PROGRAMME

7.30 - 9.00pm

8.00am - 5.30pm

Registration open

9.15 - 9.45am

Mihi whakatau and conference opening

9.45 - 10.15am

Morning tea
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

10.15 - 11.45am

Special Interest Group (SIG) session one

Colorectal Cancer
Geriatric Oncology
Lung Oncology
Melanoma Research and Therapy

11.45am - 1.15pm

Lunch
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

12.00 - 1.00pm

Roche Lunch Symposium

Frontlines in HCC: A Cross Specialty Perspective
Dr Kate Clarke, Dr Reina Lim, Judith McLaughlin

1.15 - 2.45pm

Special Interest Group (SIG) session two

ctDNA & Plasma Genomics
Gynaecological Cancer League
Molecular Oncology & Laboratory Medicine
Tumour Microenvironment
Nursing session | "A sex talk" and informal session and discussion with Prof Kate White

2.45 - 3.00pm

Afternoon tea
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

3.00 - 4.30pm

Special Interest Group (SIG) session three

Breast Cancer Collaborative Research
Grant Writing Session led by Cancer Research Trust
Gastrointestinal
Supportive Cancer Care

4.35 - 5.30pm

Plenary | Eureka moments
Chair: Prof Chris Jackson

Dr Claire Henry, Dr James Kinross, Prof Bev Lawton, A/Prof Sharon Pattison, Dr Ashani Weeraratna, Prof Kate White

5.30 - 7.30pm

Early career networking function
The Dunedin Centre

7.00 - 5.30pm

Registration open

8.00 - 8.30am

Mihi whakatau and welcome messages

8.30 - 10.30am

Chairs: Dr Kimiora Henare

Mārire Goodall Keynote
Prof Bev Lawton | Victoria University of Wellington

Hāpai te Hauora
Prof Karyn Paringatai | University of Otago

Hei Āhuru Mōwai (Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa)
Dr Kimiora Henare | University of Auckland

10.30 - 11.15am

Morning tea
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

11.15am - 12.55pm

Chairs: A/Prof Heather Cunliffe and Prof Chris Jackson

11.20am
Lung cancer promotion and prevention: Myeloid mayhem
Prof Charles Swanton | Francis Crick Institute

11.55am
A translational toolbox of patient-derived 3D cancer models to accelerate research discovery in Aotearoa
Dr Emma Nolan | University of Auckland

11.55am - 12.25pm

Wellbeing during cancer, insights on the impact on carers, and a deep dive into the wellbeing of men navigating cancer
Clare O'Higgins | General Manager, Look Good Feel Better

12.05pm
Pharmac Award - Biomedical
Single-cell RNA-seq reveals candidate synergistic treatments for the chemoprevention of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer
Kieran Redpath | University of Otago

12.15pm
Pharmac Award - Clinical
DPYD testing in colorectal cancer patients in the lower South Island of New Zealand
Dr Katherine Penny | Health New Zealand Southern

12.25pm
Bridget Robinson Award Lecture
Prof Frank Frizelle | University of Otago, Christchurch

12.55 - 2.25pm

Lunch
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

1.10 - 2.10pm

AstraZeneca Lunch Symposium

Building a National Genomics Framework: From Vision to Reality
Chair: Dr Ben Lawrence | University of Auckland
Prof Charles Swanton | Francis Crick Institute

1.30 - 2.00pm

Cancer Nurses BGM

2.25 - 4.40pm

Chairs: Dr Rachel Purcell and Dr Annie Wong

2.30pm
International speaker
Dr James Kinross | Imperial College London

3.00pm
Recommendations for applying construct-based splicing assay data for clinical variant interpretation: traditional assay designs outperform massively parallel splicing assay methods
Dr George Wiggins | University of Otago

3.00 - 4.40pm

Quality of life: exploring its role in treatment decision-making and end-of-life care
Prof Kate White | University of Sydney

3.10pm
AI-driven MRI & methylation insights for precision meningioma care
Dr Hamid Abbasi | University of Auckland

3.20pm
Pharmac Award - Clinical
The effect of age and ethnicity in patients treated with immunotherapy for advanced lung cancer in New Zealand
Dr Robert Cole | Te Whatau Ora Waitaha

3.30pm
Pharmac Award - Biomedical
Kia tika te rongoa: Tikanga Maori-guided genomics using 3D tumour models and scRNAseq in breast and ovarian cancer research
Helena Abolins-Thompson | University of Otago Wellington

3.40pm
Pharmac Award - Biomedical
PHD2 inhibition suppresses melanoma cell growth via HIF-1a stabilisation
Claire Palma | University of Auckland

3.50pm
Pharmac Award - Biomedical
A novel zebrafish xenotransplantation model to track colorectal cancer metastasis
Amna Siddiqui | Deakin University

4.00pm
Molecular Tumour Board
Dr Ben Lawrence | University of Auckland

4.20pm
Development of immune-modulators in the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre for the treatment of cancer: Discovery and Impact.
Prof Lai-Ming Ching | 2024 Bruce Cain Recipient

4.40pm

Day close

5.00 - 6.30pm

7.00 - 3.30pm

Registration open

7.30 - 8.45am

MSD Breakfast Symposium

Checkpoint & Balance: Navigating Immunotherapy Toxicities
Prof Alexander McLellan, Dr Annette Neylon, Prof Simon Stebbings, Becky Upston, Dr Annie Wong

9.00 - 10.35am

Chair: Dr Ben Topham

9.05am
A Complex TiME: How the aging tumor microenvironment governs tumor progression
Dr Ashani Weeraratna | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

9.35am
Should clinical care be distinguished from clinical research?
A/Prof Sharon Pattison | University of Otago

9.45am
Pharmac Award- Clinical
Incidence and management of clinically significant immune-related adverse events in patients on ICIs for NSCLC in Wellington, New Zealand
Dr Tait Bartlet | Auckland City Hospital

9.55am
Pharmac Award - Clincial
Seasonality, geography and immune-related adverse events as predictors of outcomes in immune checkpoint inhibitor treated advanced malignancy in New Zealand
Dr Elizabeth Powter | Te Whatu Ora Dunedin

10.05am
Closing the gap: Enabling local HRD testing to guide PARPi therapy in New Zealand
A/Prof Magdalena Ratajska | Otago University

10.15am
Achieving change: an insider's view, and hope for the future
Dr Di Sarfati

10.35 - 11.10am

Morning tea
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

11.10am - 1.00pm

Chairs: Becky Upston and Shelley Shea

11.15am
RCT: Community nurses’ support for patients receiving chemotherapy
Prof Kate White | University of Sydney

11.45am
Moving through Cancer
Lynette Jones | University of Otago

12.00pm
Cancer Trials NZ
Dr Michelle Wilson | Auckland City Hospital

12.20pm
Evaluating a genomic model of care to implement routine genomic testing in an oncology service in Aotearoa/New Zealand – the GenoMoCare study
Libby Rea Brownlee | University of Auckland
Nurse and Allied Health Award Recipient

12.30pm
Pre-diagnostic experiences and awareness of endometrial cancer among wahine Maori and Pacific women in the Auckland region: A qualitative study
Georgina McPherson | Waitemata District Health Board

12.40pm
myHT Guide: working together to create a support programme for breast cancer patients on hormone (endocrine) therapy
Dr Hannah Holtkamp | Breast Cancer Foundation

12.50pm
Pharmac - Biomedical
A common IL6 gene variant alters immune cell populations in colitis and may modify responses to emerging treatments
Jildiou van der Werf | University of Otago

1.00 - 2.30pm

Lunch
Kindly sponsored by SunPharma

1.15 - 2.15pm

GSK Lunch Symposium

Mismatch Repair Deficient Cancers: Advances and Challenges in Aotearoa
Dr Michelle Wilson and Dr Sanjeev Deva

2.30 - 3.50pm

Chair: Dr Laird Cameron

2.35pm
Roche Fellowship presentation followed by Dr Jim Smith

3.00pm
Cancer and Advocacy Panel
Julian Grennell, A/Prof George Laking, Dr Rachel Purcell, Shelley Shea, Dr Michelle Sullivan

3.50pm

Conference closing
Dr Laird Cameron

4.00pm

NZSO Annual General Meeting

6.30pm - midnight