AICRIstart Researchers Showcase Work at the AACR Annual Meeting 2025
We are pleased to share that two AICRIstart PhD researchers, Panagiotis Sarametidis from Dublin City University and Saoirse Flanagan from the University of Limerick, recently participated in the prestigious American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, held in Chicago.
Their attendance was made possible through the AICRIstart Innovation Fund, a key initiative supporting early-career researchers in accessing training and opportunities that accelerate the development of their cancer research. We thank the Higher Education Authority for funding this activity under the Shared Island Initiative via the North-South Research Programme.
Panagiotis Sarametidis (DCU)
Working under the guidance of Dr Naomi Walsh, Panagiotis’ PhD project focuses on predicting therapeutic responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in homologous recombination-deficient (HRD) pancreatic cancer. His research integrates 3D organoid-immune
co-culture systems and blood-based biomarker discovery to more accurately model immunotherapy responses in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Sharing his experience of the AACR conference, Panagiotis noted:
”I am grateful for the additional funding provided by AICRI, which facilitated my attendance at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois, a prestigious event in the field of cancer research. The financial support covered travel and accommodation costs, essentially allowing me to attend the conference and engage with the global scientific community. My participation in the AACR meeting proved to be an invaluable experience, both professionally and intellectually. I had the opportunity to attend a wide range of keynote presentations and mini-symposia, interact with leading experts in oncology, and engage in meaningful discussions in immunotherapy, tumour microenvironment modelling, and precision medicine.Exposure to novel methodologies and translational strategies has expanded my understanding and will directly influence my ongoing research. Furthermore, the chance to network with fellow researchers and potential collaborators has laid the foundation for new opportunities in future academic and clinical partnerships. I am truly thankful for AICRI’s ongoing commitment to supporting early-career researchers.”
Saoirse Flanagan (UL)
Saoirse is pursuing her PhD at the University of Limerick under the supervision of Dr Catríona Dowling (RCSI), with Professors Paul Murray (UL) and Jarushka Naidoo (RCSI/Beaumont Hospital) as co-supervisors. Her research examines metabolic vulnerabilities in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) driven by KRAS co-mutations, aiming to inform novel treatment strategies for aggressive subtypes of the disease.
Sharing her experience of the conference, Saoirse noted:
”I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the AACR taking place in Chicago this year.While I have previously thoroughly enjoyed other conferences taking place in Ireland, I was blown away with the sheer scale of the AACR, I don’t think I’ll be able to look at an Irish conference the same again. It led to having to run between conference rooms to attend the talks that were most fitting for my project, my usual step count was doubled for the duration of the conference.
It was incredibly beneficial listening to experts in the field of metabolism and immunotherapy speak about their work. While they were presenting years of their data, it gave me lots of inspiration for how I would like to finish out my experiments for my PhD project. The highlight of my visit to the AACR was having the opportunity to present my poster on Tuesday morning. I was incredibly nervous while setting up, but as soon as the first attendee had arrived, all fear vanished, as everyone was so lovely, very complimentary of my work and full of insightful questions. I’ve never had the opportunity to speak that closely with other researchers in the cancer metabolism field, and after 3 hours of continuous interaction, my voice was hoarse, but the experience was very validating and reinforced my confidence in discussing my results. Chicago itself did not disappoint, it is a beautiful city and yes, its deep-dish pizza lived up to the hype! Overall, the experience was the largest confidence booster that will carry me through to the end of my PhD. I would like to say a huge thank you to AICRI for giving me the opportunity to attend. I think this may be my highlight of the last 3 years.”
Both Panos and Saoirse exemplify the calibre and ambition of the AICRIstart cohort. We are proud to support their continued development as part of AICRI’s commitment to nurturing a new generation of cancer research leaders across the island of Ireland.
Stay tuned for more updates from our AICRIstart programme as our researchers continue to share their work on the global stage.
