3ʳᵈ International Portugal-USA Summer Course in Cancer Research

ABC Meetings has the honor to present the 3ʳᵈ International Portugal-USA Summer Course in Cancer Research, which will take place in Hotel Vila Galé Ampalius, Vilamoura, and Grande Auditório, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal, between May 11ᵗʰ to 17ᵗʰ, 2026.

Application submissions will be open from January 26ᵗʰ to February 13ᵗʰ, 2026.

The primary objective of the Cancer Summer Course is to offer graduate students and early-stage postdoctoral fellows from Portugal and beyond a comprehensive and interactive learning experience in cancer research, while also nurturing critical thinking and soft skills development. The curriculum encompasses both fundamental and advanced topics in cancer biology, including the hallmarks of cancer, the tumor microenvironment, mechanisms of therapy resistance, cancer cell plasticity, epigenetics, and cancer metabolism. Moreover, the course incorporates career development sessions focusing on grant writing, science communication, career alternatives, and ample opportunities for interaction with leading faculty members in the field of cancer research, along with recreational activities to facilitate informal networking.

This summer course is a key component of the USA-PT Initiative against Cancer (UPIC), that aims to facilitate trans-Atlantic research collaborations among faculty members from 20 premier academic institutions in the USA and in Portugal. It provides valuable educational opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and the course serves as a platform for USA/PT investigators to identify top Portuguese/American trainees for potential sabbatical placements in their laboratories, fostering collaborative research projects between USA and Portuguese faculty members. This Summer Course will bring together leading cancer researchers from around the globe to impart cutting-edge scientific insights to the next generation of scholars.

To apply, please email eventos@abcmedicalg.pt .

There will be an open to the public session that will take place in the University og Algarve’s Gambelas Campus, May 15th. Sign up here: https://www.ualg.pt/webform/sessao-publica-do-3rd-international-portugal-usa-summer-course-cancer-research

Capacity: 30 trainees

Eligibility: PhD students, physician-scientists, and early career postdoctoral fellows (within 2 years of PhD defense) working in cancer biology and/or biomedicine are encouraged to apply.

Application Requirements: please send a 2-page CV, a motivation letter and a supporting letter from your mentor/supervisor

Application Deadline: February 13ᵗʰ, 2026;

Cost: 300€; the fee covers the course, meals and accommodation (shared room). Please note that the payment should be completed by March 23ʳᵈ 2026.

3ʳᵈ International Portugal-USA Summer Course in Cancer Research

11/05/2026 - Hotel Vila Galé Ampalius, Vilamoura, Portugal

13:00 - 14:00 Check-in

14:00 - 14:30 Reception
Inês Araújo, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of University of Algarve Director
Clévio Nobrega, Algarve Biomedical Center’s President

14:00 - 14:30 Opening Remarks - UPIC Initiative
Pedro Castelo-Branco, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute (Universidade do Algarve's Vice-Chancellor)
Katerina Politi, Yale University - USA

14:30 - 15:30 Presentation of the Students

15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break

16:00 - 18:00 Didactic Talk | Hallmarks of Cancer
Douglas Hanahan, EPFL - Lausanne, Switzerland

16:00 - 19:00 Patient Associations: Evita, LPCC, AOA

20:00 Dinner

12/05/2026 - Hotel Vila Galé Ampalius, Vilamoura, Portugal

09:00 - 09:45 Didactic Talk | Growth Factors and their Receptors
Katerina Politi, Yale University - USA

10:00 - 10:20 Scientific Talk
Katerina Politi, Yale University - USA

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:45 Didactic Talk | Cancer Metabolism
Fátima Baltazar, ICVS - Life and Health Sciences Research Institute - Braga

12:00 - 12:20 Scientific Talk
Fátima Baltazar, ICVS - Life and Health Sciences Research Institute - Braga

12:30 - 13:00 Office Hours
Katerina Politi, Yale University - USA
Fátima Baltazar, ICVS - Life and Health Sciences Research Institute - Braga

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 14:45 Didactic Talk | Tumor Suppressor Genes
Julien Sage, Stanford University - USA

15:00 - 15:20 Scientific Talk
Julien Sage, Stanford University - USA

15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break

16:30 - 17:15 Didactic Talk | Tumor Microenvironment and Targeted Therapies
João Nuno Moreira, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology - Coimbra

17:30 - 17:50 Scientific Talk
João Nuno Moreira, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology - Coimbra

18:00 - 18:30 Office Hours
Julien Sage, Stanford University - USA
João Nuno Moreira, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology - Coimbra

20:00 Dinner

13/05/2026 - Hotel Vila Galé Ampalius, Vilamoura, Portugal

09:00 - 09:45 Didactic Talk | Cancer Epigenetics
Pedro Castelo-Branco, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute

10:00 - 10:20 Scientific Talk
Pedro Castelo-Branco, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:45 Didactic Talk | Chromatin modifications in Cancer
Ali Shilatifard, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine - USA

12:00 - 12:20 Scientific Talk
Ali Shilatifard, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine - USA

12:30 - 13:00 Office Hours
Pedro Castelo-Branco, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute
Ali Shilatifard, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine - USA

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 14:45 Didactic Talk | AI in Cancer
Nuno Barbosa Morais, NOVA Medical School

15:00 - 15:20 Scientific Talk
Nuno Barbosa Morais, NOVA Medical School

15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break

16:00 - 16:45 Didactic Talk | Translational Neuro-Oncology
Claudia Faria, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM)

17:00 - 17:20 Scientific Talk
Claudia Faria, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM)

17:30 - 18:00 Office Hours
Claudia Faria, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM)
Nuno Barbosa Morais, NOVA Medical School

20:00 Dinner

14/05/2026 - Hotel Vila Galé Ampalius, Vilamoura, Portugal

09:00 - 09:45 Didactic Talk | Cell Cycle
Hélder Maiato, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) - Porto

10:00 - 10:20 Scientific Talk
Hélder Maiato, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) - Porto

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:45 Didactic Talk | Invasion & Metastasis
Joana Paredes, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) - Porto

12:00 - 12:20 Scientific Talk
Joana Paredes, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) - Porto

12:30 - 13:00 Office Hours
Hélder Maiato, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) - Porto
Joana Paredes, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) - Porto

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch

14:30 - 15:15 Didactic Talk | Target Validation in Cancer
Lynda Chin, Apricity Health - USA

15:30 - 15:50 Scientific Talk
Lynda Chin, Apricity Health - USA

16:00 - 16:30 Coffee Break

16:30 - 17:15 Didactic Talk | Plasticity
Karuna Ganesh, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - USA

17:30 - 17:50 Scientific Talk
Karuna Ganesh, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - USA

18:00 - 18:30 Office Hours
Lynda Chin, Apricity Health - USA
Karuna Ganesh, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - USA

20:00 Dinner

15/05/2026 - Grande Auditório, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Portugal

08:30 - 09:00 Transport to Universidade do Algarve

09:30 - 10:00 Poster Set-Up

10:00 - 10:45 Didactic Talk | Immuno-Oncology
Bruno Silva Santos, Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine (GIMM) - Lisbon

11:00 - 11:20 Scientific Talk
Bruno Silva Santos, Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine (GIMM) - Lisbon

11:20 - 11:35 Coffee Break

11:35 - 12:25 Didactic Talk | Cancer Immunotherapy
Padmanee Sharma, MD Anderson Cancer Center - USA

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch and Poster Viewing

14:00 - 14:30 Poster Presentation

14:30 - 15:00 Welcome Session
Alexandra Teodósio, Universidade do Algarve’s Chancellor - Faro
Pedro Castelo-Branco, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute (Universidade do Algarve's Vice-Chancellor)
Katerina Politi, Yale University - USA

15:00 - 15:30 Public Seminar | The von Hippel-Lindau Hereditary Cancer Disease: Insights into Oxygen Sensing and Drugging the Undruggable
William Kaelin Jr., Harvard University and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - USA (Nobel Prize Winner)

15:30 - 16:00 Public Seminar| Immune Checkpoint Therapy: Mechanisms of Response & Resistance
Padmanee Sharma, MD Anderson Cancer Center - USA

16:00 - 16:30 Coffee Break and Poster Presentation

16:30 - 17:00 Public Seminar| The Age of Cancer: Insights & Interception
Ronald DePinho, MD Anderson Cancer Center - USA

17:00 - 17:30 Public Seminar| Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cancer Immunotherapy: Mechanistic insights provide new therapeutic opportunities
James P. Allison, MD Anderson Cancer Center - USA (Nobel Prize Winner)

17:30 - 18:00 Round Table
Moderators: Katerina Politi and Pedro Castelo-Branco

18:00 Closing Remarks
Pedro Castelo-Branco, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute (Universidade do Algarve's Vice-Chancellor)

20:00 Gala Dinner

16/05/2026 - Hotel Vila Galé Ampalius, Vilamoura, Portugal

08:30 - 09:15 Didactic Talk | Cancer Stem Cell
Ana Luisa Correia, Champalimaud Foundation - Lisbon

09:15 - 09:35 Scientific | Talk Neuro-Immune regulation of cancer dormancy
Ana Luisa Correia, Champalimaud Foundation - Lisbon

09:35 - 10:00 Coffee Break

10:00 - 10:45 Didactic Talk | Telomeres
Jan Karlseder, The Salk Institute - USA

10:45 - 11:05 Scientific Talk
Jan Karlseder, The Salk Institute - USA

11:05 - 11:35 Office Hours
Adriana Sanchez Danes, Champalimaud Foundation - Lisbon
Jan Karlseder, The Salk Institute - USA

12:00 - 15:00 Sign-Up Lunch Boat Experience with James P. Allison, William Kaelin Jr., Ronald DePinho, and Padmanee Sharma

15:00 - 20:00 Free Afternoon