Markey Cancer Center Research Day
Markey Cancer Center Research Day is an exciting and informative event that showcases the innovative cancer research projects happening across all disciplines at the University of Kentucky. This single-day event provides a platform for the UK research community to share their work and collaborate with others. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a poster session, attend oral presentations, and hear from experts during the Susan B. Lester and Gilbert H. Friedell, MD, Memorial Lectures.
CANCER RESEARCH DAY
Presented by Markey Cancer Center and Markey Cancer Foundation
2025 MARKEY CANCER RESEARCH DAY
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
UK Gatton Student Center
A recap of 2024's event is available on UKNow.
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RESEARCH DAY
- Abstracts are limited to 525 words or less.
- Tables and illustrations should be kept relatively simple.
- Type size, lines, and symbols in illustrations should be sufficiently large and bold to be comprehensible from a viewing distance of up to 6 feet.
- Each poster should contain a top panel containing the title of the abstract and the names of the authors.
- Illustrative material should be arranged in a logical order from top-down and left-to-right.
- The poster board assigned to each presenter has a usable area of 8 feet in width and 4 feet in height.
- Pushpins will be provided.
Gilbert H. Friedell Memorial Lecture
Monica L. Baskin, PhD
Deputy Director, Research
Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor and Associate Dean for Cancer Innovation
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Monica L. Baskin, PhD is a Professor and Associate Dean for Cancer Innovation in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and Deputy Director, Research at the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has previously served in senior leadership roles in other NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. Dr. Baskin received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology from Emory University, and a Master of Science in community counseling and Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Georgia State University. She is a licensed psychologist whose research focuses on advancing health equity related to cancer and other chronic diseases. Her research utilizes community-engaged methods to better understand and address individual, family, and environmental factors associated with the prevention and control of disease. For over two decades, her research program has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and other regional and local foundations and government agencies. Dr. Baskin is a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research (ABMR). She is past president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) and currently serves as Chair of the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Continuous Update Project Global Expert Committee on Cancer Incidence.
About Gilbert H. Friedell
In 1983, Dr. Friedell became the first director of the UK Markey Cancer Center, beginning a legacy of cancer care that continues to grow and make a difference in the lives of Kentuckians every day. At Markey, he co-founded the Kentucky Cancer Registry – now one of the premiere SEER databases in the country – and served as the principal investigator of the National Cancer Institute’s Mid-South Cancer Information Service, a cancer education program that provides easy-to-understand information for cancer patients, survivors, health care providers and more.
Dr. Friedell was a passionate advocate for programs that provided education and increased access to healthcare for the medically underserved, particularly in Appalachian Kentucky. He famously believed that “If the problems are in the community, the solutions are in the community.” With this in mind, he helped launch Kentucky Homeplace, an initiative that has linked tens of thousands of rural Kentuckians with medical, social and environmental services since it began in 1994.
Though he retired from UK in 2000, Dr. Friedell’s influence is still felt strongly in the overarching mission of our cancer center: to conquer cancer in the Commonwealth. We at Markey are proud to uphold the vision and values of Dr. Friedell, building upon his contributions to public health as we continue to care for Kentuckians with cancer.
Susan B. Lester Memorial Lecture
Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil
Director, Abramson Cancer Center
John H. Glick, MD Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Professor
Vice Dean, Cancer Programs, Perelman School of Medicine
Vice President, Cancer Programs, University of Pennsylvania Health System
University of Pennsylvania
Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, is a distinguished laboratory scientist, clinician, and cancer leader who has deciphered mechanisms of cancer immune surveillance and developed novel cancer immunotherapies such as CD40 agonists with a particular focus on pancreatic cancer. He is an expert in the use of genetic mouse models of cancer and a leading architect of immunotherapy clinical trials to understand mechanisms and advance novel therapies. At Penn, Dr. Vonderheide has helped create Penn Medicine’s Immune Health® program for immuno-profiling. Funded by the NCI, SU2C-Lustgarten Foundation, and the Parker Institute, Dr. Vonderheide has published senior author manuscripts in Nature, Nature Medicine, Science, Lancet Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Nationally, Dr. Vonderheide is an elected member of ASCI and AAP, serves on the NCI Board of Scientific Advisers, is a member of the boards of directors for American Association of Cancer Research, American Association of Cancer Institutes, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
About Susan B. Lester
The family and friends of Susan B. Lester endowed a lectureship in her honor, and it is this generous donation that makes the Markey Cancer Center Research Day possible.
Mrs. Lester left an indelible mark on her world, serving as a clinical dietician for Eastern State Hospital and for nursing home patients in Eastern and Central Kentucky.
This symposium benchmarks recent advances in cancer research and thus honors Mrs. Lester by underscoring both her generous life and the brave battle she fought against this disease.
Faculty presentation will be announced in the Spring.
Morning
| 8 – 8:30 a.m. | Registration and Breakfast |
| 8:30– 9:30 a.m. | Student Oral Presentations |
| 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. |
Faculty Oral Presentations
|
| 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. | Poster Presentation #1 |
| 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Lunch Break |
Afternoon
| 12:15 – 1:30 p.m. | Poster Presentations #2 |
| 1:30 – 2: 30 p.m. | Gilbert H. Friedell, MD, Memorial Lecture |
| 2:30 – 2:40 p.m. | Break |
| 2:40 – 2:45 p.m. | Markey Women Strong Awards presented by Markey Cancer Foundation |
| 2:45 – 3:15 p.m. | "State of the Cancer Center" by Markey Director, B. Mark Evers, MD |
| 3:15 – 4:15 p.m. | Susan B. Lester Memorial Lecture |
| 4:15 – 4:25 p.m. | Poster and Mentor Awards Presentation |
| 4:30 p.m. | Reception |
Schedule subject to change as details are confirmed.
Markey Cancer Center Research Day (MCCRD) is a single-day event showcasing current cancer research projects throughout all disciplines at the University of Kentucky.
The UK research community will have the opportunity to share its work in an atmosphere of learning and collaboration throughout the day via:
- Poster Session
- Oral presentations (invited from abstract submissions)
- Exhibit Hall/Luncheon
- State of the Cancer Center Address
- Susan B. Lester Memorial Lecture
- Gilbert H. Friedell, MD, Memorial Lecture
Prizes are awarded to graduate students and to post-doctoral fellows for the best posters in categories such as basic science, clinical, translational, population-based and more.
In addition to the poster competition, the judges select abstracts to be presented during the morning oral presentations from among from graduate students, post doctoral fellows and junior faculty members.
Presented by the Markey Cancer Center and the UK Markey Cancer Foundation.
For questions or assistance, please contact Mindy Ross, Events Coordinator for Education and Research.
