Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research (ASGCR)

Overview 

The Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research (ASGCR) is the flagship meeting of NCI’s Center for Global Health (CGH), bringing people in global oncology together to discuss trends in global cancer research and control and map out collaborative efforts to move the field forward.

Impact

ASGCR was created as a pre-conference satellite meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health’s (CUGH) annual conference. It has grown to be an independent Symposium with key collaborators. Its goal is to increase recognition of global oncology as an important focus area within global health and reduce the burden of cancer worldwide. It does this by:

• bringing together researchers, clinicians, program implementers, and advocates 
• providing an opportunity for real-time dissemination of evidence for collaborative cancer research and control, with a focus on highlighting work happening in and led by low- and middle-income countries 
• hosting discussions about how to apply evidence in cancer control measures 
• listening to the needs of the on-the-ground research community to help NCI develop programs and set priorities 
• highlighting early-career investigators working in low- and middle-income countries for recognition opportunities and leadership development to advance careers and mentorships 
• presenting the Rachel Pearline Award to outstanding professionals for their excellence in global cancer research and practice focused in low- and middle-income countries 
• building networks to diversify the field of global oncology, including a steadily growing attendance of non-oncology global health experts   

12th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research

The 2024 theme is “Collaborating for Impact” and the objectives are: (1) Create opportunities for researchers and program implementers from low resource settings to share their work; (2) Provide a venue for the global oncology research community to exchange information and identify potential areas for collaboration; and (3) Share science-based initiatives that are reducing the burden of cancer in low resource settings. 

ASGCR 2024 will be held virtually May 6-9, 2024. The call for proposals will be begin in January. Visit the ASGCR event website to learn more about the upcoming Symposium.   

The Rachel Pearline Award

The Rachel Pearline Award honors Rachel Pearline, MD, MPH. Dr. Pearline was a revered oncology fellow who received the award named in her memory in 2016 following her death at the age of 38, in November 2015, from gastric cancer. While in medical school, she completed rotations in South Africa, Haiti, Romania, and rural China where she learned to speak Mandarin fluently. For her work, she received a prestigious Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellowship and Tulane University’s award for “Outstanding International Relationships.” Dr. Pearline was virtuously committed to global cancer control and provided quality care to her patients. She viewed the practice of medicine as a privilege, always striving to serve her patients better. 

As part of the Symposium each year, we recognize one outstanding professional who embodies virtue and eminence in cancer research, practice, and/or training in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) setting. The Steering Committee invites nominations of individuals, at any stage in their career, who have made major contributions to global cancer research, practice, and training. The nominee should be affiliated with an institution from an LMIC and their work should focus on cancer research, practice, and/or training in an LMIC setting. 

The nominees are recognized at the virtual Annual Symposium and the selected awardee is expected to take part in the award presentation ceremony as well as to give a keynote address that highlights their contributions to cancer research, practice, and/or training in an LMIC setting, and their future perspectives. 

How to Connect

To learn more about the Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research, contact Ms. Mishka Kohli Cira.

Collaborators

CGH hosts ASGCR in collaboration with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO), Red de Institutos e Instituciones Nacionales de Cáncer - Sociedad Latino Americana y del Caribe De Oncología Médica (RINC-SLACOM) and other partners in global cancer research and control. Continued efforts will be made in coming years to ensure leadership is equally representative of the global cancer community that ASGCR serves.