Third Annual C3O Symposium Slated For February (2.23.18)

So Young Kim, PhD, updates Somarelli on the progress of testing thousands of drugs on the cell lines — both human and canine.The Consortium for Canine Comparative Oncology (c3o), a collaboration between Duke Cancer Institute and North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, will host the Third Annual Canine Comparative Oncology Symposium on Friday, Feb. 23, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Durham Convention Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Duke and NC State joined forces in 2015 to explore new cancer therapies offering better efficacy and less toxicity for both humans and canines. Researchers at both institutions are studying naturally occurring cancers in humans and canines. This collaboration allows investigators to leverage research and resources to benefit both species, ensuring better treatments and outcomes.

This year's keynote is Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, scientific director of Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. A hematological oncologist and researcher, Dang joined Ludwig in 2016.

The 2018 Canine Comparative Oncology Symposium will consist of presentations by 2017 c3o Pilot Project Awardees. Presentations include the following:

          A Phase II Clinical Trial and Pharmacodynamics Study of CP-DOX in Dogs
          Ashutosh Chilkoti, PhD, and Steven Suter, PhD

          A Mouse to Dog to Human (MDH) Drug Discovery Pipeline
          Matthew Breen, PhD and William Eward, MD, DVM

          Investigating the Dog as a Preclinical Model for Melanoma Therapy Targeting the Long Non-Coding RNA SAMMSON
          Shiaowen David Hsu, MD, PhD, and Jennifer Luff, VMD, PhD

          Comparative Analysis of the Impact of BRAF Mutations in Bladder Cancer – A Marker of Advancing Disease?
          Matthew Breen, PhD, and Brant Inman, MD

          Imaging Cycling Hypoxia in Canine Tumors During Radiotherapy Dosing
          Hiroto Yoshikawa, DVM, PhD, and Xiaofeng Steve Zhang, PhD

Participants are invited to submit abstracts in cancer relevant research (not required to be species specific) for consideration to present during the poster session. The top four abstracts will be asked to give an oral presentation at the symposium. Abstracts are due Jan. 8.

Registration for the 2018 Canine Comparative Oncology Symposium is open through the end of January. The Durham Convention Center is located at 2301 West Morgan St., Durham, North Carolina. To learn more about c3o, visit Consortium for Canine Comparative Oncology. To register and submit an abstract, go to c3o.

Circle photo: Jason Somarelli, PhD, (left) and Erdem Altunel, MD, (right) examine canine sarcoma cells under the microscope.