During the academic year, the Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Research Group holds monthly seminars featuring scientists and clinicians from various departments and institutions. The goal is to work collaboratively to translate key findings to novel therapies for this particularly challenging cancer type.
Seminars are held one Monday of every academic month, from 4-5 PM alternating between the Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses as well as Zoom. See the seminar schedule below.
Email [email protected] if you would like to be added to the OHNRG listserv.
Email [email protected] if you are interested in presenting at an OHNRG monthly seminar.
Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Research Group Monthly Seminar Schedule
Seminars are held one Monday per month from 4-5 PM, unless otherwise noted below.
Recordings may take several business days to be available.
2025/26 Seminar Schedule
9/29/2025
- Speaker: Harish Vasudevan, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Residence, Departments of Radiology, Oncology and Neurological Surgery at UCSF
- Talk Title: A GAP in space and time: Functional genomic approaches for neurofibromatosis
- Link to Recording - https://ucsf.box.com/s/d2iw905747x7nt7zv09wxbtxokntcjw8
10/20/2025
- Speaker: Matthew H. Spitzer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery & of Microbiology and Immunology
- Talk Title: Spatially Organized T Cell Responses Distinguish Oral Dysplasias that Progress to Cancer
11/3/2025
- Speaker: Zachary Steinhart, Postdoctoral Fellow, Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology
- Talk Title: Leveraging Genome-Scale CRISPR Screens to Uncover Therapeutic Targets in Cancer Immunotherapy
1/26/2026
- Speaker: Jovanka Gencel-Augusto, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco
- Talk Title: TBD
2/23/2026
- Speaker: Flora (Fatemeh) Momen-Heravi, DDS, PhD, MPH, MS, R. Earl Robinson Distinguished Professor of Periodontology at UCSF
- Talk Title: TBD
2024/25 Seminar Schedule
12/9/2024
- Speaker: Flora (Fatemeh) Momen-Heravi, DDS, PhD, MPH, MS, R. Earl Robinson Distinguished Professor of Periodontology at UCSF
- Talk Title: Personalized Medicine in Head and Neck Cancer: Insights into the Tumor Microenvironment
4/10/2025
- Speaker: Christopher McGinnis, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Ansuman Satpathy Lab at Stanford University
- Talk Title: Metastatic Cancer Immunology at Single-Cell Resolution
4/17/2025
- Speaker: Murad Mamedov, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Alex Marson Lab at UCSF
- Talk Title: Tumor Stress Surveillance by Unconventional T Cells: Cancer Target and Pathway Discovery
5/8/2025
- Speaker: Zachary Steinhart, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Alex Marson Lab at UCSF
- Talk Title: Leveraging Genome-Scale CRISPR Screens to Uncover Therapeutic Targets in Cancer Immunotherapy
2023/24 Seminar Schedule
11/13/2023
- Speaker: Darren Dumlao, PhD, Assistant Director of the Quantitative Metabolite Analysis Center at UCSF
- Talk Title: Quantitative Metabolite Analysis Center (QMAC): Leveraging State-Of-The-Art Mass Spectrometry Techniques to Understand Perturbations in Metabolism
- Link to Recording -https://ucsf.box.com/s/1oq3i32cqn1bvk4v7p72ulxaxdn4lo56
12/18/2023
- Speaker: Matthew Spitzer, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at UCSF
- Talk Title: Immune Responses and Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer
- Link to Recording -https://ucsf.box.com/s/122bkff5zpuzu4w23bn4peb9gc8xy8k0
1/29/2024
- Speaker: Roarke Kamber, PhD, Assistant Professor at UCSF
- Talk Title: Systematic Approaches for Investigating Tumor-Macrophage Interactions
- Link to Recording -https://ucsf.box.com/s/21jn2239umrf4xki3hhf7k18a0ycekbx
2/12/2024
- Speaker: Luc Morris, MD, MSc, FACS, Physician-Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Talk Title: Immune Equilibrium and Evasion in Head and Neck Cancer
3/11/2024
- Speaker: Jonathan Ostrem, MD, PhD, Assistant Adjunct Professor Department of Medicine at UCSF
- Talk Title: Small Molecules Take on Big Challenges: Cancer Chemical Biology
- Link to Recording -https://ucsf.box.com/s/exwg5xxq5ytz1jla2drtn6ghrjazdqxc
4/8/2024
- Speaker: TBD
5/20/2024
- Speaker: Michael Evans, PhD, Professor in Residence in the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
- Talk Title: Chemical Strategies to Expand the Therapeutic Window for Targeted Radiotherapies
6/10/2024
- Speaker: Thomas Ow, MD, Head and Neck Surgeon and Translational Researcher
- Talk Title: Searching for Vulnerabilities in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer
- Link to Recording - https://ucsf.box.com/s/e9twreljvvn5svje8kh93q24316xifxs
2021/22 Seminar Schedule
10/08/2021
- Speakers:
Alaa Ibrahim, PhD, Postdoc (Sarah Knox Lab), Department of Cell & Tissue Biology, UCSF
-and-
Baris Avsaroglu, PhD, Postdoc (Andrei Goga Lab), Department of Cell & Tissue Biology, UCSF - Talk Title: Understanding the complex and consequential relationship between nerves and cancer in the tumor microenvironment.
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/2021OHNRG
11/05/2021
- Speaker: Evgeny Izumchenko, MS, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology, University of Chicago
- Talk Title: Integrating Genomic Data for Cancer Biomarker Discovery and Therapy
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/2021OHNRG
01/21/2022
- Speaker: Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD, Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
- Talk Title: Diffuse Gliomas Remodeling of Neural Circuits in the Human Brain
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: to follow
02/18/2022
- Speaker: Sidharth Venkata Puram, MD, PhD, FACS, Assistant Professor, Division of Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
- Talk Title: Hybrid Epithelial/Mesenchymal States in Head and Neck Cancer
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: to follow
- Speaker: Diana Bell, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology, City of Hope Cancer Center
- Talk Title: Controversies and Emerging Entities in Skull Base
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: to follow
- Speaker: Renata Ferrarotto, MD,Associate Professor, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
- Talk Title: Novel Molecular Classification of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma with Therapeutic Implications
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: to follow
- Speaker:
- Talk Title:
- Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: to follow
Archived Seminars
2020/21 Seminar Schedule
09/11/2020
Speaker: J. Silvio Gutkind, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Diego
Talk Title: HNSCC in the New Era of Targeted and Immunotherapies
Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/OHNRGSeminars2020
10/16/2020
Speaker: Nisha D'Silva, BDS, MSD, PhD, Donald A Kerr Endowed Collegiate Professor of Oral Pathology, Professor of Dentistry, School of Dentistry and Professor of Pathology, University of Michigan
Talk Title: Oral Cancer: Corrupting the Microenvironment
10/16 Seminar not recorded
11/13/2020
Speaker: Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff, PhD, Professor, Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: TGFbeta Updates: Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, and Immunotherapy: Oh My!
Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/OHNRGSeminars2020
12/11/2020
Speaker: Michelle Arkin, PhD, Professor, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: Cancer Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery at the Small Molecule Discovery Center at UCSF
Link to Seminar: Distributed via OHNRG listserv
Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/OHNRGSeminars2020
01/22/2021
Speaker: Nan Jin, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: Therapeutic implications of non-canonical PIK3CA mutations in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
Link to Seminar: Distributed via OHNRG listserv
Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/2021OHNRG
02/12/2021
Speaker: Mekhail Anwar, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: Personalized Cancer Therapy Through In Vivo Sensing
Link to Seminar: Distributed via OHNRG listserv
Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/2021OHNRG
03/26/2021
postponed until further notice
Speaker: Aaron Tward, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco - 2019 OHNRG Team Award recipient (along with Jeff Bush, PhD)
Talk Title: Mechanisms of EphA2 Tumor Suppressor Activity in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
This seminar has been postponed until further notice
04/09/2021
Speaker: Matthew Spitzer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: TBD
Link to Seminar: Distributed via OHNRG listserv
4/9 Seminar not recorded
05/21/2021
Speaker: Rosemary Akhurst, PhD, Professor, HDFCCC and Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: Targeting TGFB signaling for oncology in mouse models – and translation to human
Link to Seminar: Distributed via OHNRG listserv
Link to Recording - MyAccess Login Required: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/2021OHNRG
2019/20 Seminar Schedule
09/06/2019 1:30-2:30pm
Parnassus
S-214
Speaker: Joseph Orenthung Humtsoe, PhD, Assistant Researcher, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Talk Title: Newly identified members of FGF-receptor 1 splice variant crosstalk with AXL/AKT axis in adenoid cystic carcinoma
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2019OHNRG
10/11/2019
Parnassus
N-721
Speaker: Baris Avsaroglu, PhD, Postdoc, Department of Cell & Tissue Biology
Talk Title: Mapping in vitro cellular interactions between cancer and normal cells via synthetic Notch ligand/receptor pairs
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2019OHNRG
11/08/2019
Parnassus
S-214
Speaker: Zhibin Cui, PhD, Postdoc, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Talk Title: HNSCC-associated caspase-8 mutations mediate resistance to apoptosis and up-regulation of immunosuppressive cytokines
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2019OHNRG
12/06/2019 1:30-2:30pm
Parnassus
S-214
Speaker: Rushika Perera, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy
Talk Title: Autophagy Facilitates Immune Evasion of Pancreatic Cancer by Downregulating MHC-I
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2019OHNRG
01/24/2020
Mission Bay
RH-102
Speaker: Vicente Planells-Palop, PhD, Postdoc, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Talk Title: Minimal mutational determinants of human squamous cell carcinoma
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Win2020OHNRG
02/14/2020
-NO SEMINAR-
03/13/2020
-NO SEMINAR-
04/10/2020
via Zoom
Speaker: Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff, PhD - 2019 OHNRG Team Award recipient (along with Alan Ashworth, PhD)
Talk Title: Functional Analysis to Stratify Human Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) Patients for PARP Inhibition
Link to Seminar: Link distributed via OHNRG listserv
05/08/2020
via Zoom
Speakers: Alain Algazi, MD, and Matthew Spitzer, PhD - 2019 OHNRG Team Award recipients
Talk Title: Determining the Characteristics of Immunotherapy-Responsive HNSCC Tumors by High-Dimensional Imaging of Archival Specimens
Link to Seminar: Link distributed via OHNRG listserv
2018/19 Seminar Schedule
09/21/2018
Mission Bay
RH-102
Speaker: ALAIN ALGAZI, MD, Associate Professor in Medicine
Talk Title: To Be Determined
Link to Seminar: not recorded
10/12/2018
Mission Bay
RH-102
Speaker: SIMON
Talk Title: "8th Edition of AJCC Staging Manual and Early Oral Tongue Cancer: Depth of Invasion and Margins"
Link to Seminar: https://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2018OHNRG
11/09/2018
Mission Bay
HD-160
Speaker: MARY HELEN BARCELLOS-HOFF,
Talk Title: "Mechanisms Endorsing Alternative End Joining for DNA Repair"
Link to Seminar: https://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2018OHNRG
12/14/2018
Parnassus
S-214
Speaker: DIANE BARBER,
Talk Title: "Dysregulated pH Dynamics: A
Link to Seminar: https://tiny.ucsf.edu/Fall2018OHNRG
01/11/2019
Mission Bay
HD-160
Speaker:
Talk Title: "Research in progress for squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC)"
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Winter2019OHNRG
02/15/2019
No Seminar
03/08/2019
Mission Bay
HD-160
Speaker: SARAH ARRON, MD,
Talk Title: "Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Bench to Bedside"
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Winter2019OHNRG
04/12/2019
Parnassus
S-214
Speaker: KYLE JONES, DDS,
Talk Title: "Characterization of Oral Epithelial Progenitor Cells Provides New Insights Into Head and Neck Cancer Stem Cell Biology"
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Spring2019OHNRG
05/10/2019
Parnassus
S-214
Speaker: YVONNE KAPILA, DDS,
Talk Title: "Interactions and mechanisms between oral microbes and oral carcinogenesis"
Link to Seminar: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/Spring2019OHNRG
2017/18 Seminar Schedule
09/22/2017
Mission Bay
GEN-N114
Neil Bhola Targeting Bromodomains to Overcome Therapeutic Resistance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
10/27/2017
Parnassus
No Seminar
11/17/2017
Mission Bay
GEN-N114
Andrew Beardsley BAIAP2L1/YAP Interaction Senses Integrin Disengagement and Modulates Response to EGFR Inhibition In NSCLC
12/15/2017
Parnassus
N-225
Aaron Tward Modelling
01/26/2018
Mission Bay
RH-102
Arun Wiita Enhancing tumor antigen-specific immunotherapy through new target discovery and forced target expression
02/23/2018
Parnassus
N-217
Robert Flavell Applying PSMA and new PET imaging approaches in head and neck cancers
03/23/2018
Mission Bay
RH-102
Davide Ruggero Translating the cancer genome one codon at a time and its therapeutic implications
04/27/2018
Parnassus
S-214
JEREMY CHANG Insights into oncogene addiction using
05/25/2018
Mission Bay
HD-160
Danielle Swaney (due to technical difficulties this seminar was not recorded) Quantitative multidimensional characterization of protein-protein interactions in head and neck cancer
06/22/2018
Parnassus
No Seminar
2016/17 Seminar Schedule (inaugural year)
09/23/2016
Mission Bay
Seminar not Recorded
Alain Algazi
Dan Johnson
Clinical immuno-oncology and options for translation in head and neck cancer at UCSF
Biomarkers and Chemoprevention for Head and Neck Cancer
10/28/2016
Parnassus
Seminar not Recorded
Yvonne Kapila
Andrei Goga
Biomedical Applications of Bacteriocins
Targeting the MYC Pathway in Head & Neck and Other Cancers
12/16/2016
Mission Bay
Seminar not Recorded
Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff
Aaron Tward
Tumor progression in HNSCC
03/10/2017
Mission Bay
Link to joint recording
Sue S. Yom
Jennifer Grandis
Radiation for Head and Neck Cancer: Clinical Landscape and Research Opportunities
How to Get and Renew a Head and Neck SPORE
05/26/2017
Mission Bay
Link to joint recording
Sarah Knox
Andrei Goga
Understanding the Impact of Nerves on Head and Neck Cancer
Targeting the MYC Pathway in Oral, Head, and Neck Cancers
06/23/2017
Parnassus
Link to joint recording
Matthew Spitzer
Rosemary Akhurst
Quantitatively Modeling Immune Responses to Cancer
Modeling checkpoint blockade using heterogeneous chemically induced carcinoma