Frontiers in Cancer Science: A Stellar Conference in Singapore

by Ashok Venkitaraman, MBBS, PhD

Singapore will hold its 15th Frontiers in Cancer Science (FCS) conference November 6-8 at the University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore (NUS). This annual conference started in 2009 as a one-day symposium dedicated to the purpose of stimulating the growth of the regional community of cancer researchers and their links with international colleagues.

Since its inception, FCS has grown into a major international cancer conference in the Asia-Pacific region and the largest of its kind in Singapore, with over 500 participants registering annually. Since 2020, we have partnered with AACR to concurrently hold the AACR-FCS Education Sessions, the first of their kind in Southeast Asia. Highlights of the previous FCS conferences can be seen on the conference website. FCS 2022 saw the return of our first on-site conference since the COVID outbreak.

FCS 2023 brings together many current trends spanning basic science and clinical cancer research. Young investigators will have an opportunity to showcase their work as posters, and talks selected from outstanding poster abstracts will also be presented at the Oral Abstract Speaker sessions. Prizes for the best posters will include two travel awards (each worth $2,500) to support travel to the AACR Annual Meeting in 2024. This year, we are also pleased to announce that the Outstanding FCS Abstract Travel Awards will be given to select international participants to help cover their expenses for attendance at FCS.

The AACR-FCS Education Sessions, initiated in 2020, have enjoyed a high level of participation and positive feedback from FCS participants. These sessions aim to provide graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career basic or clinical investigators with a broader view of key topics in contemporary cancer research presented by international opinion leaders. At FCS 2023, the AACR-FCS Education Sessions will include presentations from Scott Dixon (Stanford University), Mien-Chie Hung (China Medical University), and me.    

FCS is jointly organized by the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, Duke-NUS Medical School, Genome Institute of Singapore, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, National Cancer Centre Singapore, National University Cancer Institute, Singapore, and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS.

You can find the program highlights for this exciting international conference, as well as information about registration and abstract submission, on the conference website.

We warmly welcome you to FCS 2023 and hope to see you in Singapore!

Ashok R. Venkitaraman, MBBS, PhD, is the Director of the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, a Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, and a Research Director at A*STAR. He was previously the Ursula Zoellner Professor of Cancer Research at the University of Cambridge from 1998-2020 and directed the Medical Research Council Cancer Unit at the University of Cambridge from 2006-2019. He is recognized for discovering the tumor suppressive functions of the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2 and related cancer predisposition genes in novel mechanisms of genome maintenance, which have revealed fundamental pathogenic mechanisms and empowered targeted therapy. His research has also developed new technologies to accelerate drug discovery with rising clinical impact. In recognition of his achievements, Ashok Venkitaraman has been inducted into the Academy of Medical Sciences, London, and the European Molecular Biology Organization, Heidelberg.