Gynecological Cancers SPORE Investigators Meeting

2026 Event Information

Overview

Gynecological Cancers Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) members met for the 2026 Gynecological Cancer SPORE Investigators Meeting.

Registrants attended in-person in Houston or virtually via Zoom.

Meeting Agenda

Day 1: Friday, September 18, 2026

Session	Time	Topic	Speaker
Welcome	8:10–8:20 a.m.	Welcome	Anil Sood and Robert Bast
	8:20–8:25 a.m.	Logistics	Anil Sood and Robert Bast
	8:25–8:40 a.m.	Status of Gynecologic Cancer SPOREs	Naveena Basa Janakiram
Overview of Gynecologic Cancer SPOREs Chair: Naveena Basa Janakiram	8:40–8:50 a.m.	UT MD Anderson (Ovarian)	Anil Sood and Robert Bast
	8:50–9 a.m.	Johns Hopkins (Cervical)	Warner Huh
	9–9:10 a.m.	Washington University (Endometrial)	David Mutch
	9:10–9:20 a.m.	University of Pittsburg Medical Center (Ovarian)	Ron Buckanovich
	9:20–9:30 a.m.	Johns Hopkins (Ovarian)	Ie-Ming Shih
	9:30–9:40 a.m.	Mayo Clinic (Ovarian)	Scott Kaufmann
	9:40–9:50 a.m.	Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Institute (Ovarian)	Kirsten Moysich
	9:50–10 a.m.	University of Miami (CHD; U54)	Lisa Flowers
	10–10:10 a.m.	UNC Cancer Disparities SPORE in Endometrial Cancer	Victoria Bae-Jump
Break	10:10–10:20 a.m.	Break
Keynote	10:20–11:05 a.m.	Targeting adaptive responses to therapeutic challenge	Gordon Mills
Session 1: TME 2.0 — beyond immunotherapy —reprogramming the TME Chairs: Ron Buckanovich, Amir Jazaeri	11:05– 11:20 a.m.	Unleashing antitumor immunity for ovarian cancer via degradation of T cell transcription factors	Anthony R. Cillo
	11:20– 11:35 a.m	Engineering next-generation CAR NK cell therapies for ovarian cancer	Katy Rezvani
	11:35–11:45 a.m	Discussion
Lunch	11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.	Lunch and Poster Presentations
Discussion panel with patient advocates	12:45–1:30 p.m.	Stephanie Doebler, Fiona McAlister, Betty White and Judy Wolfe; Moderator: Kirsten Moysich
Session 2: Mechanisms and reversal of therapeutic resistance Chairs: Scott Kaufmann, Abir Mukherjee	1:30–1:45 p.m.	TBD	Fiona Simpkins
	1:45–2 p.m.	Targeting an epigenetic persister signature in HGSOC	Alex Gaspar Maia
	2–2:15 p.m.	Paradigm Changes in the Definitions and Treatments for PROC	Kathleen Moore
	2:15–2:25 p.m.	Discussion
Session 3: Next gen therapies — ADCs, bi-specifics, cell therapies, etc. Chairs: David Mutch, Tim Yap	2:25–2:40 p.m.	From Shepard to Schmitt: What NASA and Houston can teach us about novel cancer drug development	Trey Leath
	2:40–2:55 p.m.	Folate receptor alpha-targeted vaccines for ovarian cancer	Matt Block
	2:55–3:10 p.m.	Targeting cAMP convergent programs of CAR T cell dysfunction in the ovarian tumor microenvironment	Hind Rafei
	3:10–3:20 p.m.	Discussion
Break	3:20–3:30 p.m.	Break
Session 4: Early-stage investigators Chairs: Robert Bast, Scott Kaufmann	3:30–3:40 p.m	PARP Inhibition Epigenetically Suppresses SLC7A11 to Enhance MEK Inhibitor-Induced Ferroptosis in Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer	Gamze Bildik Elcik
	3:40–3:50 p.m	TGFBi Regulates Fibroblasts Differentiation and Immune Cell Trafficking to Drive an Immunosuppressive Microenvironment	Md. Habibul Hasan Mazumder
	3:50–4 p.m.	Targeting LTBR to intercept lymphatic metastasis in ovarian cancer	Francesca Citron
	4–4:10 p.m.	Molecular detection of early ovarian cancers and their precursor lesions using tubal brush sampling	Sichen Liang
	4:10–4:20 p.m.	Metabolomic profile of circulating platelets reveals lipidomic signature in ovarian cancer	Sara Corvigno
	4:20–4:30 p.m.	Development of Syngeneic, Genetic Models of Ovarian Cancer	Taku Harada
	4:30–4:45 p.m.	Discussion

Day 2: Saturday, September 19, 2026

Session	Time	Topic	Speaker
Session 5: Liquid biopsy and MRD Chairs: Ie-Ming Shih, Doris Benbrook	8:10–8:25 a.m.	Targeting MRD Phase of Ovarian Cancer	Amir Jazaeri
	8:25–8:40 a.m.	Liquid Biopsy for the detection of MRD	Nick Papadopoulos
	8:40–8:50 a.m.	Discussion
Session 6: Trial design innovation Chair: Sophia George	8:50–9:05 a.m.	Targeting AXL in Endometrial Cancer: From Metabolic Reprogramming to Chemosensitization and Clinical Translation	Katherine Fuh
Session 6: Trial design innovation Chair: Sophia George	9:05–9:20 a.m.	Using backfill designs to accelerate early phase clinical trials	Ying Yuan
Break	9:20–9:30 a.m.	Break
Clinical Drug Development	9:30–10:20 a.m.	Trial endpoints, companion diagnostics and accelerated approval challenges	James Stec, Timothy Yap, Rob Coleman; Moderators: Anil Sood
Session 7: AI in clinical decision making and trial execution Chairs: Vickie Bae-Jump and Anil Sood	10:20–10:35 a.m.	Prediction to Action: Trajectory Intelligence and AI-Enabled Trial Screening in Ovarian Cancer	Emese Zsiros
	10:35–10:50 a.m.	From Slides to Trials: AI as a Clinical Trial Biomarker	Casey Cosgrove
	10:50–11:05 a.m.	Unlocking the value of biomedical data with AI agents and foundation models	Han Liang
	11:05–11:15 a.m.	Discussion
Break, plus pick up boxed lunch	11:15–11:30 a.m.	Break, and pick up boxed lunch
Resources discussion/Working lunch	11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.	Moderators: Scott Kaufmann and Ronald Buckanovich
Session 8: Prevention reimagined — opportunistic salpingectomy, vaccines beyond HPV, etc. Chair: Lisa Flowers	12–12:15 p.m.	Making a Quantum Leap in Ovarian Cancer Prevention	Rebecca Stone
	12:15–12:30 p.m.	HPV immunotherapy for interception	Richard Roden
	12:30–12:45 p.m.	Discussion
Concluding remarks and adjournment	12:45–12:50 p.m.	Concluding Remarks & Adjournment	Anil Sood

Organizing Committee

Institute	Organ site	Representative(s)
UT MD Anderson	Ovarian	Anil Sood, M.D. Robert Bast, Jr., M.D. Estella Estrada, M.H.A.
Johns Hopkins University	Ovarian	Ie Ming Shih, M.D.
Washington University	Endometrial	David Mutch, M.D.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center	Ovarian	Abir Mukherjee, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University	Cervical	Warner Huh, M.D.
Mayo Clinic	Ovarian	Scott H. Kaufmann, M.M.D.D, Ph.D.
University of Miami	Cervical (CHD; U54)	Lisa Flowers, M.D.
University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center	Endometrial (CHD; U54)	Victoria L Bae-Jump, M.D., Ph.D.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute	Ovarian	Kirsten Moysich, Ph.D.
University of Miami/Emory University/Morehouse College	U54 PROMISE SPORE	Sophia George, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health		Naveena Basa Janakiram, Ph.D.

Contact Information

For general information or questions about the meeting, contact Estella Estrada at EMEstrada@MDAnderson.org or 713-792-4839.