Yale Head and Neck SPORE CEP & DRP Symposium

On June 28, 2024, the Yale Head and Neck SPORE held its annual Career Enhancement and Developmental Research Programs Symposium at The Anlyan Center Auditorium at Yale.

Nearly 50 head and neck research investigators across three participating institutions — Yale University, Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC)/Temple University, and University of North Carolina (UNC) — joined in-person and via Zoom.

The SPORE developmental research programs are directed by Barbara Burtness, MD and Karen Anderson, PhD and career enhancement by Kathryn Ferguson, PhD and Curtis Pickering, PhD. Each program is designed to recruit and promote investigators in head and neck cancer research and the symposium aimed to strengthen future collaborations that advance knowledge of the biology and treatment of head and neck cancers.

The 2024-2025 investigators chosen for the programs presented their projects and discussed their future plans with an engaged audience at the auditorium. Talks included:

• Three career enhancement awardees: Yale’s Michael Chiorazzi, Md, PhD and Thuy Tran, Md, PhD and Pedro Torres-Ayuso, PhD (FCCC/Temple)
• Investigators leading developmental research projects: UNC’s Lee Graves, PhD, Travis Schrank, MD, PhD and Natalia Issaeva, PhD and Yale’s He (Peter) Wang, MD, PhD and Curtis Pickering, MD, PhD.