This spring, Irma M. Vlasac, PhD Student, had the opportunity to present their research at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026 in San Diego, California, one of the largest international gatherings of cancer researchers. Their abstract, “Characterization of high-grade serous ovarian cancer copy number alterations in Black and White Women,” was selected for an oral presentation in the Mini symposium session “Population Sciences at the Forefront 2: Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer Risk and Outcomes,” where they shared their work with researchers from across the field. Irma was also honored to receive the AACR–Barbara Campbell Creighton Scholar-in-Training Award, which recognizes outstanding early-career investigators and supports participation in the annual meeting.
This research represents a collaborative effort with Lucas Salas and Brock Christensen from the Department of Epidemiology, along with their collaborator Lauren Peres at Moffitt Cancer Center. Together, they are working to better understand genomic heterogeneity and racial disparities in high-grade serous ovarian cancer by analyzing copy number alterations in a diverse patient cohort.
Presenting this work at AACR was a meaningful opportunity to contribute to ongoing conversations about equity in cancer research and to connect with others working toward improving outcomes for all patients.
