Keynote-Speakers

A.B. is the director of the convergence science centre, an innovative partnership between Imperial College, the Institute of Cancer Research, and Cancer Research UK with a mission to bring together engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and medicine to develop innovative ways to address challenges in cancer research to benefit cancer patients (https://www.convergencesciencecentre.ac.uk/).

He is also a full professor and senior group leader at the Institute of Cancer Research and full professor at Imperial College London (https://www.icr.ac.uk/our-research/researchers-and-teams/professor-axel-behrens). He holds Honorary Professorships at Kings College London (London, UK) and Sun-Yat-Sen University (Shenzhen, China).

He received his PhD degree in Molecular Genetics from Vienna University and completed his postdoctoral training in the University Hospital in Zurich (Switzerland).

A.B.'s lab focuses on the mechanisms underlying cellular heterogeneity in cancer. Axel discovered an intricate network of communication between different types of cancer cells, which determines their functions and is essential for tumour growth. Axel also identified subpopulations of cancer cells that are particularly important for tumour malignancy, so-called cancer stem cells, and uncovered mechanisms that govern these cells, which resulted in the identification of new directions for therapy. Alongside his discovery science, Axel has pioneered technology innovation, with his inventions having applications in cancer therapeutics and diagnosis.

Marc Besselink (1976) is the professor of Pancreatic and Hepatobiliary (HPB) surgery at Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He studied at Utrecht University (Medicine) and as postgraduate at Oxford University (MSc Evidence Based Health Care) and Harvard Medical School (Surgical Leadership Program) in 2022. In 2002, he co-founded the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group (DPSG, www.pancreatitis.nl), in 2012 the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group (DPCG, www.dpcg.nl) in 2016 the European Consortium on Minimally Invasive Pancreatic Surgery (E-MIPS; www.e-mips.com), in 2019 the Global Audits of Pancreatic Surgery (GAPASURG, www.gapasurg.com) consortium, and in 2023 the European Consortium of Advanced Pancreatic Surgery (E-CAPS, https://e-caps.org). He was trained as a surgeon in Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Southampton. Marc has co-authored over 1000 peer-reviewed papers and has (co-)designed over 25 completed (e.g. LEOPARD-1 and -2, POINTER, CAMINO, PACAP-1, DIPLOMA-1 and -2, PANDORINA, VIDEOGO, PREOPANC-2, PREOPANC-3), ongoing (e.g. DIPLOMA-2x2 and -3, PICUS-2, PANCOSAR, PANACOTTA, PANENCA), and upcoming (PREOPANC-4, NEODISCO) randomized controlled multicenter trials in the field of pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, and hepato-biliary surgery. He is the current chair of the scientific committee of the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group, the 2025-2027 Past-President of EAHPBA, the co-lead of the 2023-2025 Multi-societal European Evidence-Based Guideline on Pancreatic Cancer, the Pancreas editor for Annals of Surgery, and the congress chair of “IHPBA 2030 The Netherlands”. You can follow Marc on BlueSky and X.

information forthcoming

Barbara Grünwald is a trained Molecular Biotechnologist with a PhD in Experimental Medicine from the Technical University in Munich. Following a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PMCC) in Toronto, she now holds dual appointments at the University Hospital Essen and at PMCC. Her work is centred around the premise that cancer heterogeneity at the cellular and spatial level is not random noise but a fundamental basis on which solid tumor tissues operate.  Current research in Grünwald lab is focused on tumor-host interactions in solid tumors with a particular emphasis on pancreatic cancer and tissue self-organizational mechanisms that underlie malignant behavior, immune function, and drug resistance. Her team applies a systems biology approach that combines traditional methods such as histopathology with state-of-the-art multimodal profiling techniques, applied to human tissues and patient-derived 3D models. In close collaboration with partners from the clinic, the Grünwald lab strives to develop mechanistic insights into tumor heterogeneity along with tools to effectively navigate this phenomenon during clinical decision making.

information forthcoming

"A senior pancreatic surgery consultant and research at Sahlgrenska University hospital and Gothenburg University with main interest in locally advanced pancreatic cancer. An ass.editor of EJSO, member of ISGPS group, ass editorial board of BJS and member of the HPB education and training committee of ESSO."