Jensen Symposium Brings Bright Minds Together to Discuss Cancer Research

To encourage collaboration and celebrate breast cancer research expertise at both a local and national level, the Department of Cancer Biology within the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine hosted the "Jensen Symposium on Breast Cancer" Nov. 3-4 in Kresge Auditorium at the UC Medical Sciences Building.

The two-day event, filled with in-depth presentations from local and national experts, was named after Elwood Jensen, PhD, who transformed breast cancer treatment with his discoveries and has been proclaimed the "Father of the Nuclear Receptor Field." He spent the last 10 years of his life as a university distinguished professor in the cancer biology department until he died in 2012.  

Fifteen national leaders in the field of breast cancer research, five of which are elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, participated in the symposium, including Craig Jordan, PhD, a professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who is known as the "Father of Tamoxifen," a groundbreaking therapeutic drug for breast cancer, and Jeffrey Rosen, PhD, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, who studies mechanisms regulating breast tissue and hormonal activity in breast cancer.

In addition to the invited lecturers, a poster presentation was held in the CARE/Crawley atrium, and some abstracts were selected for "Short Talks" where researchers provided a bit more information about their research projects. 

"So many colleagues within the UC College of Medicine contributed to the success of the Jensen Symposium," says Jun-Lin Guan, PhD, Francis Brunning Professor and Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, co-leader of molecular and cellular basis of cancer within the Cincinnati Cancer Center and associate director for research at the UC Cancer Institute, adding that he thought the event left a good impression on guests to further the university's goal for National Cancer Institute designation. "It was also great to provide faculty and students at UC and the community an opportunity to interact with such a stellar group of cancer scientists, and coordinating with our clinical colleagues really made an impact as well."