June 2, 2017

Presenting, Learning, and Engaging

The value in attending a professional cancer research conference

Hello! My name is Ashkan Sadri and I’m a Masters candidate in Dr. Alison Allan’s lab in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Western University.

Since my last blog post, I’ve been fully immersed in the world of research (quite literally). Recently, I was afforded the opportunity to attend the annual American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) conference held in Washington D.C. Being the world’s oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research, I surely had plenty of relevant information that I was able to digest, understand and utilize towards my own research.

As a refresher, my research focuses on assessing human breast cancer spread (metastasis) through a cancer stem cell (CSC) perspective. That being said, I am most interested in the potential of the bone and lung microenvironments to promote stem-like traits in human breast cancer cells. Having been granted the opportunity to present my research at the 2017 AACR conference, I successfully communicated our findings to a distinguished audience, all while receiving valuable information that I am incorporating into my research at this very moment. Further, it was remarkable to witness on an international scale the collaborative efforts that cancer researchers are putting forward to better understand, diagnose, and treat breast-specific and other cancers.

Although a bit overwhelming at times, this conference helped truly put into perspective how important our benchtop research is when it comes to understanding the complicated nature of breast cancer. I am extremely fortunate to have attended such a renowned meeting through the support of BCSC and the Allan lab. Departing for the conference as a rather naïve research student, I returned with a strong sense of enthusiasm about my research and a lengthy list of information/literature to follow-up on.

Thank you to BCSC for your trainee support!

– Ashkan Sadri

Pamela Greenaway-Kohlmeier Translational Breast Cancer Research Unit, London Health Sciences Centre

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