UF Health Cancer Institute experts presented innovative research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, held April 17-22 in San Diego. The AACR Annual Meeting is one of the largest and most prestigious cancer research conferences, drawing more than 22,000 attendees from around the world. The theme of this year’s conference focused on precision, partnership and purpose.
With more than 40 presentations across the full continuum of cancer research, UF Health Cancer Institute researchers are driving progress in cancer science and medicine. Check out highlights of our participation below.
Microbiome and Cancer
Researchers in the lab of Christian Jobin, Ph.D., co-leader of our Immuno-Oncology and Microbiome research program, found the gut microbiota influences chronic sleep deprivation-induced colorectal cancer progression and treatment response.
Graduate student Maria Hernandez presented the research during a mini-symposium on Microenvironmental Determinants of Tumor Evolution and Immune Escape.
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Immunomodulatory Effects of Targeted Therapies
The lab of Mohammed Gbadamosi, Ph.D., presented three studies on chemoimmunomodulation in triple-negative breast cancer, the deadliest breast cancer subtype with a median survival of less than 24 months in advanced cases.
Cancer Control and Population Sciences
The UF Health Cancer Institute had nearly a dozen posters covering the full cancer control continuum, from prevention through to care delivery and survivorship. Dejana Braithwaite, Ph.D., associate director for population sciences, discusses how the research is moving from insights to impact.
mRNA Therapeutics
Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., co-leader of our Immuno-Oncology and Microbiome research program, is pioneering personalized and universal mRNA vaccines to wake up the immune system against cancer. The research was highlighted during an AACR symposium on cancer vaccines presented by Adam Grippin, who trained at UF’s Preston A. Wells Center for Brain Tumor Therapy and now works at MD Anderson.
This week, Sayour was interviewed about his research for a CNN article.
Clinical Trial Referral Patterns
UF Health Cancer Institute member Carma Bylund, Ph.D., presented her research examining how community and academic oncologists navigate referrals to academic centers, including for clinical trial enrollment. The work was formative for the UF Health Cancer Institute’s Enhancing Connection and Enhancing Communication for community oncologists (ECCO) study.
Drug Combinations
A new drug targeting triple-negative breast cancer overwhelms cancer cells with fat-like molecules called ceramides. The drug targets an enzyme known as CerS2, which increases the production of ceramides and stresses cancer cells. The research was led by UF Health Cancer Institute member Satya Narayan, Ph.D., and presented at AACR. Read story.
Precision Prevention
An association between a key cellular pathway and connective tissue in the breast could ultimately lead to new strategies to prevent breast cancer early on, UF Health Cancer Institute researcher Lusine Yaghjyan, M.D., Ph.D., and collaborators found.
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Cancer Disparities
For decades, Black American patients have had a higher incidence and higher mortality of laryngeal cancer than patients of other races, particularly Black men. The disparity appears even when accounting for sociodemographic factors like income, insurance status or education.
Researchers led by UF Health Cancer Institute member Kristianna Fredenburg, M.D., Ph.D., presented evidence of differences in gene regulation based on ancestry. The findings could inform more precise treatments by identifying genes to be targeted with drugs and predicting how patients will respond to cancer treatment.
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UF Health Cancer Institute member Shama Karanth, Ph.D., used the SEER database to study data from more than 6,000 patients with tonsillar cancer. She looked at how incidence and mortality rates differ by income group and rurality. Read more.
Novel Therapeutic Modalities
UF Health Cancer Institute researchers led by Weizhou Zhang, Ph.D., co-leader of our Mechanisms of Oncogenesis research program, created a novel drug that shows promise for the treatment of aggressive, treatment-resistant forms of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
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Anti-Tumor Immunity
Using a novel small-molecule drug to target aging cells, UF Health Cancer Institute researchers led by Weizhou Zhang, Ph.D., discovered a new way to activate the immune system against the most common type of adult kidney cancer.
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Novel Molecular Mechanisms Driving Cancer Metastasis
Graduate student Seyedeh Alaleh Anvar, who received an AACR Scholar-in-Training Award, presented her research as part of the Novel Molecular Mechanisms Driving Cancer Metastasis mini-symposium. Her talk focused on how therapy-induced senescent cancer cells actively promote metastasis through adhesion-mediated clustering and immune modulation. Read more.
New Frontier in Rare Cancer
For the first time, UF Health Cancer Institute member Jon Hyuk Kim, D.V.M., Ph.D., and Donghee Lee, Ph.D., performed comprehensive genomic profiling of angiosarcoma cells, analyzing hundreds of genes in specific cell types and studying how they interact with each other and with the environment.
The work could open new frontiers in treatment for angiosarcoma, which occurs only in about one per million people each year in the United States and has a five-year survival rate of only about 40%.
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Insights in Ovarian Cancer Cell Pathways and Treatment
UF Health Cancer Institute researchers led by Shuang Huang, Ph.D., identified new therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer, which has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers.
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