The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Sparkathon program brings together investigators early in their careers with various backgrounds, degrees and professional experiences to collaboratively address obstacles the field of cancer immunotherapy faces.
SITC will select a group of 30 emerging leaders (who will become known as the SITC Sparkathon Class of 2018) in the fields of cancer immunotherapy, physical sciences, systems biology and statistics for the 2018 SITC Sparkathon.
Selected participants will meet on Sept. 12–14, 2018, in Chicago, Ill., for a two-and-a-half-day retreat where they will work together to develop innovative solutions to hurdles the field of cancer immunotherapy faces.
During the retreat, participants will work alongside business experts to develop project proposals. A panel of SITC leaders will award the most promising project up to $200,000 to implement the proposed project. The full 2018 class (all participants) will then implement the project during the following 12–18 months, culminating in a presentation at the society’s 34th Annual Meeting, Nov. 6–10, 2019.