A Message from the President
Dear Colleagues,
As I hope many of you saw recently, SITC announced its intentions to transition the upcoming 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2020) on Nov. 10–15, 2020, from an in-person conference to a fully virtual event. The decision, made with the full support of the SITC Executive Committee and Annual Meeting organizers, will allow our society to convene safely amid the global coronavirus pandemic while sharing and celebrating the continued progress achieved in the cancer immunotherapy field.
SITC 2020 reimagined as a fully virtual experience will ensure the health and safety of our participants and their patients while providing new, unique opportunities to connect with an expanded global audience. In celebration of our society’s 35th anniversary, we are excited to offer free SITC 2020 registration to all SITC members. Online registration for SITC 2020 reimagined will open in the coming weeks. Join the SITC family or renew your membership today to ensure your eligibility for free SITC 2020 participation. Stay tuned for much more in the coming weeks as we announce new and exciting features of SITC 2020 reimagined as a virtual event.
While the coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected our lives, professionally and personally, it is vital we continue the mission of our great society to improve cancer patient outcomes by advancing the science, development and application of cancer immunology and immunotherapy. One of the means by which SITC strives to achieve this mission is through programs that provide funding and recognize the scientific achievements of our field’s early career scientists. The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted funding for young investigators, and thus, such continued support from SITC is more important than ever. In June, we recognized a record-breaking number of early career scientists as recipients of our society’s 2020 Postdoctoral Cancer Immunotherapy Fellowships and Award.
Thanks to the continued and generous support of our industry partners—Amgen, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Inc. and Merck—SITC was able to award six early career scientists with fellowships, totaling $600,000 in one- and two-year awards. In a new collaboration with NanoString Technologies, SITC was also able to offer an award providing access to the company’s spatial profiling technology to further research.
I would like to congratulate this year’s recipients of the 2020 Postdoctoral Cancer Immunotherapy Fellowships and Award:
- SITC-Merck Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Fellowship: Joseph Clara, MD – National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- SITC-AstraZeneca Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer Clinical Fellowship: Jacob Kaufman, MD, PhD – Duke University Medical Center
- SITC-Amgen Cancer Immunotherapy in Hematologic Malignancies Fellowship: Suman Paul, MBBS, PhD – Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- SITC-Bristol Myers Squibb Postdoctoral Cancer Immunotherapy Translational Fellowship: Li Qiang, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School
- SITC-NanoString Technologies Spatial Profiling Award: Todd Triplett, PhD – University of Texas Dell Medical School
- SITC-Genentech Women in Cancer Immunotherapy Fellowship: Natalie Vokes, MD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- SITC's Holbrook Kohrt, MD, PhD Cancer Immunotherapy Translational Memorial Fellowship (Sponsored by Genentech): Kipp Weiskopf, MD, PhD – Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
To learn more about these individuals and their research, please visit our website. Thank you to all of this year’s SITC Fellowships and Award applicants and sponsors! Please look for a host of new funding opportunities in January.
I would also like to congratulate the 2020 National Cancer Institute (NCI) Immunotherapy Fellowship recipient, John Shin, MD, from Mayo Clinic Rochester. Dr. Shin will be exposed to multiple clinical immunotherapeutic approaches and key opinion leaders in the field of cancer immunotherapy at NCI’s Center for Cancer Research. The NCI Immunotherapy Fellowship is co-sponsored by the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and SITC and made possible in part by an educational grant from EMD Serono.
SITC will honor this year’s awardees, along with many other young investigators, during our awards ceremony at the 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting. We will also recognize an additional 35 early career scientists as part of our society’s Young Investigator Awards. These accolades, which include the highly coveted Presidential Award, reward excellence in SITC Annual Meeting oral abstract and poster presentations. We are also eager to recognize the numerous basic scientists, translational researchers and clinicians working to improve cancer patient outcomes.
Finally, I would like to share proudly that the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) increased its Impact Factor this year to 9.913. This Impact Factor makes JITC the highest ranked fully open access immunology journal and places JITC in top 8 percent of all journals published in the oncology and immunology categories. Congratulations to JITC Editor-in-Chief Pedro Romero, MD, the JITC Editorial Board, its vast collection of reviewers and staff for this honor.
Please consider submitting your research to JITC or becoming a reviewer as the journal furthers its mark as a respected source for research in oncology.
Sincerely,
Mario Sznol, MD
SITC President
SITC Remembers Member Beatrix Kotlan, PhD
SITC honors the memory of Beatrix Kotlan, PhD, who passed away on April 29, 2020. Dr. Kotlan was a SITC member who provided her expertise on the SITC Immune Biomarkers Data Sharing Subcommittee and the World Immunotherapy Council Committee. A Scientific Principal Investigator at the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest, Hungary, Dr. Kotlan served as an Associate Editor and reviewer for the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), reviewing more than two dozen JITC papers in the past six years. SITC offers its condolences to the Kotlan family and all of the friends and colleagues who knew her.
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer Increases Impact Factor to 9.913
JITC increased its impact factor to 9.913 on June 29, 2020. JITC’s impact factor places JITC in the top 8 percent of all journals published in the categories of oncology and immunology.
Published in the annual Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the latest JITC impact factor is a calculation determined on the number of 2019 citations accumulated for JITC manuscripts published in 2017 and 2018. Other journal metrics for JITC may be found on the journal website.
SITC Members Elect New Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer and 3 At-Large Directors
SITC congratulates the members recently elected to leadership positions within the society, including:
Vice President
Secretary/Treasurer
At-Large Directors
SITC regular and emeritus members participated in the 2020 SITC Election from May 6–20, 2020. Dr. Emens will begin her two-year term as SITC Vice President in January, before ascending to SITC President in January 2023. Drs. Wolchok, Capitini, Odunsi and Silk will commence their respective three-year terms this January as well.
SITC thanks the contributions of time and expertise from the three outgoing At-Large Directors: Paolo Antonio Ascierto, MD (Istituto Nazionale Tumori-Fondazione 'G. Pascale'); David Kaufman, MD, PhD (Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute); and Douglas G. McNeel, MD, PhD (University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center).
35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs Reimagined as Virtual Meeting
SITC Members to Attend SITC 2020 for Free
The SITC 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2020) will be reimagined as a fully virtual experience this year to ensure the health and safety of attendees and their patients. We are excited to reimagine SITC 2020 as an online opportunity to virtually connect the global SITC family, interacting through a unique experience that remains focused on the science and application of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology to improve cancer patient outcomes.
In celebration of the society’s 35th anniversary, all SITC members will be able to register for FREE access to the entire Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs. Become a SITC member today or renew your membership to take advantage of this exclusive member benefit. Stay tuned for more registration details in the coming days and weeks. SITC is excited to extend this free registration offer to all SITC members.
Submit a SITC 2020 Abstract or Presentation Application Now
SITC is now accepting submissions of regular abstracts, Young Investigator Award and late-breaking abstract applications for the 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting as well as presentation applications for the Immunotherapy Resistance and Failure Pre-Conference Program. The deadline to submit research for a regular abstract, Young Investigator Award abstract and/or late-breaking abstract application is 5 p.m. PDT on July 31, 2020. For more information, see the 2020 Regular, Young Investigator Award and Late-Breaking Abstract Reference Guide.
Support SITC 2020
Make your mark by exhibiting at SITC's 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting. This event brings together international leaders from academia, regulatory and government agencies, as well as industry representatives for unmatched education, scientific exchange and networking with the scientists driving the field. Click here to learn more about exhibiting options at SITC 2020.
Sponsor or advertise and get your message in front of an estimated 5,000 attendees. To learn more about these exciting opportunities contact development@sitcancer.org.
SITC 2020 Pre-Conference Programs
Immunotherapy Resistance and Failure
1–7 p.m. • Nov. 10 • Presentation Applications Due July 31
While many patients with cancer are experiencing significant long-term benefits from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), the vast majority exhibit either primary or secondary (acquired) resistance to these therapies. The underlying mechanisms for the wide range of responses are not well understood. Before ICI resistant/relapsed patients can be properly managed, however, these underlying causes need to be elucidated, which will enable rational design of therapeutic options based on these mechanisms of resistance. Testing of therapies in this ICI-resistant population also presents unique questions, including defining resistance and proper clinical trial design strategies. Click here to continue learning about the Immunotherapy Resistance and Failure program and click here to submit your research.
Primer on Tumor Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy™
8 a.m.–5 p.m. • Nov. 11
The understanding of cancer immunobiology has increased dramatically in recent years, leading to the successful development of novel immune-based treatment options to improve cancer patient outcomes. The SITC Primer on Tumor Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy™ is designed to provide a foundation for understanding core immunology principles as they relate to basic and clinical research in immunotherapy of cancer. New this year, the Primer on Tumor Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy™ will also touch on emerging therapies and technologies to ensure attendees at all levels stay updated in our expanding field, while also laying a comprehensive foundational base for all SITC 2020 attendees.
Workshop on Engineering Immune Cells for Cancer Therapy
8 a.m.–5 p.m. • Nov. 11
CAR T treatments have led to improved outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancies. However, the same level of success has not been achieved in most solid tumors, and other immune cell types beyond T cells are also being explored preclinically and clinically. This workshop will therefore highlight the multitude of cellular therapy approaches being applied for the treatment of cancer, including many T cell strategies, alternative immune cells, practical considerations and novel technologies.
Grant Writing Workshop
6:30–9 p.m. • Nov. 11
This evening program will outline funding opportunities and how to navigate them, address critical points of government and private sector grant submissions, and give attendees the tools to identify points that determine the success or failure of a grant proposal, helping them to optimize the process of grant re-submission.