Cancer Burden Across Indiana

Cancer Burden Across Indiana: Connecting Molecular Mechanisms to Treatment, Care, and Community Symposium

The 2026 Cancer Burden Across Indiana: Connecting Molecular Mechanisms to Treatment, Care, and Community Symposium will be held Tuesday, June 16 in Indianapolis.

The goal of the symposium is to identify ongoing research, gaps, and foster collaboration in research focused on disease variability, clinical care, and community engagement at Indiana University and Indiana.

The symposium welcomes IU clinical and research faculty, staff, and trainees as well as participants from other Indiana colleges and universities. Community members, including patient advocates, industry representatives, community partners, and external board members, are also encouraged to attend.

Students, fellows, faculty, and staff engaged in cancer research or clinical care are invited to present their work, particularly in areas such as social, genetic and biological determinants of health, healthcare for all, culturally aware research practices, community engagement, health policy, and variabilities in cancer outcomes.

The deadline to submit an abstract is May 15, 2026. The registration deadline is June 8, 2026.

Register Now

For questions about the symposium, please contact Daenique Jengelley, PhD, and for assistance with registration and abstract submission, please contact Steven Verhagen.

Cancer Burden Across Indiana: Connecting Molecular Mechanisms to Treatment, Care, and Community

Symposium will be held in Walther Hall (980 W. Walnut St.)
Parking will be validated for the Lockefield Garage (951 Wishard Blvd.)
June 16, 2026

Campus map

Agenda

7:15 a.m.

Registration Opens (Walther, Atrium)

7:35 - 8:25 a.m.

Breakfast Roundtables(Walther, 303)

8:35 - 8:50 a.m.

Welcome Remarks(Walther, 203)
Eric Vachon, PhD, Assistant director, Office of Institutional Effectiveness

8:50 - 9:50 a.m.

Keynote Fireside Chat ( Walther, 203)
Keynote: John Allen, PharmD
“From Cancer Burden to Supportive Cancer Care: Antidepressant Use, Social Context, and Pathways to Better Outcomes”
Moderator: Kathi Ridley-Merriweather, PhD   

9:50 - 10 a.m.

Break

10 - 11 a.m.

Plenary Session (Walther, 203)

Integrating Molecular, Clinical, and Community Approaches to Improve Cancer Outcomes

Moderators: Dr. Charlie Dong and Mr. Kwadwo Fosu 

10 - 10:15 a.m.

Mr. Ken Virgin:“Barriers to Adjuvant Treatment for Newly Diagnosed Pediatric Brain Tumors in the Molecular Era: A Single Center Retrospective Study”  

10:15 - 10:30 a.m.

Ms. Allison Ellis:“Identifying Factors Associated with Mammogram Screening Among Women Surveyed at a Student-run Community Outreach Clinic”

10:30 - 10:45 a.m.

Dr. Janet Panoch:“Why the Patient-Powered Registry Is Crucial for People with Rare Conditions: We Need as Much Research as We Can Get!”

10:45 - 11 a.m.

Q&A

11:05 - 11:50 a.m.

Lunch (Walther, Atrium)

11:50 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Poster Session (Walther, Atrium)

1:05 - 1:45 p.m.

Plenary Session

Connecting Bench to Bedside to Community: Enhancing Cancer Prevention and Treatment(Walther, 203)

Moderators: Dr. Janet Panoch and Mr. Venkatesh Joshi

1:05 - 1:15 p.m.

Dr. Sanya Haiaty:“Gata2T354M hemizygosity cooperates with bi-allelic Cebpa deletions to initiate AML”

1:15 - 1:25 p.m.

Dr. Janet Panoch:“Shared Decision Making from Bench to Bedside to Community: The History of a Successful Patient Decision Aid”

1:25 - 1:35 p.m.

Dr. Ali Ajrouch:“Leveraging mammography to increase lung cancer screening: evaluation of a pilot print-to-web outreach intervention”

1:35 - 1:45 p.m.

Q&A

1:45 - 2 p.m.

Closing Remarks (Walther, 203) 

Dr. Eric Vachon, Asst. Director for Office of Inclusive Excellence

 

Thank you to our sponsors!

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