President's Message - October 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Our society continues its preparations toward our fully virtual 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2020), scheduled for Nov. 9–14, 2020. Please take note that the SITC 2020 meeting registration fee has been waived for ALL SITC members. You can become a member or renew your membership during the SITC 2020 online registration process.

Also, to accommodate for the COVID-19 impact on cancer immunotherapy research this year, the late-breaking abstract (LBA) submission period will be opened to everyone. SITC will not require an LBA application to be submitted beforehand. Previously submitted LBA applications will automatically be invited to submit a full LBA during the LBA submission period, Sept. 8-22, 2020, at 5 p.m. PDT.

In addition to the intense preparations for the Annual Meeting, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer continues to make progress on its objectives for this year. Educating clinicians on all aspects of cancer immunotherapy is one of our main objectives and directly serves the goal of improving patient outcomes. This past month the Certificate in Cancer Immunotherapy Program was launched, and is being offered online via our society’s SITC Cancer Immunotherapy connectED platform. The SITC certificate consists of eight learning modules all of which offer relevant education credits (CME, CNE, CPE and MOC).  After successful completion of the modules, the SITC Graduate in Cancer Immunotherapy (SITC-G) designation is granted and identifies a healthcare provider who has completed specialized training in cancer immunotherapy.

The first of eight modules, presented by Robert Ferris, MD, PhD (Director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, long-time SITC member and past At-Large Director), is now online. It covers basic concepts of immunology, including innate and adaptive immune responses. The other seven module topics, which will be launched in the weeks ahead, include:

• Basic Cancer Immunotherapy Concepts
• Immune Checkpoint Blockade
• Managing Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Adverse Events
• Other Approaches, including Cytokines, Vaccines, Immune Cell Engagers
• Oncolytic Viruses and Intralesional Therapy
• CAR T Cell and Cellular Therapy
• Implementing Cancer Immunotherapy in Clinical Practice

SITC executive leadership, faculty and staff have put many months of effort in the planning and continued execution of this exciting new SITC program. I would like to thank all of those involved in the Certificate in Cancer Immunotherapy program, including Executive Director Tara Withington, CAE, and Past President Howard L. Kaufman, MD, FACS, both of whom championed this effort and the need for such a program for multiple years.

To learn more about eligibility requirements to earn your Certificate in Cancer Immunotherapy, please click here. SITC members receive a 20 percent discount on all Certificate in Cancer Immunotherapy modules, so if you haven’t yet, please be sure to join the SITC family to take advantage of this exclusive member benefit.

Sincerely, 

Mario Sznol, MD

SITC President

Reflections of SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School

The following is a blog post authored by Andy Kah Ping Tay, PhD (Stanford University), a recipient of a 2019 SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School Travel Award. In this blog, Dr. Tay describes his experience of attending the Winter School program, a comprehensive education program for early-to-mid-career scientists and clinicians. Click here to learn more about the 2020 SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School scheduled for Jan. 13–17, 2020, in Houston, Texas.

By Andy Tay

A confidence booster

Trained as a biomedical engineer, I stumbled into cancer immunology research without much prior knowledge and continually worried that I might be too late going into this popular field. The SITC Winter School, however, changed my view. It provided me with sufficient knowledge on the basics of immunology and the clinical side of cell therapy. At the same time, there was appreciable amount of content on the industrial and technological aspects of immunotherapies. This arrangement was unique and helpful to the broad audience coming from academic institutions, clinics and industries. In fact, after the Winter School, I realized that despite the need for better assessment of cell quality for cancer immunotherapy, the current metrics to measure critical biological attribute are lacking. Building on this idea, I recently published an original article proposing a framework to rigorously assess cell quality after DNA delivery. The Winter School is a fertile ground to get new ideas to work on!

Immunotherapy for ALL

The SITC Winter School is also the first time where I met patient partners in a conference. It was a humbling experience because as a researcher, I hardly had any interaction with patients and yet, my technologies are meant to accelerate biomedicine for them. Through conversing with patient partners, I realized that there is insufficient information to educate patients about cancer immunotherapy as it is a relatively new therapy compared to chemo- and radio-therapies. This is especially true for children patients who are young and learn better through toys. Motivated by this, I went on to design a toy kit with the Stanford Design School to educate children aged 5-10 fighting cancer about immunotherapy (see figure below). I am extremely grateful that the SITC Winter School gave me an additional perspective about research which is that as researchers strive for biomedical breakthroughs, there should be sufficient communications with the larger society to explain what these breakthroughs will mean for them. 

Integrating into the SITC family

During the Winter School, I also got plenty of opportunities to learn about the various initiatives of SITC. One particularly useful take-away was an invitation to join the SITC Big Data and Data Sharing Task Force. Despite the promise of bioinformatics to improve cancer and immunological research, there is insufficient student trained in this area. Furthermore, the data that the community generates from analyses such as RNA transcriptomics are often under-utilized. The task force I am in aims to create training opportunities for students in computational cancer immunology, and to create workshops during conferences to introduce researchers to bioinformatics.

Whether you are looking to learn more about cancer immunology, or trying to find new ideas to work on, the SITC Winter School is a great platform for that!

President's Message - October 2018

Dear Colleagues,

On Oct. 3, I was thrilled to hear the news that my friend and colleague, James P. Allison, PhD, was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD. As most of you know, Dr. Allison and Prof. Honjo (also both SITC Smalley Award recipients) are pioneers in the field of immune checkpoint blockade therapy, which has become a foundational component of cancer treatment across the globe. What a wonderful acknowledgement of the impact in our field to patients, and for the contributions of these two scientific world leaders.

Here in Pittsburgh, the sky is a bit grey, there is a cool breeze, and the trees are starting to change color. This can mean only one thing: the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 33^rd Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2018) are coming soon!

Our society’s Annual Meeting is the perfect gathering place for early career scientists. This fall, SITC will give out 33 young investigator awards – four presidential and 29 abstract travel awards – honoring some of the brightest young minds in the field. This year’s recipients are below. At SITC 2018, in addition to the Workshop on Nutrition, Metabolism and the Microbiome in Cancer Therapy, there will be great opportunities for abstract author networking during poster hall presentations on Nov. 9 and 10, or in small group discussions during the Meet-the-Expert Lunch and Grant Writing Workshop. The Meet-the-Expert Lunch connects young investigators to leaders in cancer immunotherapy to discuss topics most relevant to their careers. SITC is expanding this in-person program into a series of webinars throughout the year. SITC will host the first webinar on “How to Survive in Academia.”

The young investigators of SITC Sparkathon Class of 2017, Teams TimIOs and METIOR Incubator, are preparing to present their project updates during the 33^rd Annual Meeting. I was happy to kick off proceedings for the 28 young investigators of SITC Sparkathon Class of 2018 during their retreat in Chicago, Sept. 12-14, 2018. The winning project from these early career scientists will be announced soon. Learn more about the 2018 Class’s project in The Node, a SITC booth dedicated to early career scientists during the 33^rd Annual meeting. You can support the SITC Sparkathon through a contribution to the Forward Fund.

Also upcoming, SITC will host a co-sponsored workshop with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Immune-modified Response Criteria in Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Trials. This free, innovative workshop, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, prior to the 33^rd Annual Meeting, is another step forward for SITC as we positively leverage relationships with organizations and governmental agencies to incite progress in the field. More details on this workshop are provided further below.

I am excited about a new education program from SITC early next year. The SITC Winter School, scheduled for Feb. 18-22, 2019, in Mesa, Ariz. This five-day program will teach core principles of the field and focus on multiple topics including biomarker technology, clinical trial design, grant writing and have discussion sessions. Click here to learn more about this important program and register.

In August, SITC launched a new series of online communities created exclusively for SITC members. These SITC Professional Interest Communities, including clinical and post-doctoral trainees, graduate students and international young investigators, allow members to discuss topics relevant to their research and in their careers, to build relationships with colleagues and solve hurdles in the field. Click here to learn more about the SITC Professional Interest Communities.

With all of these opportunities for young investigators, the future of the field is in a good place.

Sincerely,














Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President