Each year since 2013, the Basser Center for BRCA annual Scientific Symposium has gathered internationally renowned cancer researchers and specialists to review recent advances in clinical research, screening and therapy for BRCA1 and BRCA2 and hereditary cancers of the breast, ovary and pancreas.
This year, the symposium will feature keynote speaker and Basser Global Prize Awardee Professor Ashok Venkitaraman, MBBS, PhD, of the University of Cambridge.
A free CME/CNE certified event for physicians, nurses and genetic counselors, the 2018 Basser Scientific Symposium - BRCA1, BRCA2 and Beyond: An Update on Hereditary Cancer - will take place May 22 and 23 at the Smilow Center for Translational Research, 3400 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia.
Key Notes
Susan Domchek, MD, will be Symposium Chair this year. Executive Director of the Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine, Dr. Domchek’s work focuses on the genetic evaluation and medical management of individuals with inherited risk factors for cancer.
The keynote speaker will be Ashok Venkitaraman, MBBS, PhD. Director of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Unit at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Venkitaraman will present on research demonstrating the mechanisms by which mutations in BRCA2 incite genome instability to accelerate cancer development.
Guest presenters include Kathleen Cho, MD, the University of Michigan Medical School; Fergus Couch, PhD, the Mayo Clinic; Ursula Matulonis, MD, Harvard Medical School; Mark Robson, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Gerburg Wulf, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.
Breakthroughs and Discoveries Panel Event
Dr. Domchek will also host the fourth annual Breakthroughs and Discoveries Panel, an event designed for everyone: physicians, patients and the general public.
Taking place 5 to 6:30 pm, May 22 at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, this meeting-within-the-meeting will feature a panel of internationally renowned experts presenting on the translation of BRCA discoveries in the lab to patient care, and how BRCA1/2 mutations affect families.
This event is also free of charge, but registration is recommended.
For further information about these events, please call Laura Ferraiolo at 215-746-2948, or email lferr@upenn.edu.
The Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine
The Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine is a network of scientists, genetic counselors and physicians dedicated to successfully treating BRCA-related cancers and advances genetics research so that carriers of BRCA mutations can live longer, healthier lives.
Additional BRCA resources