This past week has been very hectic, since I was attending the AACR annual meeting from Saturday to Wednesday. The meeting was very large and I attended many interesting talks. The Orange Country Convention Center in Orlando is absolutely huge, and it seemed as if I had to walk a mile to go from one meeting or session to the next one. It’s always a bit frustrating to have to mix meetings with attendance at the scientific sessions, but I guess that’s part of the territory.
I ceded leadership of the AACR’s Cancer Immunology Working Group to Olivera (Olja) Finn after completing a three-year term as the working group’s founding leader. Starting from scratch as a task force about six years ago, the working group now has more than 3,000 members, and has had a major role in organizing symposia and immunology content at the annual meeting. Moreover, we organized a biennial tumor immunology meeting that has rapidly evolved into a “can’t miss” event on the calendar. I actually received a nice little plaque at our Town Hall meeting on Sunday night, and it is now on a shelf in my office. I will remain on the steering committee of the working group for another year to facilitate the transition and to help Olja.
After returning to the office, I had to play catch up, and had a fairly busy clinic on Thursday afternoon. I am reviewing posters for Research Day, and then look forward to a weekend where I can recharge my batteries a bit.
By the way, the Georgetown Lombardi/CBCC Avon Walk team is up to 40 walkers and has raised over $50,000 so far. We are gaining on the second-place team! Please remember to donate, to volunteer as best you can, and to support the walkers as they represent Lombardi. It is a great cause. Contact Jeanne Mandelblatt for more information.
Have a great weekend.