MPG Division Research Day and Symposium
2026 MPG Research Day and Symposium
April 29, 2026 | University of Minnesota | McNamara Alumni Center
Symposium Topic: Horizons in Homeostasis: Cardiac and Renal Pathology
We cordially invite you to attend the 2026 MPG Research Day and Symposium brought to you by the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Division of Molecular Pathology and Genomics (MPG). This year's symposium is titled Horizons in Homeostasis: Cardiac and Renal Pathology.
We are bringing together experts in laboratory medicine, pediatrics, nephrology and epidemiology to cover important aspects of cardiac and renal pathology. Keynote lectures will be given by Amy Karger MD, PhD and Michael Tsai, PhD with additional local talks and panel discussions.
Call for Poster Session Abstracts!
Students, staff, postdocs and faculty are encouraged to participate and submit an abstract for the 2026 MPG Research Day and Symposium poster session on April 29, 2026. Abstracts relevant to all areas of Molecular Pathology and Genomics are encouraged. Abstracts do not need to be specific to the symposium topic. Note that you must be available to present your poster on the day of the symposium. Poster viewing time over the lunch hour between 12:00-1:50 p.m.
Poster Awards: Three outstanding posters will be selected for $1,000 travel awards. Two poster awards will be decided by a panel of judges. One poster award will be a “People’s Choice Award” selected by all the attendees.
Abstract requirements: Your topic must be relevant to genetics/genomics, translational or clinical applications of biomarkers or computational aspects of genetics/genomics. Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and should include the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. No figures or tables are allowed in the abstracts. The abstract title and author list are NOT included in the abstract word limit.
Please email abstracts to Caroline Hallstrom at [email protected]
Abstract submissions due: Friday, February 27, 2026 11:59 PM CST
If your abstract is accepted, MPG will cover the poster printing charges
Agenda
- 9:00 - 9:30 am Check In
- 9:30 – 9:45 am Welcome and Introductions
- 9:45 am - 12:00 pm Session I: Hosted by Yanli Ding, MD, PhD
- 9:45 - 10:35 am Keynote Address: Amy Karger MD, PhD, FCAP, Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota
- 10:35 - 11:00 am Speaker 1: Sarah Kizilbash MBBS, MS, Associate Professor, Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota
- 11:00 - 11:25 am Speaker 2: Jesse Seegmiller PhD, DABCC, FADLM, Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota
- 11:25 am – 12:00 pm Panel Discussion
- 12:00 - 1:50 pm Lunch and Poster Session
- 2:00 - 4:45 pm Session II: Hosted by Anthony Killeen, MD, PhD
- 2:00 - 2:45 pm Keynote: Mike Tsai PhD, John H. Eckfeldt, MD, PhD Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota
- 2:45 – 3:30 pm Speaker 1: Harpreet Bhatia, MD, MAS, FACC, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, UC San Diego
- 3:30 – 3:55 pm Speaker 2: Tess Peterson PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
- 3:55 – 4:30 pm Panel Discussion
- 4:30 - 4:45 pm Poster Award announcements and Closing Remarks
Click Here To Register
Previous MPG Symposia
2025 MPG Symposium
April 2, 2025 | Northrop Building | UMN Twin Cities Campus
Symposium Topic: Unleashing Immunity: New Horizons in Cancer Treatment
We cordially invite you to attend the 2025 MPG Research Day and Symposium brought to you by the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Division of Molecular Pathology and Genomics (MPG). This year's symposium is titled Unleashing Immunity: New Horizons in Cancer Treatment. We are bringing together experts from the Masonic Cancer Center to cover two important aspects of cancer treatment, checkpoint inhibitors and immunotherapy. Keynote lectures will be Jeffrey Miller, MD and Ingunn Stromnes, PhD along with more local talks and panel discussions.
Agenda
- 8:45 - 9:45 a.m. Breakfast and Poster Viewing Session, breakfast treats, and check-in time
- 9:45 - 10 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
- 10:00 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. Session I: Immunotherapy and Cancer (Keynote speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Miller)
- 10:00 - 10:50 a.m. Keynote Address: Dr. Jeff Miller
- 10:50 - 11:15 a.m. Speaker 1: Dr. David McKenna
- 11:15 - 11:40 a.m. Speaker 2: Dr. Thane Kubik
- 11:40 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. Panel Discussion
- 12:10 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Poster Session
- 1:30 - 3:40 p.m. Session II: Checkpoint Inhibitors and Cancer (Keynote speaker: Dr. Ingunn Stromnes)
- 1:30 - 2:20 p.m. Keynote: Dr. Ingunn Stromnes
- 2:20 - 2:45 p.m. Speaker 1: Dr. Subree Subramanian
- 2:45 - 3:10 p.m. Speaker 2: Dr. Ajay Prakash
- 3:10 - 3:40 p.m. Panel Discussion 30 min
- 3:40 - 4:00 p.m. Poster Award announcements and Closing Remarks
2024 MPG Symposium
Neurodegenerative Diseases: from Preclinical Modeling to Therapeutic Targets
May 2, 2024 - Mayo Auditorium
11:00-11:30 Michael Koob (Dept. LMP, traumatic brain injury)
11:30012:00 Dongming Cai (Dept. Neurology, Director, Grossman Center for Memory Research, Alzheimer's disease)
12:00-12:30 Rocio Gomez (Dept. Neuroscience, Huntington's disease)
12:30-2:00 Poster Session in the Memorial Hall and Lunch in the atrium.
2:00-3:00 Keynote presentation Mark Cookson (NIA/NIH, Parkinson's disease)
3:00-4:00 Panel discussion and poster session awards
The symposium can be viewed via U of M MediaSpace here.
2023 MPG Symposium
2023 MPG Symposium
May 4, 2023, Weisman Art Museum
11:00AM – 12:30PM:
"Spatially distinct RHAMM-positive niches promote breast tumor invasion"
Dr. Andrew Nelson, University of Minnesota
"Spatial profiling of melanoma in immunocompromised patients"
Dr. Alessio Giubellino, University of Minnesota
"Using spatial proteomics to study immune topography"
Dr. Sean Tracy, University of Minnesota
12:30PM – 2:00PM:
Lunch Break and Poster Session
2:00PM – 2:45PM:
"The tumor-immune microenvironment in situ: a closer look"
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Svetomir Markovic, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
2:45PM – 3:15PM:
Panel Discussion
3:15PM – 4:00PM:
Social Hour/Networking
Poster Session Video Link
Poster Session Winners
-
1st: Jesenia Perez, Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology (MICaB)
“Establishing proteome divergence between high-grade serous ovarian tumors and their patient-derived xenograft experimental models” (Thomas lab) -
2nd: Kiel Tietz, Masonic Cancer Center, “Alternative polyadenylation as a therapeutic vulnerability in prostate cancer” (Scott Dehm lab)
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3rd: Samuel Pitzen, Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, “KLF5 drives basal cell identify to promote prostate cancer lineage plasticity” (Scott Dehm lab)
2021 MPG/CP Symposium
2020 MPG/CP Symposium
July 23, 2020
9:00–10:00 - Keynote Speaker 1: Colin Pritchard, MD, PhD
10:00–10:30 - Local Talk 1: Andrew Nelson, MD, PhD
The Ovarian Cancer Precision Medicine Initiative
10:30–11:30 - Keynote Speaker 2: Jochen Lennerz, MD, PhD
Medical Director, Center for Integrated Diagnostics, Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School
Assistant Pathologist, Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital