Conferences and seminars

CCBIO Junior Scientist Symposium March 10, 2026


Bilde
Owl pointing to the symposium name and date.
Photo: CCBIO, Ingvild Festervoll Melien, Colourbox, Lars A. Akslen group

Welcome to CCBIO's first Junior Scientist Symposium for 2026, March 10! Lunch is included, just remember to register within the deadline – and for the course code CCBIO901 in Studentweb for the term.

Dear all

We are pleased to invite you to the first CCBIO Junior Scientist Symposium of the year, which will take place at Nucleus, in the main hall at Eitri (9th floor), on Tuesday, March 10, 2026!

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Dr. Luiza Mihaela Ghila, who will present “Decoding the predictive cancer signatures in the urothelium.” With her characteristic, elegant, and methodologically rigorous approach, she will address molecular features of the urothelium and discuss their potential role in cancer prediction and progression. 
Following the keynote, a selection of talented junior scientists from our faculty will present their ongoing research projects: Amalie Isabel Merkesvik will speak about health economic evaluations of lung cancer interventions and their relevance for universal health coverage in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Dewaki Chhetri will discuss new perspectives on limbal stem cell deficiency and its clinical implications. The last two talks of the symposium will focus on breast cancer. First, Palesa Mamohaw Pilo Chabunya will present data on breast cancer outcomes in southern Malawi, with a focus on clinicians’ and patients’ perspectives on detection and prognosis. To conclude the symposium, Mari Eskild Rasmussen will take a more molecular perspective, addressing the expression of BCL2 in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and its potential relevance for endocrine treatment response.

We believe this symposium will inspire rich discussions in a dynamic, collaborative atmosphere and offer a wonderful chance to meet and learn from researchers across diverse fields. 
 

When

March 10, 2026, at 09.00-13.00

Where

Eitri (external link)Nucleus, Eitri 9th floor

Registration

Please use this registration link for the Junior Scientist Symposium March 10 (external link)
Open to both junior and senior researchers as well as students.

Program

09.00-09.15: Coffee, welcome, and introduction

09.15-10.00: “Decoding the predictive cancer signatures in the urothelium” Keynote lecture by Luiza Mihaela Ghila

10.00-10.20: Coffee break

10.20-10.45: “Universal Health Coverage of Lung Interventions: A Health Economic Evaluation of Six Treatments Across 82 Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries” by Amalie Isabel Merkesvik

10.45-11.10: “Rethinking Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency” by Dewaki Chhetri

11.10-12:00 Lunch (free of charge, register by March 6 at 11.00)

12.00-12.25: “Outcomes of breast cancer in southern Malawi; the effect of early detection on prognosis” by Palesa Mamohaw Pilo Chabunya

12.25-12.50: “BCL2 expression as marker of endocrine sensitivity in hormone receptor positive breast cancer” by Mari Eskild Rasmussen

12.50-13.00: Concluding remarks

Hege Fredriksen Berg and Manuel Carrasco Fernandez are coordinators of the junior symposia and are planning and chairing these meetings. Any questions can be addressed to them.

NOTE: you also need to register in Studentweb before the term deadline (Feb. 1) if you need the ECTS. The course code for this course is CCBIO901 (external link).

The JUSS

The CCBIO Junior Scientist Symposium represents an integrated part of the CCBIO Research School for Cancer Studies. This is a seminar series that aims to improve scientific interaction and networking among junior researchers.

Program and registration link will be announced on this page. If you are a student, also remember to sign up for the subject CCBIO901 (external link) in Studentweb, so that you can get the ECTS registered. Read more here.

The symposia are held four times annually, and the first seminar took place on June 11th 2014. 

This symposium is an arena where PhD candidates and postdocs gain experience with oral presentations and academic discussions. The meetings have proved to be an excellent place for young researchers to get input for potential collaborations in ongoing and future projects.

The program has covered a broad range of topics, from basic studies to clinical research. Further, trial lectures have been presented, and invited speakers from research groups outside of CCBIO have also presented their projects. Each symposium has a format where 3-5 PhD candidates and postdocs present their research, followed by short discussions.