Peter Mac staff take centre stage at ASCO
2 min read 07 June 2023
Peter Mac researchers have played a leading role at the weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.
ASCO is considered the most important and prestigious meeting in the world of oncology with over 42,000 delegates attending.
Peter Mac’s Associate Director, Clinical Research, Professor Jayesh Desai, said the event was an opportunity to hear from the world’s best clinical researchers.
“In a huge honour, our own Professor Shom Goel was the Chair of the Education Committee for the 2023 Annual Meeting working with the ASCO President, faculty and staff to create the entire education program,” Prof Desai said.
“This is the first time a person outside of North America has been tasked with this responsibility and speaks to the high regard Professor Goel is held in by world leaders in cancer research,” he said.
“It was also wonderful to see Professor Ben Solomon’s expertise in Lung Cancer recognised through his role as an invited discussant for the Plenary session.”
A discussant is responsible for providing professional and constructive criticism and raising issues for broader consideration during the session. Discussants are experts in the area drawing upon their knowledge when commenting on papers or presentations.
“This was a huge honour for Professor Solomon and a reflection that his global peers see him as an insightful leader in the field of lung cancer,” said Prof Desai.
Peter Mac also had numerous clinician researchers invited to share their expertise and knowledge as speakers in educational sessions these included, Jeanne Tie, Ben Solomon, Grant McArthur, Jayesh Desai, Shom Goel, Michael Jefford and Dr Naomi Katz.
Associate Professor Shahneen Sandhu also presented a first in human trial conducted at Peter Mac to determine if an already approved treatment will make radioactive treatment Lu-PSMA-617 more effective at killing prostate cancer cells. Dr Lauren Brown presented both a poster and an oral presentation on her research in early breast cancer. Her abstract received an ASCO Merit Award for an outstanding abstract. Only four percent of all abstracts submitted are chosen for oral presentation demonstrating the high calibre of this research.
Professor Sherene Loi and Associate Professor Ben Tran were invited to discuss abstracts presented during a breast cancer clinical science symposium, and the genitourinary cancer – prostate, testicular and penile session respectively.
Professor Michael Jefford’s expertise and knowledge in survivorship was also acknowledged with Michael discussing how to assess and meet the needs of survivors and providers in a Meet the Professors session.
Aside from the important role Professor Shom Goel played as the Chair of the Education Committee, several people from Peter Mac were involved in planning committees. These included Professors Linda Mileshkin, Michael Jefford, Jayesh Desai and Associate Professor Shankar Siva.