Stem Cells and Cancer

Stem cells are essential to maintain regenerative tissues, and are a critical component of most repair processes in response to tissue injury and infection. Moreover, genetic alterations of stem cells and their progeny can lead to the generation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that can drive tumorigenesis in hierarchically organized cancer entities. Moreover, “stemness” features are key components of therapy resistance and metastasis.

The 8th International Heinrich F. C. Behr Symposium is dedicated for the fourth time to the exciting topic of “Stem Cells and Cancer”. The symposium will be jointly organized by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda. The symposium will be hosted by the DKFZ in Heidelberg from September 28 – 30, 2014. We again look forward to a highly interactive meeting sparked by a panel of internationally renowned speakers. The Keynote lectures will be presented by Profs. Mina Bissell, Elaine Fuchs Fred de Sauvage and John Dick. Among the invited speakers are international opinion leaders such as Luis Parada, Ron McKay, Cedric Blanpain, Doug Hannahan, Ross Levine and Catriona Jamieson, to just name a few.  They will discuss their latest data with an audience of about 350 students, scientists and clinicians. A poster session as well as a “meet the speaker” dinner party will further foster the scientific exchange. From the best abstracts submitted, two will be chosen for a short oral presentation.

The organizers are proud to be able to present a program that covers a wide range of important aspects of stem cell biology and its link to cancer. Focus areas of the 2014 Symposium include:

• Leukemic stem cells and microenvironment
• Brain tumor stem cells
• Stem cells of solid tumors and metastasis
• Stem cell pathways, epigenetics, quantitative stem cell biology and mathematical modeling