Seven UH Cancer Center researchers present groundbreaking science at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting

Approximately 23,000 scientists, students, researchers, advocates and community members gathered to advance cancer science at annual conference in San Diego

April 2026

Seven researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center were selected to present groundbreaking science through panels and/or poster presentations at the prestigious American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in April in San Diego.

The presenters were Drs. Bharat Singh, Flavia Novelli, Lenora Loo, Jangsoon (Jason) Lee, Youping Deng and Hikaru Murakami; and Michelle Nagata, MS, PhD candidate, Cell and Molecular Biology, and graduate assistant. UH Cancer Center Director Dr. Naoto T. Ueno also participated as his research was widely featured in multiple presentations. Over 23,000 people attended the conference April 17-22 to focus on advancing cancer science to save lives globally.

AACR is the first and largest cancer research organization dedicated to accelerating the conquest of cancer. This year, the AACR Annual Meeting was held in San Diego, CA from April 17-22, 2026. The focus was on precision, partnership, and purpose, with “Advancing Cancer Science to Save Lives Globally” as the theme.

Seven UH Cancer Center faculty, students, postdocs, and research team members were selected to present their work through poster presentations at the Annual Meeting. Furthermore, The UH Cancer Center’s Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC) data was well represented at the Annual Meeting as researchers from across the nation, including California and New Jersey, utilized MEC data within their highlighted projects at AACR. The UH Cancer Center’s research was highlighted throughout the six days of the Annual Meeting, demonstrating the rigorous and cutting edge research conducted in Hawaiʻi:

1. Dr. Bharat Singh, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Cancer Biology Program at the UH Cancer Center, presented a poster at the Annual Meeting. “My presentation at the AACR 2026 highlighted the isoform-specific roles of JNK1 and JNK2 in regulating the progression of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) using a well-established PyMT-N mouse model,” Dr. Singh said. “Our findings demonstrate that tumor-intrinsic JNK1 and JNK2 promote tumor growth via fostering a TSLP-mediated immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, whereas JNK signaling from surrounding non-tumor cells is not essential for disease progression.” These results identify JNK1 and JNK2 as potential therapeutic targets for TNBC.
2. Michelle Nagata, MS (PhD candidate, Cell and Molecular Biology, and graduate assistant, UH Cancer Center) had a poster presentation within the “Epidemiology: Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Patterns, and Methodology” session of the Annual Meeting. She said that her poster highlighted “the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer in the United States, a trend driven by increases in rectal and sigmoid colon cancer incidence across all demographic and socioeconomic groups. Notably, incidence and survival trends vary significantly by histologic type.” Furthermore, the work spotlights the need to uncover the factors driving these increases in early-onset colorectal cancer in the U.S. Nagata’s research will investigate the biological and environmental mechanisms underlying early-onset colorectal cancer to inform prevention and intervention efforts.
3. Dr. Flavia Novelli, Director, Senior Scientist, Department of Cancer Biology, UH Cancer Center, presented work that investigated the cytotoxic and carcinogenic potential of Northern Nevada environmental fibers and assess whether BAP1 genetic status modifies susceptibility within mesothelioma. Dr. Novelli’s poster went over the results and concluded that certain environmental fibers from Northern Nevada were carcinogenic and that BAP1 germline mutations increase susceptibility to fiber-induced mesothelioma in vivo.

Additional UH Cancer Center attendees and presenters included:

1. Dr. Lenora Loo, Professor, Cancer Biology Program, UH Cancer Center, “Expression of 27-hydroxycholesterol metabolizing enzymes and breast cancer clinicopathological characteristics: The Multiethnic Cohort Study,”
2. Dr. Jangsoon (Jason) Lee, Associate Professor, Director of Preclinical Core, UH Cancer Center, “CD44v9-targeted antibody-drug conjugate as a novel therapy for advanced breast cancer,”
3. Dr. Youping Deng, Cancer Biology Program, UH Cancer Center, “piRNA-5939 drives lung cancer progression via PIWIL3-mediated post-transcriptional regulation,”
4. Dr. Hikaru Murakami, “A novel ferroptosis-related lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA genes signature for predicting prognosis and tumor immune microenvironment in endometrial cancer,”
5. Dr. Naoto Ueno, Director, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center.

UH Cancer Center’s engagement in AACR and other cancer and scientific field-related conferences provides avenues to highlight the groundbreaking research conducted here to national and international audiences, while also providing spaces for co-learning and future collaborations.

AACR’s mission is to prevent and cure cancer through various priorities including research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy/advocacy, and funding for cancer research. According to AACR estimates, more than 23,000 attended the Annual Meeting this year from 74 countries and territories, with nearly 250 clinical trials presented at the meeting. Additionally, the meeting has been mentioned by more than 4,500 authors, thus generating 176.5 million impressions online and counting. Attendance and participation in the AACR Annual Meeting provides the UH Cancer Center a large national and international audience to discuss the groundbreaking research conducted at center in Honolulu — the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in the Pacific region — as well as provide opportunities for future collaborations.

Dr. Flavia Novelli, Director, Senior Scientist, Department of Cancer Biology, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center.

From left: Drs. Naoto Ueno, UH Cancer Center Director; and Jangsoon (Jason) Lee, Associate Professor, Director of Preclinical Core, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center.

Dr. Bharat Singh, postdoctoral fellow, Cancer Biology Program, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center.

Dr. Bharat Singh, right, Director, postdoctoral fellow, Cancer Biology Program, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, discusses his poster with a fellow AACR attendee.

From left: Michelle Nagata, MS, PhD candidate, Cell and Molecular Biology, and graduate assistant; and Dr. Lenora Loo, Professor, Cancer Biology Program, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center.

Michelle Nagata, MS, PhD Candidate Cell and Molecular Biology, Graduate Assistant, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center

Michelle Nagata, MS, PhD Candidate Cell and Molecular Biology, Graduate Assistant, University ofHawaiʻi Cancer Center discussing her project and poster with fellow AACR attendees.

Learn more about the UH Cancer Center’s Multiethnic Cohort Study.

Learn more about the American Association for Cancer Research.