Welcome to the European Association for Cancer Research
Connecting cancer researchers together
Goodbye Flat Biology: ex vivo to in vivo models of cancer
Essen, Germany : 23 - 25 September 2025
Scientific programme
To download and print the programme, use the links below.
Listed times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)
REGISTRATION & WELCOME LUNCH (lunch from 12:00)
Light refreshments will be served.
CONFERENCE WELCOME
Session 1: Cell-based Therapies
Chair: Valerie Weaver
Opening Keynote Lecture
Michael Milone Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
'Navigating Beyond the Cancer Therapy Horizon with Engineered T cells'
Q&A 13:35 - 13:50
Emmanuel Donnadieu Institut Cochin, Paris, France
'Predicting the Safety and Efficacy of Engineered T Cells Using an Ex Vivo Human Model'
Q&A 14:10 - 14:20
Joash Joy Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Proffered Paper 1: ‘Human 3D ovarian cancer models reveal malignant cell intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence CAR T cell activity’
Q&A 14:30 - 14:35
EXHIBITOR INTRODUCTIONS
COFFEE BREAK, EXHIBITION & SOLO TRAVELLER MEET-UP
Peter Friedl Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, Netherlands
'Life or death: monitoring the first days of metastatic organ colonization'
Q&A 15:45 - 15:55
Matt Paszek Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, New York, USA
'The sweet forces in control of 3D cellular morphology and function'
Q&A 16:15 - 16:25
POSTER SPOTLIGHTS
INDUSTRY SYMPOSIUM - InVivo BioTech Services
Tim Welsink InVivo BioTech Services
'Discover novel opportunities in antibody discovery, cell line development and functional single-cell analysis with Beacon® optofluidic technology'
Q&A: 16:55-17:05
NETWORKING QUIZ
WELCOME RECEPTION
POSTER DISCUSSION SESSION 1
Led by members of the Scientific Programme Committee
Listed times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)
EARLY POSTER VIEWING WITH COFFEE
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT - Tecan
Roman Petrovsky Tecan
'Label-free spheroids and organoids analysis for assays development'
Session 2: Mechanobiology
Chair: Emmanuel Donnadieu
THE EMBO KEYNOTE LECTURE
Johanna Ivaska University of Turku, Turku, Finland
'3D matrix guided cues in cancer progression'
Q&A 09:20 - 09:30
Maria Benito Jardon The Francis Crick Institute, UK
Proffered Paper 2: ‘Melanoma cells orchestrate the composition of the tumour stroma via MRT-SRF signaling’
Q&A 09:40 - 09:45
Sara Wickstrom Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Munster, Germany
'Phenotype and cell state dynamics in cancer'
Q&A 10:05 - 10:15
Thomas H. Barker University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
'Mechanochemical dynamics of the provisional matrix critically instruct cell behaviors'
Q&A 10:35 - 10:45
COFFEE BREAK & EXHIBITION
Samantha Stehbens Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
'The Mechanobiology of Melanoma: Understanding How Tumour Cells Survive Metastasis'
Q&A 11:35 - 11:45
Michelle Baird National Institutes of Health - NHLBI, USA
Proffered Paper 3: 'Lamin B Receptor Upregulation in Melanoma Causes Cholesterol-Mediated Nuclear Envelope Fragility During Metastasis'
Q&A 11:55 - 12:00
POSTER SPOTLIGHTS
INDUSTRY SYMPOSIUM - PromoCell
Janina Moros PromoCell
'Goodbye Clumps, Hello Tumorspheres!'
Q&A: 12:30-12:40
LUNCH
Light refreshments will be served.
POSTER DISCUSSION SESSION 2
Led by members of the Scientific Programme Committee
Session 3: Plasticity
Chair: Henriette Lanz
G V Shivashankar ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
'Mechano-genomics of tumor microenvironment and early diagnostics'
Q&A 15:30 - 15:40
Anna Mukha Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
Proffered Paper 4: 'Mechanical challenges define the efficiency of the early organ colonization by tumor cells'
Q&A 15:50 - 15:55
Bethany Bareham King's College London, UK
Proffered Paper 5: 'Extracellular biomechanics and Immune Modulation in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells'
16:05 - 16:10
Kevin Myant University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
'Loss of colonic lineage fidelity permits induction of squamous-like plasticity and metastasis in colorectal cancer'
Q&A 16:30 - 16:40
COFFEE BREAK & EXHIBITION
Viola Vogel ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
'Mechanoregulation of the reciprocal ECM-cell crosstalk: does the tension of individual ECM fibers matter?'
Q&A 17:30 - 17:40
Chris Tape UCL Cancer Institute, London, UK
'Single-cell Phenoscaping of Tumour Microenvironment Organoids'
Q&A 18:00 - 18:10
CONFERENCE DINNER (Optional ticketed event)
Listed times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)
EARLY POSTER VIEWING WITH COFFEE
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT - Greiner Bio-One
Jennifer Bischoff Greiner Bio-One
'Magnetic 3D Cell Culture – A innovative tool to simplify 3D Cell Culture'
Session 4: Modelling the Tumour Microenvironment
Chair: Viola Vogel
Henriette Lanz MIMETAS, Oegstgeest, Netherlands
'Influencing drug responses through in vitro tumour microenvironment characteristics: Development of organotypic patient-derived ovarian cancer models for therapy testing'
Q&A 09:20 - 09:30
Val Weaver UCSF, San Francisco, USA
'Leveraging 3D spheroids to clarify links between ECM stiffness and inflammation-dependent DNA damage and protumor mutations'
Q&A 09:50 - 10:00
Oihane Mitxelena-Iribarren Biogipuzkoa HRI, Spain
Proffered Paper 6: '3D bone organotypic models of dormant breast cancer metastasis to study cell-extracellular matrix interactions as a strategy for new therapies'
Q&A 10:10 - 10:15
COFFEE BREAK & EXHIBITION
David Bryant CRUK Beatson Institute, Glasgow, UK
'Examining the contribution of PTEN to colorectal cancer using in vitro-to-in vivo transplantation and CRISPR-mediated knockout.'
Q&A 11:05 - 11:15
Closing Keynote Lecture
Frances Balkwill CRUK, City of London Centre, UK
'3D multicellular models of ovarian cancer'
Q&A 11:40 - 11:55
SUMMARY & AWARDS
