Trainee Annual Membership Meeting Recap
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
The University of Illinois Cancer Center welcomed about 40 trainees and attendees to its 2026 Trainee Membership Annual Meeting, themed "Connecting Disciplines to Advance Cancer Research and Discovery," and hosted by the Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) Office.
The half-day gathering, held in UIC's Herman Auditorium on August 27, featured welcome remarks and Cancer Center updates from CRTEC Associate Director Larisa Nonn, PhD; a guest speaker presentation by Adeel Ahmed, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on head and neck cancer tumor microenvironment research; multidisciplinary trainee lightning talks from Adriana Duraki, Joohyun Im, and Fiza Ayub, PhD; and a National Cancer Institute grant update.
A "Cancer Research Across Disciplines" faculty panel followed, moderated by Cancer Center Senior Research Scientist Margaret Wright Geise, PhD, with Cancer Center member panelists Frank Weinberg, MD, PhD, Sean McClellan, MD, MAS, and Mateusz Wietecha, PhD, DMD.
Rounding out the program was a community outreach and engagement (COE) presentation by Abigail Silva, PhD, MPH, the Cancer Center Associate Director for COE, followed by a group photo, networking lunch, and time for trainees to connect.
