I attended Advances in Pediatric Cancer - AACR 2024 in Toronto

I traveled to Toronto for the 2024 AACR Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research Conference. This was my first time in Canada and my first time attending a conference dedicated entirely to pediatric cancer.

The difference in atmosphere compared to a large meeting like AACR annual was immediately noticeable. Smaller room, more focused conversations, and a palpable sense of shared purpose that is harder to find in a crowd of 20,000 people. Everyone there had chosen to dedicate their careers specifically to improving outcomes for children with cancer, and that collective commitment was genuinely energizing.

I presented our poster ‘Deep mutational scanning of SMARCB1 identifies missense mutants that destabilize SWI/SNF complex stability and diminish remodeling activity,’ available here: https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.PEDIATRIC24-B028. It was a great opportunity to share our findings with an audience that understands exactly why variant interpretation in pediatric tumors matters clinically.

I left Toronto reminded of why work is important and to keep pushing the work forward. Also was fun to stumble across the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) while we were there!