Bringing Canada's cancer research community together

The Terry Fox Research Institute is pleased to announce the return of its scientific meeting in November 2022, with an expanded agenda and more attendees to welcome a new community of funded researchers as well as returning ones!

We are pleased to inform you that our Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN) funded researchers and clinicians will also be participating at this meeting. TFRI and MOHCCN research will be featured in focused plenaries, breakouts and poster presentations. We are expecting 300 participants for this meeting!

The theme for this year’s meeting is Cancer Research: Past, Present and Future. Our Scientific Organizing Committee is in the midst of developing the scientific program for the meeting right now!  Check our meeting web site (https://www.tfri.ca/9th-tfri-scientific-meeting) often for updates about the planned program and travel and accommodation details.

This meeting will be at the Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) West Nov. 3-6 (including travel dates), commencing with registration Nov. 3 (evening) and the meeting on Friday Nov. 4 and Saturday Nov. 5. There will be a tribute to TFRI’s Founding President and Scientific Director Dr. Victor Ling at a dinner celebration on the evening of Nov. 5. TFRI will follow COVID protocols in place at the time of meeting.

TFRI organizes a Scientific Meeting (SM) as an opportunity for the whole community of Terry Fox-funded researchers to get together to share ideas and to discuss their research. The meeting is by invitation only. Our meeting this year will be a two-day session consisting of several plenaries, poster presentations and rapid-fire talks as well as breakouts. We will conclude with a celebratory dinner in recognition of Dr. Victor Ling’s contribution to TFRI over 15 years.

Registration for this event is by-invitation only.

TFRI ASM DETAILS 

Where: 
Vancouver Convention Centre WESR,  
999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC V6C 0C3
Web site: http://www.vancouverconventioncentre.com/
Hotel telephone: 604-689-8232; toll free(North America) 1-866-785-8232
Email: info@vancouverconventioncentre.com
Getting there: http://www.vancouverconventioncentre.com/visiting/getting-here

Important dates

Event	Date
Registration opens	Aug. 15
Registration closes	Sept. 21
Deadline for abstracts	Sept. 9
Deadline for booking hotel accommodation at conference rates	Oct. 13
Trainees notified of abstract status	Sept. 30 - NEW DATE
TFRI 9th Scientific Meeting in-person registration (on site)	Nov. 3
Celebration dinner for Dr. Ling	Nov. 5

Agenda

9th ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING

“CANCER RESEARCH IN CANADA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE”
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM Nov. 3-6, 2022
Vancouver Convention Centre
(Please note that this agenda is subject to change. Last Update: Sept 23, 2022)

Download latest version of agenda

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Start	End	Duration	Item	Location
6:00 pm	9:00 pm	180 min	EARLY REGISTRATION
6:00 pm	9:00 pm	180 min	POSTER SET UP

 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Start	End	Duration	Item	Location
7:00 am	12:00 noon	300 minutes	REGISTRATION & POSTER SET UP Registration – Posters –
7:00 am			Breakfast
8:00 am		60 mins	OPENING REMARKS Dr. Jim Woodgett,TFRI President and Scientific Director: “TFRI’s New Programs” Dr. Andre Veillette,Executive Director, Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network “An Update on MOH” Mr. Michael Mazza,Executive Director, Terry Fox Foundation
9:00 am		90 mins   3 talks of 25 min each	PLENARY I Session Chair: Dr. Steve Robbins Presenters: Dr. John Bell, Ottawa Health Research Institute, Project Leader, Program Project Grant on Oncolytic Viruses (PPG) “Design and application of oncolytic viruses” Dr. Jeanette Boudreau, Dalhousie University, New Investigator, “The role of natural killer cells in the spatial immunology of tumours” BC Cancer Consortium Investigators: Drs. Janessa Laskin and Steve JonesPrecision Medicine Initiatives
10:30 am		60 mins	RAPID FIRE AND POSTER SESSION #1 Chair – TBC 4 selected trainee presentations (3 min each) Break and poster viewing to follow This will be a 15-minute, rapid-fire session followed by 45 minutes for viewing posters
11:30 am		90 mins 3 talks of 25 min each	PLENARY II Session Chair: Dr. Morag Park Presenters: Dr. Ly Vu, New Investigator, BC Cancer “Targeting RNA modification pathways in leukemia” Drs. Peter Siegel and Julie St. Pierre, McGill University and University of Ottawa, Co-Lead Investigators(PPG), “Discovering and targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in cancers” Montreal Cancer Consortium Investigators: Drs. Ian Watson, Philippe Lefrançois, Anne Marie Mes-Masson, McGill University and Centre Hospitalier de l’universite de Montreal “MOH-Quebec:Investigation of genomic and cellular mechanisms of treatment resistance and aggressive tumour behaviour across skin cancers”
1:00 pm		60 mins	Lunch
2:00 pm		60 mins	TFRI AND MOHCCN BREAKOUTS #1 MOHCCN Presentation on hard-to-reach cases data integration, and future technologies Dr. Nadine Caron Others: TBC TFRI Programs Forum with Q&A Forum Chair: Dr. Rob Rottapel, University Health Network, TFRI-Ontario Node Leader Presenters: Dr. Jessica McAlpine, BC Cancer “Working to provide precision medicine for all newly diagnosed endometrial cancer patients” Dr. Livia Garzia, McGill University, New Investigator “Drivers of therapy resistance in fusion-positive sarcomas “
3:00 pm		30 min	Break
3:30 pm	6 pm	90 min	RAPID FIRE AND POSTER SESSION #2 AND WINE AND CHEESE NI Chair : TBC 4 selected trainee presentations (3 min each) Break and poster viewing to follow This will be a 15-minute, rapid-fire session followed by 45 minutes for viewing posters
			FREE EVENING /DELEGATES DINE ON THEIR OWN

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

Start	End	Duration	Item	Location
6:15 am		105 mins	TERRY FOX EARLY MORNING RUN
7:00 am		60 mins	Breakfast
8:00 am		90 mins	PLENARY III Session Chair: Dr. Marco Marra, GSC Vancouver, TFRI BC Node Leader and Member, MOHCCN Steering Committee Presenters: Dr. Rama Khokha, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN “Lineage vulnerabilities and druggable targets for breast cancer prevention” Dr. Juri Reimand, OICR, University of Toronto “Pan-cancer analyses of whole cancer genomes for finding driver mutations and oncogenes, especially in the non-coding genome” Princess Margaret Cancer Consortium Investigators: Drs. Lillian Siu and Trevor Pugh, “PMCC: Precision Medicine Initiatives”
9:30 am		60 mins	RAPID FIRE AND POSTER SESSION #3 Chair – TBC 4 selected trainee presentations (3 min each) Break and poster viewing to follow This will be a 15-minute rapid-fire session followed by 45 minutes for viewing posters
10:30 am		60 mins	KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dr. John Dick, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, “What makes a stem cell a stem cell and how does it go bad?”
11:30 am		30 mins	GROUP PHOTOGRAPH	TBD
12:00 pm		90 min	Lunch
1:30 pm		90 min	PLENARY IV Session Chair:Jennifer Chan, University of Calgary , Prairie Cancer Research Consortium Presenters: Dr. Jeff Wrana, Sinai Health System, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute “Taming the Hippo: Signaling pathways controlling cell state dynamics and how to target them” Dr. Sachin Katyal, University of Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba, "Thecellular base excision repair (BER) pathway mediates temozolomide resistance in recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM): opportunities for new interventions?" Prairie Cancer Research Consortium Investigators: Dr. Sorana Morrissy, Dr. Mike Monument, Dr. Versha Banerji, “Prairie Cancer Research Consortium: Precision Medicine Initiatives”
3:00 pm		60 min	RAPID FIRE PLENARY AND POSTER SESSION #4 Chair NI TBC 4 selected trainee presentations (3 min each) Break and poster viewing to follow
4.00 pm		60 min	MOHCCN and TFRI BREAKOUT # 2 MOHCCN Roundtable: Overview of the MOHCCN Pathfinder Presenters: Dr. Michael Brudno, CanDIG, University Health Network Others: TBC Chair: Andre Veillette, IRCM, Executive Director, MOHCCN Presenters: TBC TFRI Session on TFRI Programs: Q&A
6:30 pm		20 mins	CLOSING RECEPTION & DINNER FOR DR. VICTOR LING Co-chairs: Drs. Christopher Paige, UHN, TFRI Board Chair and Dr. Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, CRCHUM, TFRI-Quebec Node Leader Speakers: Mr. Darrell Fox, Terry’s younger brother and TFRI Senior Advisor Dr. Marla Shapiro, TFRI Board member, physician and media health and medical expert

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Hotel Check out and Departure

Closed Door Meetings for MOHCCN Leadership – Fairmont Vancouver Airport

Registration

Pre-Registration

This meeting is by invitation only. TFRI has provided instructions directly by email to potential invitees with regard to the pre-registration process for the meeting.  

Registration

Online registration opens: Aug. 15
Registration closes: Thursday, Sept. 21
Registration fee: $110 plus fees and taxes

For any questions about the online registration process, please contact info@tfri.ca

TFRI and MOHCCN funded Investigators invited to attend the meeting may register any time after the registration opens and before it closes. After Sept. 21, any incomplete registrations will be re-allocated by TFRI.

Trainees must be a part of a TFRI or MOHCCN funded project to attend the meeting. Before registering to attend the event, trainees should read important information presented in the Call for Abstracts section of this website. 

Call for Abstracts

Trainees must be a part of a TFRI funded project to attend the meeting. Before registering to attend the event, trainees should know the following:

• All trainees MUST submit an abstract and have it accepted in order to attend our 9th Scientific Meeting
• Before submitting an abstract, trainees must register and complete online registration and payment
• Format for abstracts can be found below
• Abstracts will be reviewed by a selection committee. If an abstract is not submitted or is not accepted by the selection committee, a full refund (less processing fees and taxes) will be issued to the trainee
• Abstracts must be submitted via email to conference@tfri.ca by Sept 19 at 5 PM PST [NEW DEADLINE]
• TFRI expects to advise trainees of the status of their submitted poster by Sept 30 - NEW DATE
• Trainees pre-selected by project/program leaders will have priority to attend, subject to acceptance of their abstract by the committee
• To lessen the financial burden of trainees attending the event, the TFRI will pay for accommodation and travel for trainees (see information below and in the ACCOMMODATION and TRAVEL sections of this website)

TFRI Travel Assistance

To encourage trainee participation, TFRI-funded trainees who have their abstract accepted to present a poster will be eligible to receive a TFRI Travel Assistance. Travel assistance is only for trainees living outside the Lower Mainland.

The value of the travel assistance is based on a pre-determined fee schedule for air flights only from the trainee’s city of departure and return. The fee schedule and other related travel details appear in the TRAVEL section of this website.  

All participants who are eligible for a TFRI Travel Assistance will be required to prepay their own travel to/from the meeting, and TFRI will reimburse based on the fee schedule following the meeting.

Please note: We encourage all project and program leaders to support and assist as necessary any trainees who find payment of the travel and or registration fee a barrier to attendance through the use a departmental, project or corporate team credit card to aid in trainee attendance. In instances where flight fees are charged to these accounts, TFRI will reimburse the credit card holder based on the above mentioned fee schedule.

Information about Abstracts

• Call for Abstract
• Abstract Guidelines
• Abstract template 
• Sample Abstract

Abstracts must be submitted via email to conference@tfri.ca by Sept 9 at 5 PM PST. No late submissions will be accepted

Rapid-Fire Plenary Instructions

TFRI will hold rapid-fire talks at this year’s meeting as well as several poster sessions. Below is the process that will be used for the rapid-fire sessions.  Each presenter will have four minutes to present using the following ‘ground rules’.

• ONE Powerpoint-formatted slide only that summarizes the abstract is to be presented. (Use 4:3 slide formatting only).
• Presenters will not have a remote mouse or control over animations so please consider this when preparing the slide.
• There will be a timer and a moderator to ensure that everything is kept to time
• This presentation is really an advertisement for your TFRI/MOHCCN poster.
• There are many great examples of "3-Minute Thesis" presentations on You Tube; be sure to view a few to get a sense of how it is done effectively.
• It is highly recommended to design the slide like the graphical abstracts of Cell Press; take a look at these to see how they are presented.
• Consider this presentation like giving an "elevator pitch".  See Roberta Kwok’s article at http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7435-137a

• Essentially you want to convey WHY you did your study, HOW it was done, WHAT were the most important findings, and then conclude again with WHY this is important.
• Your slide must be emailed to Peter Mothe (pmothe@tfri.ca) by Wednesday,  Oct. 25             

All presenters must use the TFRI/MOHCCN Slide Formats.

 

Accommodation

TFRI has reserved a block of rooms at a special rate at the Fairmont Waterfront, 900 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 3L5 Phone: (604) 691-1991. The hotel is within walking distance of the meeting venue. Space is limited and rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Accommodation is provided for attendees living outside of the Lower Mainland.

Cost: $229 plus fees and taxes for single/double occupancy

The deadline for booking your accommodation to receive this rate is Oct. 13, 2022.

Please book directly using this link: https://book.passkey.com/go/TerryFox 

TFRI will cover up to three (3) nights’ accommodation (Nov. 3, 4 and 5). All attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. Rooms are available on a first come, first served basis.

Upon checkout, TFRI will cover the cost of room (at block room rate for single/double of $229 night) and fees and taxes only for the meeting participant. All other room expenses will be paid by the room holder/occupant(s) upon checkout.

Please note: At the time of booking, a deposit will be taken on the credit card supplied as a room guarantee. A one-night booking requires a (1) one-night deposit; a (3) three-night booking requires a (3) three-night deposit. In circumstances where this creates a barrier to attendance for trainees, they are encouraged to 1) see if they might access a project, departmental card to cover the room deposit and expenses; or 2) contact TFRI directly for assistance (info@tfri.ca).

Travel

The TFRI will reimburse flights for eligible attendees, according to a pre-determined fee schedule. This may include trainees and TFRI and MOHCCN-funded scientists. Please read all the information in this section before you indicate whether or not you will be applying for TFRI Travel Assistance. You will need to indicate whether you are applying for this assistance when you register for the event. 

Travel Assistance Reimbursement Schedule

Travel Assistance amounts are based on return airfares currently to Vancouver from cities listed below November 3-6, 2022

City	Travel Assistance Available (Actual cost up to)
Edmonton	$490
Calgary	$480
Saskatoon	$880
Winnipeg	$836
Toronto	$718
Ottawa	$972
Montreal	$778
Halifax	$1,256
Saint John	$1,376
St. John's	$1,435

CONTACT US

General inquiries

info@tfri.ca

Research inquiries

Russell Watkins
Senior Research Programs Manager
rwatkins@tfri.ca
604-675-8000 ext. 7624