September 20-21, 2024
Seattle Airport Marriott, Seattle, WA
The Rivkin Center and the American Association for Cancer Research are proud to present the 15th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium on September 20-21, 2024 at the Seattle Airport Marriott in Seattle, WA.
Since 1996, this Symposium has brought together clinicians and researchers from across many disciplines and institutions worldwide to share ideas and advance the field of ovarian cancer research. We seek to enhance understanding and knowledge, discuss recent innovations in research and treatment, and address pressing concerns of leaders in the clinical and research community.
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecological cancer-related deaths. Because its symptoms can be easily dismissed, 80% of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in late stages when prognosis is poor. The 5-year survival of epithelial ovarian cancer is 93% if diagnosed in the early, localized state, and plummets to 31% if found in late stages. Understanding the risk factors and improved early detection methods are key to detecting ovarian cancer in its early, more survivable stages. Ovarian cancer’s high recurrence rate also makes deep knowledge of chemoresistance, recurrence, and tumor biology essential.
The Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium addresses these major needs in ovarian cancer research and treatment with sessions covering novel therapeutics, immune-oncology, tumor microenvironment, early detection, prevention, DNA repair, and rare tumors. We will also hold discussions about health and healthcare disparities and the role of patient advocacy in research.
The session topics were developed by our co-chairs. Each session will feature invited lectures by experts in the field, as well as proffered talks from selected abstracts. Abstracts not selected for oral talks may be invited to present a poster.
There are free shuttles between the SeaTac Airport (SEA) and the venue, the Seattle Airport Marriott, every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. See the Lodging tab for more information and a discounted room rate.
Important Dates
For questions, please contact Jackie Lang at jackie.lang@rivkin.org or (206)490-0847 x104
To join the Rivkin Center Science email list and receive information for researchers and clinicians about ovarian cancer research grants and symposia, email Jackie Lang, PhD.
The 2024 Symposium is fully live; it will not have virtual or recorded components. Please register to join us in Seattle!
Download a pdf of the program here, or see the detailed Program with all proffered talks and posters here.
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | Breakfast (provided) & Badge Pickup | ||
| 8:00 am – 8:10 am | Welcome & Moment of Silence | ||
| 8:10 am – 9:00 am | Opening Keynote | ||
| Keynote | Jose Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD | Duke University School of Medicine | |
| 9:15 am – 10:45 am | Patient Advocacy Panel | ||
| Chair | Marion Curtis, PhD | Mayo Clinic (Arizona) | |
| Co-chair | Rinda Soong, MD, PhD | University of Pittsburgh | |
| Panelists | Bianca Islam, MD, PhD | Case Western Reserve University | |
| Kate Hunt | Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (Board Member) | ||
| Alvina Nadeem, P. Eng | Ovarian Cancer Canada | ||
| Jackie Smith, RPh | Patient Advocate, OCRA Research Reviewer, CDMRP | ||
| 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Session 1: Biology of Ovarian Cancer | ||
| Chair | Kate Chiappinelli, PhD | George Washington University | |
| Co-chair | Liz Christie, PhD | Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute | |
| Invited | Liz Christie, PhD | Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute | |
| Proffered | *see full program | ||
| 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Lunch (provided) and Breakout Discussions | ||
| 1:30 pm – 3:10 pm | Session 1: Biology of Ovarian Cancer, continued | ||
| Invited | Leigh Pearce, PhD, MPH | University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center | |
| Proffered | *see full program | Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute | |
| 3:40 pm – 6:00 pm | Session 2: Prevention, Early Detection, & Interception | ||
| Chair | Naoko Sasamoto, MD, PhD | Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School | |
| Co-chair | Karen Lu, MD | Moffitt Cancer Center | |
| Invited | Karen Lu, MD | Moffitt Cancer Center | |
| Proffered | *see full program | ||
| 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Poster Session #1 & Reception | ||
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | Breakfast (provided) & Badge Pickup | ||
| 8:00 am – 9:00 am | Session 3: Health & Healthcare Disparities | ||
| Chair | Sophia George, PhD | University of Miami | |
| Co-chair | Jennifer Doherty, PhD | Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah | |
| Invited | Jennifer Doherty, PhD | Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah | |
| Proffered | *see full program | ||
| 9:20 am – 11:30 am | Session 4: Emerging Therapeutics | ||
| Chair | Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | |
| Co-chair | Fiona Simpkins, MD | University of Pennsylvania | |
| Invited | Fiona Simpkins, MD | ||
| Proffered | *see full program | ||
| 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Poster Session #2 | ||
| 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm | Lunch (provided) | ||
| 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Session 5: Novel Immunotherapies | ||
| Chair | Rebecca Porter, MD, PhD | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | |
| Co-chair | Jogender Tushir-Singh, PhD | University of California Davis | |
| Invited | Jogender Tushir-Singh, PhD | University of California Davis | |
| Proffered | *see full program | ||
| 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm | Closing Keynote | ||
| Keynote | Kathleen Moore, MD, MS | Stephenson Cancer Center | |
| 4:50 pm – 5:00 pm | Closing Remarks | ||
Individuals interested in attending the symposium must register online through the provided link. Registration requires full payment, accepted in U.S. currency drawn from a U.S. bank. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are also accepted. Online registrations will receive immediate email confirmation, with receipts available online.
Note: The 2024 Symposium is fully live; no virtual or recorded components will be available. All meals will be provided to registrants.
| Member Type | Advance (by Aug 5) | Regular (after Aug 5) |
| Industry | $975 | $1,175 |
| Nonprofit (academia, government, hospital, cancer center, etc) | $575 | $715 |
| Student (Pre and Postdoc)1 | $365 | $455 |
| Patient Advocate and Survivor2 | $50 | $50 |
All fees are listed in U.S. Dollars (USD).
Refund requests must be in writing and received by AACR Meetings Department by September 1, 2024. A $75 administrative fee applies for cancellations by this date. No refunds will be issued after this date.
We have arranged for a special group rate at the Seattle Airport Marriott, where the symposium is being held.
Seattle Airport Marriott
3201 S 176th St
Seattle, WA 98188
1-206-241-2000
Update 8/21/24:
The hotel is fully booked for Friday, September 20, but rooms are still available at the group rate for Thursday (Sept 19) or Saturday (Sept 21) nights.
Nearby hotels with availability:
www.seattleairport.doubletree.com
The group rate is available, while supplies last, until August 29, 2024.
There are free shuttles between the SeaTac Airport (SEA) and the Seattle Airport Marriott, every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day.
Parking is available at the Marriott for $16 per day for daytime parking. Overnight parking is $30 per night.
We are accepting research and clinical abstracts in all fields of ovarian cancer research. Select abstracts will be invited to present 10-minute oral presentations. Other abstracts may be invited to give poster presentations. All abstract presenters must register for the Symposium.
Individuals interested in submitting an abstract for poster or oral presentation must do so here. Create a profile, complete and submit the Abstract Submission Form, then you will be able to enter in co-authors on the abstract. The submitting author does not need to be the presenting author, unless the author is also applying for a Rivkin Center Travel Scholarship (see the Travel Awards tab for details). An individual may submit up to two abstracts.
Abstracts have a 500-word limit. There are no specific formatting requirements, but please include the purpose of your study, a brief explanation of the data, and your conclusions.
The abstract submission deadline is Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 5 pm Pacific Time.
Presenting authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection for poster or oral presentation by email approximately July 22, 2024.
If selected for a proffered talk, the abstract title and presenter name and institution will be posted on the Symposium website once the presenting author accepts the offer to present.
Presenting authors will be emailed instructions with the date, time, and format for their presentations.
All presenting authors must register for the Symposium. If an abstract is not selected for presentation, the presenting author may request a full refund of the registration fee by contacting the AACR Meetings Department at meetings@aacr.org.
Once an abstract has been submitted, the submitting and/or presenting author may withdrawal the abstract at any time by logging on to your profile on the abstract submission website. Navigate to ‘Submission Home’ and select ‘Withdraw Submission’ below the abstract you want to withdraw.
The Rivkin Center is offering $500 Travel Scholarships to support graduate students and postdocs who would otherwise be unable to attend the Symposium. To be eligible for a Travel Scholarship, you must be the submitter and presenting author of an abstract accepted for presentation (poster or proffered talk). Special consideration will be given to those from underrepresented or underserved backgrounds and regions.
To apply for a Travel Scholarship, you must submit an abstract (see the Abstracts tab for details). Included in the Abstract Submission Form is an optional question that will serve as your Travel Scholarship application.
You will be asked to submit a personal statement including (225 words max):
The deadline is the same as the abstract submission deadline: Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 5 pm Pacific Time.
ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Association for Cancer Research and the Rivkin Canter.
CREDIT DESIGNATION STATEMENT
The Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. AACR has designated this live activity for a maximum of 12.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Credit certification for individual sessions may vary, dependent upon compliance with the ACCME Accreditation Criteria. The final number of credits may vary from the maximum number indicated above.
CLAIMING (CME) CREDIT
Physicians and other health care professionals seeking AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM for this live continuing medical education activity must complete the online CME Request for Credit Survey by November 3, 2024. Certificates will only be issued to those who complete the survey. To access the Request for Credit Survey, click here. It will also be emailed to you. Your CME certificate will be sent to you via email after the completion of the activity.
Successful completion of this CME activity, 
which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 13.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
To receive ABIM MOC, participants must request MOC in the CME Request for Credit Survey and complete all questions. Once these steps are completed, AACR will submit your completion information via the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System for the purpose of granting MOC points.
STATEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL NEED, TARGET AUDIENCE, AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Approximately 19,680 women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year. The overall 5-year survival rate is only 50% for ovarian cancer –lower in African-American women, and the rate is markedly lower for advanced stage cancers. Sadly, the survival rates have only improved slightly over 40 years, and access to healthcare and other socioeconomic factors present additional obstacles to improved outcomes. While ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecologic cancer, it is underrepresented in both research funding and research participants. Additionally complicating the difficulty in diagnosing the disease beyond its physical complexities is that ovarian cancer is a rare disease and many providers will have limited access to information on the signs, symptoms, and latest techniques to diagnose the disease.
In this course we are addressing major needs in ovarian cancer care and research by educating health care providers and researchers in the latest research on improving treatment, early detection, and prevention, as well as recognizing healthcare disparities and promoting a better understanding of the many diseases under the umbrella of ovarian cancer.
The Planning Committee and Symposium Co-chairs have designed this event to benefit the following audiences: basic scientists, epidemiologists, clinical scientists, and clinicians as well as geneticists, public health researchers, nurses, and advocates for ovarian cancer research. This conference encourages the collaboration between professionals with a wide variety of expertise including gynecologic oncology, medical oncology, pathology, genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, public health, behavioral epidemiology, translational research, patient care, and patient advocacy.
After participating in this CME activity, physicians should be able to:
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
It is the policy of the AACR that the information presented at AACR CME activities will be unbiased and based on scientific evidence. To help participants make judgments about the presence of bias, AACR will provide information that Scientific Program Committee members and speakers have disclosed all financial relationships they have with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products or services used by or on patients. All of the relevant financial relationships for these individuals have been mitigated.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF FINANCIAL OR OTHER SUPPORT
This activity is supported by Professional Educational Grants from AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.
QUESTIONS ABOUT CME?
Please contact the Office of CME at (215) 440-9300 or cme@aacr.org.
The purpose of the Chairs is to develop the scope and goals of the 15th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium. The members’ collective expertise informed the selection of invited speakers, topics of the Sessions, and all elements of the programming. The Symposium seeks to enhance the understanding and knowledge of ovarian cancer, especially among junior and young investigators, discuss the most recent innovations in the field of ovarian cancer research, and address the pressing concerns among the leaders of the clinical and research community.
Joyce Liu, MD, MPH
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Nita Maihle, PhD
University of Mississippi
Brad Nelson, PhD
Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer
Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Jackie Lang, PhD
Rivkin Center
Roslin Thoppil, PhD
American Association for Cancer Research
The Rivkin Center gratefully acknowledges our exhibitor sponsors for this year’s Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium. Without their vital underwriting and dedication, this event would not be possible. Thank you!
For more information about sponsoring the 2024 Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium, please review our Sponsor Benefits Package or contact Kim Isaac, Interim Director of Development, at kim.isaac@rivkin.org.
