The Science of Childhood Cancer is an interactive, weekly lecture series designed to engage the scientific community on key questions in pediatric cancer research. The Spring 2026 lecture season will run February 5 through May 14. You may register below for future seasons of the series, hosted by the St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Invited speakers are leading experts across the spectrum of basic, translational, clinical and population science. The Rising Stars of Cancer Research lecture in the 15-week series will feature thematically related talks by two early- to mid-career investigators conducting exciting and innovative work in the field.
Lectures occur each Thursday from 12 pm – 1 pm Central time / 1 pm – 2 pm Eastern time and are often followed by an extended Q&A session. Available recordings will be posted the week following the live event.
Hosts
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- Executive Vice President
- Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center
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- Co-Leader, Hematological Malignancies Program
- Medical Director, St. Jude Biorepository
Upcoming lectures
February 5, 2026
Developing CAR T Cell Therapies for Children’s Cancers
Crystal Mackall, MD
Professor, Stanford University
February 12, 2026
Lecture topic TBA
Charles Mullighan, MBBS (Hons), MSc, MD
Member, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
February 19, 2026
Backtracking leukemia to its origins
John Dick, PhD, FRS
Professor, University of Toronto
February 26, 2026
Tracing the origins of childhood cancer through genome sequencing
Tim Coorens, PhD
Research Group Leader, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI)
Machine learning-based prediction of alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) identifies a novel dependency in ATRX-mutant ALT-positive pediatric solid tumors
Lily Guenther, MD
Assistant Member, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
March 5, 2026
The CHARM of it all: Cell-free DNA sequencing for Hereditary And High-Risk Malignancies
Trevor Pugh, PhD, FACMG
Professor, University of Toronto
March 12, 2026
The neuroscience of childhood brain cancers
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD
Professor, Stanford University
March 19, 2026
Accessing Innovative Medicines for Children and Adolescents with Cancer
Steven DuBois, MD
Professor, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
March 26, 2026
Predicting and Preventing Late-occurring Adverse Outcomes in Childhood Cancer Survivors
Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH
Distinguished Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
April 2, 2026
April 9, 2026
GD2-CART01 for pediatric solid tumors: achievements, challenges and future directions
Francesca Del Bufalo, MD, PhD
Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital
April 16, 2026
Exploring the role of somatic mtDNA mutations in acute leukemia
Mondira Kundu, MD, PhD
Member, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
April 23, 2026
Developing immune cell therapies for cancer: historical insights, current applications, and pathways to broader impact
Dario Campana, MD, PhD
Professor, National University of Singapore
April 30, 2026
How blinatumomab changed B-ALL therapy and what comes next
Rachel Rau, MD
Associate Professor, Seattle Children’s Hospital
May 7, 2026
Lecture topic TBA
Nickhill Bhakta, MD, MPH
Associate Member, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
May 14, 2026
Targeting Fusion-driven Cancers
Kim Stegmaier, MD
Professor, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
Comprehensive Cancer Center
St. Jude is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children.
