This inaugural series, held every other month, features TFRI-funded program and project leaders and trainees.

9:00-9:02am: Welcome by Jim Woodgett, TFRI President and Scientific Director

9:02-9:04am: Welcome and Introduction by Marco Marra, BC Node Leader and Director, Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre

9:05 -9:45am: Christian Steidl, MD, Research Director, Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, BC Cancer, who will speak on: Introduction to BC Cancer’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer and The tumour microenvironment of Hodgkin lymphoma at single cell resolution

Talk overview: In Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), the malignant cells are outnumbered by a dominant tumour microenvironment composed of mostly infiltrating immune cells. Modern targeted and immunotherapeutic approaches, including checkpoint inhibitors, have proven highly effective; however, mechanisms of action and treatment failure remain mostly unknown. Characterization of the TME using multiparametric single cell technologies, such as multicolor immunohistochemistry, flow-based mass cytometry, imaging mass cytometry, and single cell RNAseq have provided unprecedented insight into HL biology, fueling hope for accelerated development of immunotherapies targeting the tumour microenvironment and predictive biomarker development.

9:45-10:05am: Brett Collinge, Graduate Student, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Scott lab, Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, who will speak on: New molecular taxonomies in aggressive B cell lymphomas

Talk overview: While standard treatment with chemoimmunotherapy cures ~60% of aggressive B-cell lymphomas, patients with tumours that progress or relapse after frontline therapy have dismal outcomes, making the development of new treatment strategies a major priority. Recent advances in molecular testing have allowed us to recognize that lymphoma entities can be further refined by introduction of molecular taxonomies grouping patients with similar molecular features and responses to treatment. Integrating molecular diagnostics into the clinic offers a promising avenue for improving outcomes in aggressive B-cell lymphomas.

10:05-10:25am: Christopher Rushton, Graduate Student, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Morin lab, who will speak on: Genomic analysis of relapsed-refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Talk overview: Despite a plethora of treatment options, patients with relapsed-refractory DLBCL generally have poor outcomes, and the biology of relapsed disease is poorly understood. We have collected and sequenced samples from patients with relapsed DLBCL to identify somatic mutations that are enriched at the time point of relapse. Comparison to matched pre-treatment tumours revealed evidence of constrained tumour evolution, diverging biology of early and late relapses, and mechanisms of treatment resistance.

10:25-10:30am: Final questions and conclusion