Agenda
DAY 1: November 4th, 2026
| 1:00 – 1:10 PM | Welcome & NCI vision Paula Jacobs (NCI/Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis) |
| 1:10 – 2:00 PM | Keynote presentation: Breaking the ceiling of precision radiation Max Diehn (Stanford University) |
Session 1: RNA networks in cellular stress and radiation responses | |
| Chair: Frank Slack (Harvard University) | |
| 2:00 – 2:30 PM | Towards ncRNA medicine in cancer Frank Slack (Harvard University) |
| 2:30 – 2:50 PM | Non-coding RNAs and ncDNAs in response to radiation George Calin (MD Anderson) |
| 2:50 – 3:10 PM | Application of microRNA genetics in clinical radiation oncology Joanne Weidhaas (University of California, Los Angeles) |
| 3:10 – 3:20 PM | Break |
Session 2: RNA regulation of the DNA damage response | |
| Chair: Dipanjan Chowdhury (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) | |
| 3:20 – 3:50 PM | RNA-directed control of p53 output by TIRR: Transcript lifetime as a tumor-suppressive variable Dipanjan Chowdhury (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) |
| 3:50 – 4:10 PM | Suppression of transcription-replication conflicts by concerted RNA methylation and MutLa recognition of R-loops Li Lan (Duke University) |
| 4:10 – 4:30 PM | rDNA breaks activate dsRNA pattern recognition through sense-antisense transcription Roger Greenberg (University of Pennsylvania) |
| 4:30 – 5:00 PM | Day 1 wrap-up & open discussion Moderators: Day 1 chairs Panelists: Day 1 speakers |
DAY 2: November 5th, 2026
| 1:00 – 1:05 PM | Welcome & Day 2 Overview |
Session 3: Temporal liquid biopsies and non-invasive biomarkers | |
| Chair: Jennifer C. Jones (NCI/CCR) | |
| 1:05 – 1:25 PM | Multi-omics and functional profiling of tumor EVs identifies stealth drivers of tumor progression Jennifer C. Jones (NCI/CCR) |
| 1:25 – 1:45 PM | Extracellular vesicles to track radiation response and residual disease states in glioblastoma Val De Luca (Translational Genomics Research Institute) |
| 1:45 – 2:05 PM | From liquid biopsies to precision radiation oncology: Extracellular vesicle miRNAs in radiation toxicity and treatment response Vasily A. Yakovlev (Virginia Commonwealth University) |
| 2:05 – 2:15 PM | Break |
Session 4: Spatial multi-omics: Mapping the irradiated tumor microenvironment | |
| Chairs: William Hwang (Massachusetts General Hospital) | |
| 2:15 – 2:35 PM | Remodeling of the irradiated tumor microenvironment at single-cell spatial resolution William Hwang (Massachusetts General Hospital) |
| 2:35 – 3:05 PM | Decoding spatial niches and cellular language for precision oncology Linghua Wang (MD Anderson) |
| 3:05 – 3:15 PM | Break |
Session 5: Next-generation therapeutics and cancer vaccines in radiation oncology | |
| Chair: Robert Wechsler-Reya (Columbia University) | |
| 3:15 – 3:35 PM | Targeting RNA methylation and epigenetic networks to sensitize treatment-resistant tumors Robert Wechsler-Reya (Columbia University) |
| 3:35 – 3:55 PM | The role of RNA sensing and chronic interferon signaling in cancer immunotherapy Andy Minn (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) |
| 3:55 – 4:15 PM | Engineering and delivery of circRNA vaccines for cancer immunotherapy Guizhi (Julian) Zhu (University of Michigan) |
| 4:15 – 4:35 PM | Ligand-conjugated, fully modified miR-34a for advancing miRNA restoration therapy in cancer Shreyas G. Iyer (Purdue University) |
| 4:35 – 5:00 PM | Day 2 wrap-up & open discussion & closing remarks Moderators: Day 2 chairs Panelists: Day 2 speakers |
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