More than 60 of the nation鈥檚 top gastrointestinal (GI) cancer clinical translational researchers from 19 institutions braved a winter storm to convene in Chapel Hill on January 9 and 10, for the 2025 GI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) Investigators Meeting, with an additional 40 joining virtually.
Staged annually by an institution funded by a GI SPORE P50 award from the the Investigators Meeting is an important opportunity for project leaders and talented junior investigators to present recent findings and collaborate to address cancers that are among some of the most difficult to treat. This year鈥檚 edition was hosted by the at 黑料网-Chapel Hill and organized by , the SPORE鈥檚 Principal Investigator and director of the .
Across a day and a half, 35 investigators presented the latest discoveries from ongoing and completed work conducted as part of their SPORE projects. 13 SPOREs were represented at the meeting, focused on GI cancers such as pancreatic and colon cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatobiliary cancer, and cancer health disparities.
鈥淚t will be exciting to see the development of many of the presented preclinical studies and outcomes from the clinical trials,鈥� said Toby Hecht, Deputy Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis and Associate Director of the Translational Research Program at the National Cancer Institute. 鈥淧articularly significant were the presentations from those investigators supported by the SPORE鈥檚 Career Enhancement Programs and the Developmental Research Programs, as well as from the young investigators who hold the cancer research future in their hands.鈥�