Past Symposiums
The Allison Institute's annual symposium brings together thought leaders, researchers, academics and professionals from around the world to share groundbreaking discoveries, foster collaboration and advance the frontiers of science. It features keynote lecturers, Nobel laureate panel discussion, poster presentations and networking opportunities across a range of scientific disciplines.
3rd Annual Scientific Symposium (2025)
Friday, October 24, 2025
Theme: The Multiverse of Mechanistic Processes Impacting Immunity
Welcome/Opening Remarks
James P. Allison, Ph.D.
Founding Director, The James P. Allison Institute
Special Announcement
Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Scientific Programs, The James P. Allison Institute
Remarks
William McKeon
President and CEO, Texas Medical Center
Session I: Breakthroughs in cancer vaccine and RNA biology
Moderator: Linghua Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
Keynote
Gary Ruvkun, Ph.D.
"Why are 16 of the 61 possible transfer RNAs missing from eukaryotic genomes?"
Catherine Wu, M.D.
"Personalized cancer vaccines: Updates and encouraging results"
Wen Jiang, M.D., Ph.D.
"The codemaker: Engineering the code of life for cancer vaccine and beyond"
Nina Bhardwaj, M.D., Ph.D.
"Navigating antigen heterogeneity and immune evasion in antigen-targeted immunotherapy"
Session II: The intersection of biology and chemistry for cancer immunotherapy
Moderator: Xi Chen, Ph.D.
Keynote
Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D.
"Biorthogonal chemistry for next-gen bioconjugate therapeutics"
Marcia Haigis, Ph.D.
"The role of metabolites in cancer and immunity"
Hojong Yoon, Ph.D.
"Expanding the druggable proteome with molecular glues"
Gabriel Rabinovich, Ph.D.
"Galectins as multifunctional targets in cancer: A sweet future for immunotherapy?"
Panel Discussion with the Nobel?Laureates
Moderator:?Alice Park
James Allison, Ph.D.
Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D.
Fred Ramsdell, Ph.D.
Gary Ruvkun, Ph.D.
Phillip Sharp, Ph.D.
Session III: Advances in cancer immunology for improving clinical outcomes
Moderator: Sangeeta Goswami, M.D., Ph.D.
Keynote
Andrea Schietinger, Ph.D.
"T cell differentiation and function in cancer"
Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D.
"Evaluating mechanisms to improve immune checkpoint therapy"
Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
"Friend or foe: Reprogramming macrophages for cancer therapy"
Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D.
"Targeted immunotherapy with PD-1 blockade"
Closing Keynote
Fred Ramsdell, Ph.D.
"From the Manhattan Project to autoimmune therapy"
2nd Annual Scientific Symposium (2024)
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Theme: Immunotherapy in Space and Time: The Tumor Microenvironment
| Time | Event | Speaker (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30¨C8:30 a.m. | Arrival and Breakfast | |
| 8:30¨C8:45&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²¹.³¾. | Welcome / Opening Remarks | Pam Sharma, M.D., Ph.D. |
| 8:45¨C10:45 a.m. | Session I | Moderator Sangeeta Goswami, M.D., Ph.D., Keynote Speaker Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., Xi Chen, Ph.D., Linghua Wang, Ph.D. and Dana Pe¡¯er, Ph.D. |
| 10:45¨C11:00&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²¹.³¾. | Morning Break | |
| 11 a.m.¨C1:00 p.m. | Session II | Moderator Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Keynote Speaker Mark Dawson, Ph.D., E. John Wherry, Ph.D., Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D. and Susan Bullman, Ph.D. |
| 1¨C2 p.m. | Lunch / Poster Session | |
| 2¨C2:30&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±è.³¾. | Q&A with the Nobel Laureates | Moderator Alice Park, M.D., Jim Allison, Ph.D., and Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D. |
| 2:30¨C2:40&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±è.³¾. | Transition Break | |
| 2:40¨C4:50 p.m. | Session III | Moderator Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S., Keynote Speaker Elizabeth Jaffee, M.D., Tina Cascone, M.D., Ph.D., Max Krummel, Ph.D. and Closing Keynote Speaker Philip Greenberg, M.D. |
| 4:50¨C5 p.m. | Transition Break | |
| 5¨C5:30 p.m. | Fireside Chat | Moderator Alice Park, M.D., Robert D. Schreiber, Ph.D., Peter WT Pisters, M.D., Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D., Jim Allison, Ph.D., Pam Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., and Jennifer Wargo, M.D. |
| 5:30¨C7 p.m. | Reception |
Inaugural Scientific Symposium (2023)
The symposium included remarks from UT MD Anderson President Peter WT Pisters, M.D., and Allison Institute Director James P. Allison, Ph.D., plus presentations from twelve leading immunobiology and immunotherapy experts focused on themes from the Allison Institute¡¯s priority research areas.
