Brigham And Women’s Hospital Cancer Biology for Neuroscientists 2024

Cancer Biology for Neuroscientists 2024 connects the fundamentals of tumor biology with the study of the nervous system. The three-session program moves from cancer biology, epigenetics, metabolism and tumor vasculature to neuroscience, glial biology and neuroimmune signaling, then examines interactions between tumors and neural systems. Organized by Humsa Venkatesh, PhD, and Tracy Batchelor, MD, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, it is aimed at scientists, translational investigators, clinical researchers and neuro-oncology professionals. The virtual sessions took place on October 4, 11 and 21, 2024, with NCI/NIH support under T32CA272386. The agenda below distinguishes scheduled teaching from recording availability.

Learning Objectives

Upon participation in the course, attendees should be better able to:

• Understand the foundational principles of cancer biology and how they intersect with neurobiology.
• Analyze the intricate crosstalk between the nervous system, the immune system, and cancer cells, including interactions involving both central and peripheral nervous systems.
• Evaluate how cancer leverages the neuronal microenvironment, axon biology, and mechanisms of brain plasticity to drive tumor growth.
• Examine mechanisms relevant to cancer metastasis to the central nervous system and genomic evolution of brain metastases within the broader Cancer Neuroscience T32 educational framework.
• Discuss the development of novel neuro-therapeutic approaches and emerging technologies in cancer neuroscience.

The first three objectives concern the three-session course directly. Brain-metastasis teaching belongs to the broader T32 program, including the separate mini-course noted below.

Program Agenda

This is the scheduled program, not a guarantee that every lecture is included in the recording package. Four sessions are explicitly marked “Not recorded.” This scientific training program is not identified here as a physician CME activity.

Session 1 – Cancer Biology for Neuroscientists

Friday, October 4, 2024 | 12:00 PM–3:30 PM EST

12:00 PM–1:30 PM

Cancer Biology 101
Robert A. Weinberg, PhD – MIT

1:30 PM–2:00 PM

Brain Tumor Microenvironment
Francisco J. Quintana, PhD – Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Official recording status: Not recorded

2:00 PM–2:30 PM

Epigenetics of Pediatric Brain Tumors
Mariella G. Filbin, MD, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Boston Children’s Hospital

2:30 PM–3:00 PM

Cancer Metabolism
Sam McBrayer, PhD – UT Southwestern

3:00 PM–3:30 PM

Vascular Biology of Tumors
Rakesh Jain, PhD – Massachusetts General Hospital

Session 2 – Neuroscience for Cancer Biologists

Friday, October 11, 2024 | 12:00 PM–3:00 PM EST

12:00 PM–1:30 PM

Neuroscience 101
Rosalind Segal, MD, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

1:30 PM–2:00 PM

Glia within the Brain Microenvironment
Benjamin Deneen, PhD – Baylor College of Medicine
Official recording status: Not recorded

2:00 PM–2:30 PM

Neuroimmune Axis
Sebastien Talbot, PhD – Queen’s University

2:30 PM–3:00 PM

Neuro-glial Interactions
Erin Gibson, PhD – Stanford University

Session 3 – Cancer Neuroscience

Monday, October 21, 2024 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM EST

9:00 AM–9:30 AM

Hijacking the CNS
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD – Stanford University

9:30 AM–10:00 AM

Neural Properties of Tumor Cells
Frank Winkler, MD, PhD – DKFZ

10:00 AM–10:30 AM

Systemic Interactions Between the Nervous System and Cancer
Erica Sloan, PhD – Monash University

10:30 AM–11:00 AM

Peripheral Innervation of Extra-Cranial Tumors
Timothy C. Wang, MD – Columbia University
Official recording status: Not recorded

11:00 AM–11:30 AM

Clinical Implications of Cancer Neuroscience
Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD – University of California, San Francisco
Official recording status: Not recorded

Separate T32 Mini-Course

Cancer Metastasis to the Brain was a separate Harvard Cancer Center T32 Cancer Neuroscience mini-course on October 11, 2024. Its subjects below are contextual information; inclusion in this package is not established.

• Genomic Evolution of Brain Metastases
• Heterogeneity of Breast Cancer Brain Metastases
• Cancer Neuroscience of Brain Metastasis

Listed Package Contents

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3