Symposium Schedule
Friday, August 1, 2025
Mahogany Ballroom, Delta Hotels Toledo
University of Toledo Health Science Campus
3100 Glendale Ave.
Toledo, OH 43614
Learn more about the schedule for the symposium.
Breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
Welcome & Opening Remarks
8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
- Imran Ali, M.D., Dean, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Vice Provost for Health Education, Professor of Neurology
- Scott Molitor, Ph.D., Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Bioengineering
- Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Chair of Cell and Cancer Biology
Session I: Tumor Biology
8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
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
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
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
10:15 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
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
Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Keynote Address
11:15 a.m. -12:15 p.m.
Moderator: Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D.
Keynote Speaker
Peter A. Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon)
Chief Scientific Officer, Van Andel Institute
President, Van Andel Institute Graduate School
Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Co-leader, VAI-SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team
Van Andel Institute
Grand Rapids, Michigan - USA
Keynote Address
"Targeting TET2 and intercepting myeloid cancers with vitamin C"
Areas of Expertise
Epigenetics, DNA methylation, epigenetic therapies
Dr. Peter A. Jones was born in Cape Town, raised and attended college in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and received his Ph.D. from the University of London. He joined the University of Southern California in 1977, attaining the rank of Professor in 1985 and Distinguished Professor in 1999. He served as Director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center between 1993 and 2011. Dr. Jones became the Chief Scientific Officer of Van Andel Institute (VAI) in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2014. His laboratory discovered the effects of 5 azacytidine on cytosine methylation and first established the link between DNA methylation, gene expression, and differentiation. He helped pioneer the field of epigenetics, particularly its role in cancer and helped develop novel cancer therapies. He has published over 300 scientific papers and received several honors, including two Outstanding Investigator Awards from the NCI. He and Stephen Baylin shared the Kirk Landon Award for Basic Cancer Research from the AACR in 2009 and the Medal of Honor from the American Cancer Society in 2011. In 2024, Drs. Jones, Stephen Baylin, and Andrew Feinberg received the Harvey Prize in Science and Technology for their contributions to disease diagnosis and the development of treatments based on epigenetic mechanisms. Dr. Jones is a past President of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2009 and the Academy of the AACR in 2013. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA in 2016, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017, and the National Academy of Medicine in 2024. He received an honorary D.Sc. from Stellenbosch University in 2018.
Lunch/Poster Session
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Session IV: Cell Cycle Regulation in Cancer
1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
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
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
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 - Liyanaaratchige Tillekeratne, D.Phil., 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
Coffee Break
3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Session VI: Clinical Perspectives and AI in Cancer Research
3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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
Poster Awards and Closing Remarks
4:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
*Schedule subject to change.