Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

This application to support the 7th Canadian Symposium on Telomeres and Genome Integrity is wholly aligned with the Institute for Cancer Research. Telomere regulation and genome maintenance are fundamental tumour suppressive mechanisms whose dysfunction is associated with oncogenesis. Moreover, therapies targeting cell cycle checkpoints, DNA replication, and DNA repair remain an active area of anti-cancer drug development. This conference supports a network of researchers in Canada, most of whom are directly working to understand the basis of genome instability as a driver of cancer and as a therapeutic vulnerability. Our keynote speakers, Dr. Garnett and Dr. O'Sullivan are international cancer research leaders, and support from awards like this are critical for our ability to bring them to Canada. While the meeting attracts a lot of Principal Investigators nationally, the meeting has a history of elevating and highlighting trainees. Thus, it creates a fertile academic environment consisting of the bulk of experts in our field, and up and coming trainees who can highlight their work in a focused venue.