Leadership Development

Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School

Conceived as a program to support career development opportunities for investigators and clinicians interested in immuno-oncology, the 6^th annual SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School provided early career scientists and clinicians a deep understanding of the core principles of tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy, as well as developing areas in the field including biomarker technology, validation, and clinical integration; clinical trial design, data analysis and considerations for combination therapies.

Over 250 attendees

Four-day program on including topics on:

• Grantsmanship
• Intratumoral and Local Therapy
• Careers in Cancer Immunotherapy

Breakout sessions for clinicians and researchers

Special thank you to the Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School Organizers

SITC’s Clinical Immuno-oncology Network (SCION) Workshop

SITC’s Clinical Immuno-oncology Network (SCION) Workshop addresses the unique considerations for designing clinical trial protocols focused on cancer immunotherapy. The SCION Workshop connects participants with experienced faculty in the field and dedicated patient advocates to advise on clinical trial protocol development.

31 participants

Four-day program with:

• Tailored support for cancer immunotherapy trials
• Guidance from cancer immunotherapy experts
• Empowerment in protocol development

As part of the program, participants had full access to Cancer Immunotherapy Winter School. In addition, two SCION participants were selected to receive the Martin “Mac” Cheever Excellence in Clinical Trial Design travel award to support their travel to SITC 2024. To learn more about the awards and the recipients, visit the Forward Fund page.

Special thank you to the SCION Organizers

Women in Cancer Immunotherapy Network Leadership Institute

SITC’s first DEI program, now in its sixth year, the Women in Cancer Immunotherapy Network (WIN) Leadership Institute is the only program that provides female professionals mentorship and guidance to succeed as emerging leaders in the field of cancer immunotherapy.

The two-day program explored how to:

• Apply leadership skills to create an effective team environment in the workplace
• Display a broad understanding of effective leadership roles and strategies
• Navigate unique challenges that face female leaders in the field of cancer immunotherapy
• Demonstrate the ability to understand and apply principles of effective communication in order to affect appropriate change in a variety of leadership settings
• Rely on a network of women in the field of cancer immunotherapy for guidance and advice on advancing their career in cancer immunotherapy 
  
  

Sparkathon

This prestigious, impactful program brings together early career investigators and leading experts to address challenges in the field, speed the pace of discovery, and foster development of the next generation of leaders. The Sparkathon Class of 2024 focused on the latest research in metabolism in cancer immunotherapy, including topics pertaining to systemic, immune cell, cancer cell, and/or microbiome metabolism and their connections to cancer immunology. In 2024, the Sparkathon was held following Spring Scientific: Metabolism of Tumor Immunity, and the Sparkies were invited to attend and present data at the meeting. This successful pairing enhanced scientific exchange for the participants. Participants are also invited to gather at the Sparkathon Alumni Reception each year at the SITC Annual Meeting to continue valuable networking and opportunities for cross-institutional collaboration.

Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) Peer Review Mentorship Program

To help train the next generation on the general practices of scientific peer review, JITC expanded its Peer Review Mentorship Program that paired mentees with editors and top reviewers in JITC, leading to the graduation of 27 participants from eight countries in 2024. 

Given the overwhelming global interest in this mentorship opportunity, the program is continuing in 2025 with 28 mentees from 11 different countries.