Toledo Cancer Research Symposium

2025 Cancer Research Symposium

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Friday, August 1, 2025

Mahogany Ballroom, Delta Hotels Toledo
University of Toledo Health Science Campus
3100 Glendale Ave.
Toledo, OH 43614

Welcome & Opening Remarks

• Imran Ali, M.D., Dean, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Vice Provost for Health Education, Professor of Neurology
• Mitchell McKinney, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
• Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Chair of Cell and Cancer Biology                                     

Session I: Tumor Biology

Moderator: Ivana de la Serna, Ph.D.

• Kuo-Hui Su, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  HSF1 as a guardian of proteostasis under copper-induced stress
• Yue Zou, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  Senescence, aging, and cancer: new insights into their relationships and potential for interventions
• Yuan Tang, Ph.D., Department of Bioengineering
  Investigating the Role of Endothelial Cells on Breast Cancer Intravasation

Session II: Drug Resistance and Tumor Microenvironment

Moderator: Srinivas Vinod Saladi, Ph.D.

• Dayanidhi Raman, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  Translational control of breast cancer stemness
• Xiaohong Li, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  Treatment impacts on prostate cancer dissemination and dormancy 
• Jianmin Zhang, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  Dissect the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis
• Nagalakshmi Nadiminty, Ph.D., Department of Urology
  Tumor metabolism as the Achilles’ heel in Urologic cancers

Session III: Cancer Epigenetics

Moderator: Song-Tao Liu, Ph.D.

• Srinivas Vinod Saladi, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  Defining the epigenetic drivers and dependencies in cancer
• Ivana De La Serna, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology
  SWI/SNF Bromodomain-containing proteins in melanoma
• Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  Reversible gene methylation in drug resistance

Keynote Address

Moderator: Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D.

Session IV: Cell Cycle Regulation in Cancer

Moderator: Jianmin Zhang, Ph.D.

• Song-Tao Liu, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences
  Mad about chromosomal instability
• Kam Yeung, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology  
  The phosphorylation of Thr42 of tumor suppressor protein RKIP in mitosis is required for its spindle check point regulatory function

Session V: Drug Discovery and Delivery

Moderator: Liyanaaratchige Tillekeratne, Ph.D.

• Kevin Jiang, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Cancer Biology
  Engineered exosome-mediated DSTYK silencing to improve breast cancer therapeutic efficacy
• Viranga Tillekeratne, Ph.D., Department of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry
  Hybrid molecules for combination therapy
• Lirim Shemshedini, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences
  Developing dual acting drugs for effective treatment of drug-resistant CRPC
• Shi-He Liu, MD, Department of Cell and Cancer Biology
  Engineering exosomes for pancreatic cancer targeting therapy

Session VI: Clinical Perspectives and AI in Cancer Research

Moderator: Kuo-Hui Su, Ph.D.

• Eric Carlson, MD, DMD, EdM, FACS, Department of Surgery
  Evidence-based surgical management of the neck in oral cancer patients
• Natalie Rizk, MD, Ph.D., Department of Surgery
  Hormone disrupting chemicals and cancer risk
• Jasmine Liu, Ph.D., Department of Medicine
  Advancing precision cancer medicine through AI-driven personalized care and biomarker discovery

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Poster Presentation Awards

• First Prize: Regina Shreshta
• Second Prize: Azeezat Osikoya and Abigail Shahady
• Third Prize: Jacob Wood, Llwyatt Hofer and Christopher Figy

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About the Symposium

We invite faculty, trainees, and students from The University of Toledo and the broader Northwest Ohio cancer research community to join us for a day of education, discovery and collaboration. Do not miss this opportunity to reconnect, share your work and spark new ideas. We look forward to seeing you at the symposium!