF-08634404, Pfizer's PD1xVEGF bispecific

Brian P. O’Connor, PhD, Pfizer 

4:10 PM

Unlocking the Immune System: Advances in Novel Combination Strategies for Cancer Immunotherapy
Dimitris Skokos, PhD
, Regeneron  

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Check-in and Breakfast
9:00 AM - 9:05 AM
Welcome

9:00 AM

Melanie Brickman Borchard, PhD, MSc, The New York Academy of Sciences

9:05 AM - 9:45 AM
Day 2 Opening Keynote Address

9:05 AM

The coming renaissance of cancer immunotherapy 

Ira Mellman, PhD, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy 

9:45 AM - 10:20 AM
Networking Break
10:20 AM - 11:50 AM
Session IV: Resistance to Immunotherapy (Novel vs Clinically Approved)


Chairperson: Andy Minn, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 

10:20 AM

The Role of the Intestinal Microbiome in Cancer Immunotherapy
Marcel van den Brink, MD, PhD,
City of Hope 

10:50 AM

Programmable Probiotics for Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy
Nicholas Arpaia, PhD
, Columbia University  

11:20 AM

Susan Bullman, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center 

11:50 AM - 12:25 PM
Networking Coffee Break
12:25 PM - 1:10 PM
Session V: Short Talks from Selected Abstracts

Chairperson: Andy Minn, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

1:10 PM - 2:25 PM
Networking Lunch and Poster Viewing
2:25 PM - 3:20 PM
Session VI: GMP Panel: Bench to Bedside

Moderator: Isabelle Rivière, PhD, Takeda 

2:25 PM

Panelists:

Yeong “Christopher” Choi, PhD, MBA, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Christian Hinrichs, MD, Rutgers University 

Chris Wiwi, PhD, Dispatch Bio 

 

                                                                                                               

3:20 PM - 5:20 PM
Session VII: Solid Tumors


Chairperson: Taha Merghoub, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine 

3:20 PM

Armored CAR T Cells for Solid Tumors
Prasad S. Adusumilli, MD, FACS
, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 

3:50 PM

Macrophages and Cytokines in Tumor Microenvironment
Nelson LaMarche, PhD
, Yale School of Medicine  

4:35 PM

Closing Keynote Address: Regulatory T Cells in Cancer
Alexander Rudensky, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 

5:15 PM

Closing Remarks
Melanie Brickman Borchard, PhD, MSc
, The New York Academy of Sciences