In April 2025 researchers from the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research (PGJCCR) at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) attended the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference brought together world-leading scientists to share the latest developments in cancer research and offered PGJCCR researchers a powerful platform from which present their work.

Dr. Sudhir Malla presented his previously published research and some preliminary results as an extension to the study at a poster session, where Dr Malla is now tracing the molecular and biological shifts that happens during the colorectal progression from early polyps to established cancers. “Attending the conference provided an invaluable opportunity to get scientific critique from world-class leaders in the field and shape the direction of future research,” Dr Malla explained.

Dr. Natalie Fisher was selected to present her research on the characterisation of bowel polyps as part of a mini-symposium titled ‘Unraveling Tumor Biology, Therapy Resistance, and Novel Models’. Dr Fisher also received a Women in Cancer Research (WICR) Scholar Award funded by the National Cancer Institute in recognition of her contribution to the meeting, which follows on from on from winning the 2024 Roche Prize.

“The Women in Power workshops and the career development session were both personally inspiring,” said Dr Fisher. “It was great to have these valuable opportunities to network with peers and senior leaders.”

The conference also provided the opportunity to attend Women in Power workshops and career development session which were personally inspiring and also provided the opportunity to network with both peers and senior leaders.

Scientific talks by leading researchers such as Professor Ken Lau (Vanderbilt University, Nashville) and Professor Karuna Ganesh (Memorial Sloan Kettering), offered eye-opening insights into how cancers form, evolve and spread.

“Attending AACR 2025 has renewed the Dunne group’s motivation, enabled reconnection with existing collaborators and shaped the direction of future research,” said Dr Fisher.  “ I would also like to give a special thanks to the QUB Research and Innovation Fund for supporting our conference attendance.”