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Speaker Pelosi, NCI Director Sharpless to Speak at Virtual AACR Annual Meeting 2021

April 9, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will host Week 1 of the AACR Annual Meeting 2021 virtually April 10-15, 2021. In addition to scientific presentations featuring the latest in cancer research, the week will feature a number of high-profile speakers and timely sessions related to science policy and regulatory science:

  • U.S. Rep. Nancy P. Pelosi (D-California), speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will receive the 2021 AACR Distinguished Public Service Award in recognition of her leadership as a champion for science-related issues. Throughout her distinguished congressional career, Pelosi has consistently advocated for robust, sustained, and predictable annual funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She will deliver remarks during the Opening Ceremony on Sunday, April 11, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
  • Dinah S. Singer, PhD, deputy director for scientific strategy and development at the NCI, will present a talk titled “Progress and the Future of the Cancer Moonshot” on Tuesday, April 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET.
  • A panel titled “Issues Important to Tobacco Control” will take place Tuesday, April 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET and feature Mitch Zeller, director of the Center for Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as leading experts from the AACR’s Tobacco Products and Cancer Subcommittee. The panel will discuss important matters of tobacco control policy and regulation, including curbing youth appeal of e-cigarettes and reducing the role tobacco plays in exacerbating health disparities.
  • Finally, a forum titled “Building Vaccine Confidence: Best Practices to Combat Misinformation and Vaccine Hesitancy in COVID-19 Vaccines” will take place Wednesday, April 14, 4:30–6 p.m. ET. Participants include Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as seven other prominent leaders in public health, immunology, and patient advocacy. The participants will discuss the scientific evidence that demonstrates the safety and benefit of the COVID-19 vaccines, including how decades of basic research enabled the rapid development of these lifesaving vaccines; provide the latest information regarding the public’s views and willingness to get one of the COVID-19 vaccines; talk about the strategies that are being used to overcome misinformation and build trust in the vaccines; and address the concerns and answer the questions that patients with cancer have about the vaccines.

Members of the media are invited to attend all AACR Annual Meeting sessions. To view the talks, forums, and panels listed here as well as any other Annual Meeting presentations, journalists should request complimentary meeting registration from the AACR public relations team using the form on the AACR website. Please contact Kathleen Venango at [email protected] with any questions related to meeting registration.