Cancer Research Day 2026
Hosted by the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research, Cancer Research Day is Purdue’s premier annual gathering of the cancer research community. This flagship event brings together faculty, postdoctoral researchers, students and trainees from across disciplines to share discoveries, foster collaboration and celebrate advances in cancer research.
Keynote Speaker
The 2026 event will feature keynote speaker Alex Toker, professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, whose research has helped define how the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway drives cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. His keynote lecture will explore how oncogenic PI3K/AKT signaling rewires cancer cell metabolism to reveal new therapeutic vulnerabilities and emerging strategies for targeting difficult-to-treat cancers.
Alex Toker is a professor in the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and associate director of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
EVENT PROGRAM
The day’s agenda will include:
- Distinguished keynote presentation
- Scientific poster session
- Excellence in Research Presentation Awardees will deliver oral presentations
- Networking opportunities with researchers across Purdue’s cancer research community
Abstract submissions for the trainee oral presentation competition and poster session will open in late August 2026. Additional event details and registration information will be made available during the Fall 2026 semester.