Defining and defeating metastasis

Time	Speaker
11:45 – 13:30	Registration and light refreshments
12:15 – 13:15	Pre-conference workshop with GemPharmatec
13:30 – 13:45	Opening remarks by Joan Massagué
13:45 – 14:30	Keynote lecture: Human osteosarcoma metastasis is limited by oxidative stress Sean Morrison – UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA
13:45 – 17:45	Session 1: Chair: Marisol Soengas – National Cancer Research Center, Spain
14:30 – 15:00	Age-related host mosaicism as a driver of dormant cancer cell awakening in the lung Julio Aguirre-Ghiso – Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA
15:00 – 15:15	Zeb1-mediated control of the PUFA/MUFA ratio in EMT-associated ferroptosis sensitivity Nino Bindel – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
15:15 – 15:30	Aiding and aBETting metastasis: Epigenetic-driven awakening in ER+ breast cancer Hazel Quinn ISREC-EPFL, Switzerland virtual speaker
15:30 – 16:00	Coffee break and meet the speakers
16:00 – 16:30	Deciphering and targeting of fetal-like stem cells in metastatic colorectal cancer Rene Jackstadt – German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany
16:30 – 16:45	Homopolymer switches mediate adaptive mutability in mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer Suzanne van der Horst – UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands
16:45 – 17:00	Dual metastasis- and tumor-inhibitory efficacy of a first-in-class metastasis-initiating-cell-targeted therapeutic antibody Kelvin Kunchih Tsai – Taipei Medical University, Taiwan
17:00 – 17:30	Impact of emergency granulopoiesis on metastasis Ilaria Malanchi – The Francis Crick Institute, UK
17:30 – 19:00	Dinner in EMBL Canteen
19:00 – 21:00	Science Pub Quiz & after dinner drinks EMBL Canteen

Time	Speaker
09:00 – 12:00	Session 2: Chair: Sean Morrison, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA
09:00 – 09:30	Systemic rewiring of dendritic cells in melanoma progression: implications for immune checkpoint blockade Marisol Soengas – National Cancer Research Center, Spain
09:30 – 09:45	Gene expression adaptation of metastasis to their host tissue Luise Nagel – University of Cologne, Germany
09:45 – 10:00	Antagonism between tumors and lymphocytes drives coevolutionary processes throughout metastasis Cort Breuer – Stanford University, United States of America
10:00 – 10:15	Intestinal bacteria are trapped alongside the nuclei of colorectal cancer cells – survival in a foreign yet safe environment? Reinhild Feuerstein – University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany
10:15 – 10:45	Coffee break and meet the speakers
10:45 – 11:00	Single-molecule Liquid Biopsy Systems for Multiplexed Detection of Epigenetic Modifications and Oncoproteins for Cancer Diagnostics Noa Furth – Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
11:00 – 11:15	Role of MYC in liver metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and therapeutic resistance Rosalie Sears – Oregon Health and Science University, United States of America
11:15 – 11:45	Bringing bone metastases out of hiding for therapeutic targeting Belinda Parker – Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia
11:45 – 12:00	Flash talks session 1 (3 min per talk) Poster numbers: 60, 70, 72, 83, 85
12:00 – 13:30	Lunch and meet the editors
13:00 – 13:30	Imaging Centre Tours Separate Registration required – please await further information before event Guided by Timo Zimmermann and Stephanie Alexander
13:30 – 15:00	Poster Session 1 (odd numbers)
15:00 – 15:30	Coffee break and meet the speakers
15:30 – 17:30	Session 3: Chair: Ilaria Malanchi – The Francis Crick Institute, UK
15:30 – 16:00	Dissecting plasticity during colorectal cancer metastasis Karuna Ganesh – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA
16:00 – 16:15	A senescence-like state of tumor cells contributes to tumor aggressiveness and makes them vulnerable to senolysis Mathieu Boissan – Sorbonne University, France
16:15 – 16:30	Loss of STAG2 leads to EWS-FLI1-dependent and -independent rewiring of enhancer-promoter contacts and contributes to aggressive Ewing sarcoma Ana Cuadrado – Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, Spain
16:30 – 16:45	Marking out cancer stem cells that drive gastric tumourigenesis in mice and humans Grace Lim – Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR Singapore
16:45 – 17:15	Mechanisms regulating EMT states Cédric Blanpain- Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
17:15	Free evening
18:00 – 19:00	Optional: guided tour Old town Heidelberg

Time	Speaker
09:00 – 12:00	Session 4: Chair: Mikala Egeblad, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, USA
09:00 – 09:30	Systemic impact of metastasis over host metabolism Salvador Benitah-Aznar – Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona, Spain Virtual talk
09:30 – 09:35	Beug foundation awardees of 2023 Chair: Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
09:35 – 10:15	Beug metastasis foundation awardees 2023: Ilaria Elia – Katholieke Universiteit, Belgium Colinda Scheele – Katholieke Universiteit, Belgium Toni Celià-Terrassa – Research Institute Hospital del Mar (IMIM), Spain Ioanna Keklikoglou – University of Crete, Greece
10:15 – 10:45	Coffee break and meet the speakers
10:45 – 11:00	Utilising gene-editing technology to uncover novel immunotherapies for targeting bone metastases in breast cancer Thomas Chadwick – Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia
11:00 – 11:15	Role of Epsin 3 in breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis Amir Fardin – European Institute of Oncology, Italy
11:15 – 11:45	Cell and tissue state transitions regulating collective metastasis Kevin Cheung – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, USA
11:45 – 12:00	Flash talks session 2 (3 min per talk) Poster numbers: 82, 94, 96, 98, 102
12:00 – 13:30	Group photo & Lunch
12:30 – 13:30	Career discussion session in Courtyard room: “Charting Your Path: Insights into Successful Careers in Fundamental and Translational Cancer Research“ Presenters: Johanna Joyce – University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Samra Turajlic – The Francis Crick Institute, UK
13:30-16:15	Session 5: Chair: Cédric Blanpain- Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
13:30 – 14:00	Filming the fate of cells carrying mutations in cancer driver genes Jacco van Rheenen – Center for Cancer Biology VIB‑KU Leuven, Belgium
14:00 – 14:15	Dynamic analysis of individual cells from metastasizing populations with holographic incoherent-light-source quantitative phase imaging Daniel Zicha – CEITEC VUT Brno, Czech Republic
14:15 – 14:30	Breast cancer remodels the bone marrow lymphoid microenvironment to favor bone metastasis Ana Teijeiro – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), USA
14:30 – 15:00	The role of genome instability and immune evasion in metastasis Samra Turajlic – The Francis Crick Institute, UK
15:00 – 15:30	Coffee break and meet the speakers
15:30 – 15:45	Two distinct epithelial to mesenchymal transition programmes control invasion and inflammation in segregated tumour cell populations Khalil Kass Youssef – Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante CSIC-UMH, Spain
15:45 – 16:00	Understanding the molecular mechanism behind tandem motifs-induced CtBP polymerization in pre-clinical and clinical models Nishit Goradia – University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
16:00 – 16:15	Sybodies to inhibit the metastasis-promoting activity of Cofilin-1 by replacing the protein from F-actin Sabine Windhorst – University Medical Center Hamburg‑Eppendorf, Germany
16:15 – 16:45	Small Cell Lung Cancer Metastasis Caroline Dive – University of Manchester, UK
16:45 – 18:15	Poster Session 2 (even numbers)
18:15 – 20:15	Conference dinner in EMBL Canteen
20:15 – 23:45	Party with DJ Jenz in ATC Rooftop Lounge

Time	Speaker
09:00 – 12:30	Session 6 Chair: Jacco van Rheenen – Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands
09:00 – 09:30	Metastatic evolution of colorectal cancer Trevor Graham – Institute of Cancer Research, UK
09:30 – 09:45	Tumor microenvironment-induced FOXM1 regulates ovarian cancer stemness Chiara Battistini – European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Italy
09:45 – 10:00	Emerin mis-localization during chromatin bridge resolution can drive prostate cancer cell invasiveness in collagen-rich microenvironment Paulina Nastaly – Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
10:00 – 10:15	Mitochondrial J-protein, JC15 effected metabolic rewiring induces aggressive tumour phenotypes in breast cancer cells Priyadarshika Pradhan – Banaras Hindu University, India virtual speaker
10:15 – 10:45	Coffee break and meet the speakers
10:45 – 11:15	Targeting RNA modifications in cancer Michaela Frye – DKFZ, Germany
11:15 – 11:45	Biomechanical hallmarks and vulnerabilities of metastatic cancer cells Victoria Sanz-Moreno – The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), UK
11:45-12:30	Keynote lecture: NETworking with cancer: The bidirectional interplay between cancer and neutrophil extracellular traps Mikala Egeblad – Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, USA
12:30-13:00	Closing remarks and Poster prizes by the Scientific Organizers
13:00 – 13:30	Packed lunch and departure
13:30	Bus to airport (tickets available at registration desk) Conference shuttle to the Main station and hotels

On-site registration fees include admission, conference materials, meals and coffee breaks. Participants are expected to book and pay their own accommodation and travel expenses.

Virtual registration fees include access to all of the talks (livestreamed and on demand) and facility to submit questions.

On-site Academia	€725
On-site PhD Student	€625
On-site Industry	€925
Virtual Academia	€225
Virtual PhD Student	€175
Virtual Industry	€275

* Editors from scientific journals are allowed to attend at a reduced rate, but asked to contribute to the conference in return by taking part in ‘meet the editors’ sessions or other planned activities within the programme.

A letter to support your visa application will be issued, on request, once payment of the registration fee is confirmed. We recommend that you book your visa appointment as soon as possible, to avoid any delay with your visa application.

Accredited journalists may be eligible to register for complimentary press registration. Registrants may be required to provide accreditation or equivalent proof of press membership after registration. Please contact Inna Boesselmann for more information. Please note that we do not offer complimentary registrations for editors of scientific journals.

Confirmation and payment

Registration will be on a first come, first served basis. Your place can only be confirmed after payment of the registration fee. If you are added to our waiting list, please consider taking advantage of our offerings to participate virtually.

On-site participants: Types of payments accepted are international bank transfers and credit card payments.

Virtual participants: We are only able to accept card payments. In exceptional cases we can accept bank transfers. Please contact events@embl.de for details.

Abstract submission

Only participants registering to attend the on-site event are eligible to submit an abstract. Abstracts will not be accepted from virtual participants.

After registration you can submit your abstract via a separate link that will be provided in the email confirmation. Alternatively, you can access the link on the confirmation page directly after registering. The same login credentials are used for both processes.

Please note:

Abstract body: The limit of 2000 characters refers to manually typed text and excludes spaces. If an error occurs try using a different web browser (preferably Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).

If you copy-paste the text into the form, hidden formatting might still be included which may cause the text to exceed the 2,000 character limit resulting in an error message. We recommend you clear all formatting before pasting in the text.

If you have special symbols in your text, make sure you are using Unicode characters, otherwise these will not be recognised.

Title: The title should not exceed 20 words. Only the first word of the title should start with a capital letter and the rest should be lowercase.

Authors and affiliations: Please fill in the author’s details as requested in the online form. The compulsory fields are: First Name, Last Name, Organisation Name (Affiliation or Company), Country and Email.

Kindly mark only one author in the role of First Author and please don’t forget to indicate who will be the Presenter.

Please enter your co-authors correctly via the system by adding accounts together with their organisation/institute. Do not copy-paste them into the body of the abstract text, as they will not be indexed in the abstract book.

Presentation types: When submitting your abstract, you can apply for an oral or poster presentation. A selection process will take place with the results announced 2-3 weeks after the abstract submission deadline.

For detailed instructions on how to submit a conference abstract, follow the instructions provided in this video.

Please check our FAQs pages for further information on how to submit an abstract.

Financial assistance

Limited financial assistance is provided by the EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme and EMBO in the form of both registration fee waivers and travel grants. These are available for on-site participants at EMBL Conferences and EMBO|EMBL Symposia, and for on-site and virtual participants at EMBO Workshops. We are currently working on securing funding for all virtual participants, and ask that you please apply for financial assistance for both on-site and virtual participation. 

Your place in the meeting is only confirmed by paying the registration fee, which is mandatory even when receiving a fee waiver.

Registration fee waiver

The fee waiver will cover the registration sum that you have paid to attend the course or conference.

Travel grant

The travel grant will cover the cost of travel to an on-site event (airfare, train, bus, taxi, accommodation, visa, and/or registration fees*) and is provided up to specified caps which are normally as follows:

–up to €400 for participants travelling to an EMBL Conference or EMBO|EMBL Symposium from within Europe.

–up to €1000 for participants travelling to an EMBL Conference or EMBO|EMBL Symposium from outside Europe.

–up to €500 for any participant travelling to an EMBO Workshop.

–up to €1000 for any participant working in Chile, India, Singapore or Taiwan travelling to an EMBO Workshop.

–up to €700 for any participant working in Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, and Turkey travelling to an EMBO Workshop.

*Registration fees are only covered for EMBO Workshops

The organisers may reduce the grant cap to accommodate more participants. Recipients will be notified of their travel cap amount when they are informed of the outcome of their application. Original receipts must be provided with your signature for all costs incurred within two months of completion of travel. Scanned copies cannot be accepted.

Application

On-site participants

You may apply for financial assistance when submitting your abstract. In your application you will be asked to answer questions regarding why your lab cannot fund your attendance and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

Virtual participants

If you are attending virtually, you can apply for financial assistance in the submission portal by the abstract deadline. Read the instructions on how to apply for financial assistance. Only submissions for financial assistance will be accepted. Presentation abstracts cannot be submitted here and will be declined. 

In your application you will be asked to summarise your current work,  answer questions regarding why your lab cannot fund your attendance, and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

Selection

The scientific organisers will select the recipients of all financial assistance during the abstract selection process. Results will be announced approximately 6 – 8 weeks before the event start date, however for some events this may be delayed. Selection results do not impact your admission to the meeting. Selection is based on scientific merit, your current work or study location, the reasons for needing financial support, and the impact this event will have on your career.

Reimbursement

Costs will be reimbursed after the meeting only once a reimbursement form and original receipts (from travel costs) have been received.

Further details

View our list of external funding opportunities and information on attending a conference as an event reporter.

For further information about financial assistance please refer to the FAQ page.

Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee.

As further changes in our events are possible, you should book flights, trains and hotels with flexible options and favourable cancellation conditions.

The hotels below have rooms on hold for participants until 2 September 2024, in some cases at special rates. Please email the hotel directly, quoting the booking code EES24-10 to confirm the exact price of the room.

B&B Hotel	Staycity Aparthotel Heidelberg
Hotel ibis Heidelberg	Steffi’s Hostel Heidelberg
ISG Hotel	Hilton Heidelberg
Meininger Heidelberg	Premier Inn Heidelberg City

Travel information

For travel information, please see here.

If you are travelling to the conference within Germany then you are eligible for the Deutsche Bahn ‘Event Ticket’ (called the ‘Veranstaltungsticket’ in German). This will result in a lower ticket price if your travel distance to Heidelberg is more than 100 km. You need to provide proof of your event attendance when purchasing the ticket.

For more information in English see here or in German see here.

You can book your ticket here.

Conference shuttle buses

Conference shuttle buses are free of charge for participants, and depart from designated bus stops near the hotels to EMBL and back, mornings and evenings.

Please find the conference shuttle bus schedule here.

The bus stops for this conference are:

• Hotel Staycity (Speyerer Str. 7)
• Kurfürsten-Anlage (Opposite Main Train Station)
• Hotel Premier Inn, Kurfürsten-Anlage 23
• Leonardo Hotel (Bergheimer Str.)
• Neckarmuenzplatz
• Peterskirche
• Hilton Hotel (Kurfürsten-Anlage 1)
• ISG Hotel

View Conference shuttle bus stops and hotels in a larger map. Please note that not every bus stop will be used for every event. You can find the final bus schedule here.

Further details

Address: EMBL, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.

For more information about accommodation and travel, please refer to the FAQ page.

Catering

All meals and coffee breaks are included in the registration fee. Our catering staff will prepare a wide variety of vegetarian meals, meat and fish dishes, soups, pasta, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as a variety of desserts.

Please wear your badge at all times when serving yourself.

No food or drinks are allowed in the auditorium.

Charging lockers

There are lockers available next to the stairs leading down into the Auditorium. You will find some of those equipped with sockets to charge your smartphone/tablet etc.

Electricity and charging station

In most places the electricity is 220 volts AC (50 cycles). An adaptor and a plug that fits the German socket may be needed for your appliances/laptop (i.e. American, Japanese, etc.). A USB charging station for electronic devices is available at the registration desk.

EMBL merchandise

If you are interested in purchasing an EMBL souvenir (products presented in the glass display in the registration area), please ask at the registration desk for more information.

Health and safety notes

Please read EMBL’s COVID-19 safety policy for on-site events.
Do not smoke in any EMBL building.
Eating and drinking is prohibited in the Auditorium and all laboratories.
Do not enter any restricted areas or the laboratories unless instructed to do so.

If first aid is required …

• The first aid room is located next to the ATC Registration Desk (room 10- 205).
• Dial the Emergency number 222 from any EMBL internal phone only.
• Where is the accident? What happened? How many injured?
• Emergency number 06221-387 7821 from mobile phones.
• Please report all accidents to the conference officer at the registration desk.

In case of fire …

• Press the nearest fire alarm button or the Emergency number 222 from any internal phone.
• A loud fire alarm will go off if an evacuation is required. On hearing the alarm leave the building immediately following the escape route and fire wardens and head to one of the meeting points
• Do not use the lifts.

Beyond first aid…

Please remember to bring your own medication, if needed, to the conference. Note that the next pharmacy is a 4-minute drive from the EMBL, but for many medications you will be required to see a doctor to get a prescription.

Ensure in advance that your medical insurance will cover you during your visit in the event that you do need to see a doctor while in Heidelberg. In any case, the EMBL Course and Conference Office will assist you to get to the pharmacy and a doctor of your choice if necessary.

Internet

Wi-Fi is available everywhere on the premises using the EMBL-Events network and the event specific password, which will be provided on site. The eduroam network (secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community) is also available.

Lost and found

‘’Lost and Found’’ are kept at the registration desk until the end of the conference.

Luggage

There are lockers available on-site to store your luggage, which require a 2 EURO coin to operate. There is another luggage room on level E0, which is free to use but remains unlocked during the conference.

Nursing room

There is a nursing room available in the ATC Rooftop Lounge on level A29.

Photography

During the conference an EMBL Photographer may be taking photographs. If you would not like to appear in these, please inform the photographer or a member of the Course and Conference Office.

Printing

We can help printing your boarding passes/train ticket. Please send it to events@embl.de and collect your print-outs at the registration desk.

Room for prayer, yoga and meditation

There is a room for prayer, mediation and yoga located on level E0 behind the Auditorium. Please be respectful of other participants using the room.

Sightseeing

A variety of activities in Heidelberg can be found on the website of Heidelberg Marketing.

Travel to and from the venue

During the event we provide conference shuttle buses to and from EMBL. In addition, there is the public bus 39A that serves the EMBL campus and taxis can be easily booked at any time. Information on the conference shuttle buses can be found on the individual event website and more detailed information on travelling to EMBL can be found on our Travel Information page.

Useful German expressions

Hello	Hallo
Goodbye	Auf Wiedersehen
Good morning	Guten Morgen
Good afternoon	Guten Tag
Good evening	Guten Abend
Good night	Gute Nacht
I’m sorry	Tut mir leid
Excuse me…	Entschuldigen Sie
How are you?	Wie gehts?
I’m fine thanks. And you?	Mir geht es gut , danke, und dir/Ihnen?
What is your name	Wie heisst du? Wie heissen Sie?
My name is	Ich heisse
Do you speak English	Sprechen Sie Englisch?
I don’t understand	Ich verstehe nicht
Please speak more slowly	Können Sie bitte langsamer sprechen
Thank you	Dankeschön
Where is the toilet?	Wo ist die Toilette?
Please call me a taxi	Bitte rufen Sie mir ein Taxi
How do I get to….?	Wie komme ich zum/zur…..?
A beer/two beers please	Ein Bier/zwei Bier bitte
A glass of red/white wine please	Ein Glas Rot/Weisswein bitte
The menu, please	Die Speisekarte, bitte
Is there a local speciality?	Gibt es eine Spezialität aus dieser Gegend?
I’m Vegetarian	Ich bin Vegetarier
It was delicious	Es war hervorragend
The bill, please	Die Rechnung, bitte
I have a headache	Ich habe Kopfschmerzen
I have a sore throat	Ich habe Halsschmerzen
My stomach hurts	Ich habe Magenschmerzen
I’m allergic to	Ich bin allergisch gegen
I need a doctor who speaks English	Gibt es einen Arzt, der Englisch spricht?

What’s included?

• Access to all the livestreamed talks
• Video library of the recorded talks during and after the event. Please note: at the request of individual speakers, some talks are not recorded.
• Facility to submit questions

Please note that only on-site participants are able to submit abstracts and participate in the poster sessions.

Event platform

We are using an event platform for this conference. More information about the platform will be shared ahead of the conference.

Guidelines

• Do not broadcast the conference to unregistered participants.
• You are encouraged to tweet and post about the event. Tweet unless the speaker specifically says otherwise, but be mindful of unpublished data. 
• Please do not capture, transmit or redistribute data presented at the meeting.

Additional information can be found in our Code of Conduct.

Health and well-being

It is important to stay healthy and move around, especially when you are attending an event virtually. We have put together a few coffee break stretches and yoga videos in the conference platform for you to enjoy during the event.

How to ask questions

Please use the Q&A function in the event platform.

If you have any other questions, you can go to the Help Desk in the event platform. Click on ‘more’ on the top menu and click Help Desk. 

Time zone

The programme is planned based on the Europe/Berlin time zone, unless otherwise stated. Please take your time zone into consideration when planning your attendance.

Please find additional information including FAQs, terms and conditions, COVID-19 safety policy and travelling to EMBL on our Information for Participants page.

COVID-19 information for onsite events at EMBL Heidelberg can be found in our COVID-19 FAQs.