NCI/NIBIB SynBio & Cancer Series: Advances and Aspirations (Upcoming Webinars)

Upcoming Webinars

Thursday, June 11, 2026 | 3 PM ET

AND-gated protease nanosensors for programmable detection of anti-tumor immunity.
View Abstract

Introductory Remarks

James Gulley, MD, PhD Co-Director, Center for Immuno-Oncology; Clinical Director
National Cancer Institute

Speaker(s)

Gabriel Kwong, PhD Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University

Peng Qiu, PhD Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University

Thursday, July 9, 2026 | 3 PM ET

Immunotherapy via engineered therapeutic programs in tumors using RNA
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Introductory Remarks

Suzanne L. Topalian, MD Bloomberg Kimmel Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy; Professor, Surgery and Oncology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Speaker(s)

Ron Weiss, PhD Professor of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Darrell Irvine, PhD Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Immunology & Microbiology
Scripps Research Institute

Yizhou Dong, PhD Mount Sinai Endowed Professor in Nanomedicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Thursday, August 13, 2026 | 3 PM ET

Engineering Native E. coli to Detect, Report, and Treat Colorectal Cancer
View Abstract

Speaker(s)

Amir Zarrinpar, MD, PhD Professor, Medicine,
University of California San Diego

Thursday, September 10, 2026 | 3 PM ET

Selection Gene Drives for Cancer Therapy
View Abstract

Speaker(s)

Justin Pritchard, PhD Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Pennsylvania State University

Thursday, October 8, 2026 | 3 PM ET

Precise tumor targeting with logic CAR circuits
View Abstract

Speaker(s)

Wilson Wong, PhD Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Boston University

Yolonda Colson, MD, PhD Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery
Massachusetts General Hospital

Mark Grinstaff, PhD William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Boston University

Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 3 PM ET

Synthetic circuits that drive infiltration of therapeutic T cells into immunologically cold tumors
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Introductory Remarks

Antoni Ribas, MD Professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology; Director, Tumor Immunology Program
University of California, Los Angeles

Speaker(s)

Wendell Lim, PhD Byers Distinguished Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology
University of California, San Francisco

Hana El-Samad, PhD Senior Vice President & Director of the Institute of Computation
Altos Labs