The Annual Diabetes and Cancer Interface Symposium: Connecting the Dots
The sixth annual Diabetes and Cancer Interface Symposium: Connecting the Dots will take place virtually on Friday, November 7, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT.
Diabetes and cancer are two of the major health scourges of the 21st century. Driven by interactions between genetics and the environment, these are diseases of metabolic disruption that greatly burden our lives. Research is focused on disease classification, prevention and treatment strategies that are tailored to the molecules and pathways that are dysregulated in affected individuals.
City of Hope® is a unique organization with dual foci on cancer and diabetes that increasingly applies molecular tools at the interfaces of overweight, obesity, carcinogenesis, diabetogenesis and complications of treatments. The Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, is pleased to sponsor the annual Connecting the Dots Symposium, which brings together researchers and clinicians who are building expertise along the interfaces.
Keynote Speakers
Mandar Deepak Muzumdar, M.D.
Beta Cell Stress-Driven Hormone Dysregulation Governs Pancreatic Cancer Development
Associate Professor of Genetics and of Internal Medicine (Oncology)
Cancer Biology Institute and School of Medicine
Yale University
Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate, Ph.D.
Strategies and Mechanisms for Obesity-Associated Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Prevention
Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Endowed Professor in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Department of Internal Medicine / Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (GHN)
Director, GHN Basic Science Research
Assistant Director, CAMELOT (Cancer Research Training and Education), OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center
Co-Leader, Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program, OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Featured Speakers
Paul Cohen, M.D., Ph.D.
Cellular and Molecular Drivers of Obesity-Accelerated Breast Cancer
Albert Resnick, M.D. Associate Professor
Head, Weslie R. and William H. Janeway Laboratory of Molecular Metabolism
The Rockefeller University
Rose Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Metabolically Driven Dynamic Tumor-Immune Interactions Shape the Trajectory of Radiotherapy Response on Advanced Prostate Cancer
Assistant Professor
Depts. of Radiation Oncology & Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics
City of Hope National Medical Center
Division of Quantitative Medicine & Systems Biology
Translational Genomics Research Institute
Costas Lyssiotis, Ph.D.
Targeting Lipid Metabolism in Pancreatic Cancer
Maisel Endowed Professor of Oncology
Professor, Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology
Director, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology
co-Director, Rogel & Blondy Pancreatic Cancer Center
Rogel Cancer Center
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
Rushika Perera, Ph.D.
Identifying Metabolic Dependencies in Pancreatic Cancer
Deborah CowanEndowed Associate Professor, School of Medicine
Vice Chair, Department of Anatomy
CSO, UCSF Pancreas Center
University of California, San Francisco
Sharanya Sivanand, Ph.D.
Metabolic Memory: Tumor Origin Mediated Constraints on Metastasis
Research Scientist
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The fifth annual Connecting the Dots Symposium took place virtually on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
Please email [email protected] with any questions or to opt-out of receiving emails.
Thank you for your interest in the interfaces between diabetes and cancer!
Charles Brenner, Ph.D.
Alfred E. Mann Family Foundation Chair in Diabetes and Cancer Metabolism
Professor and Chair, Department of Diabetes & Cancer Metabolism
Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D.
Chan Soon-Shiong Shapiro Distinguished Chair in Diabetes
Director, Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute at City of Hope
Professor, Department of Molecular & Cellular Endocrinology