Huntsman Cancer Institute to Host 2027 Frontiers Symposium

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah will host the second Frontiers Symposium on February 10–12, 2027, bringing together national leaders from research, clinical care, policy and industry. The meeting, titled “AI, Access, and Action: Transforming Cancer Care Delivery,” will take place at the Marriott in downtown Salt Lake City and build on the first symposium in the series, held in 2025. Its stated focus is discussion of artificial intelligence, geographic access to cancer care, digital health and public-private partnerships in cancer prevention, detection and treatment.

The symposium program will include presentations on using AI in cancer prevention and care delivery, addressing distance as a barrier for rural communities, overcoming challenges to innovation through public-private partnerships, optimizing digital health strategies and transforming patient navigation. These are announced discussion topics rather than research findings. The release does not report new study results, clinical outcomes, effect estimates or evidence that any particular AI or digital-health intervention has improved cancer prevention or care. Its scope is a multidisciplinary conference for leaders and specialists to exchange perspectives and engage with emerging approaches to cancer care delivery.

David C. Rhew, MD, Global Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Health and Life Sciences at Microsoft, and Robin Vanderpool, DrPH, chief of the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute, are the announced keynote speakers. Tracy Onega, PhD, MA, MPAS, MS, senior director of population sciences at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of population sciences at the University of Utah, and Thomas Varghese, MD, MS, MBA, FACS, MAMSE, associate chief medical quality officer and chief value officer at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor and chief of general thoracic surgery at the University, will serve as co-chairs. Featured speakers listed in the announcement include Thomas Osborne, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Microsoft; Electra Paskett, PhD, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in The Ohio State University College of Medicine; Roy Jensen, MD, vice chancellor and director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center; David Wetter, PhD, MS, senior director for Cancer Health Implementation at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of population health sciences at the University of Utah; and Peggy Han, PharmD, vice president of Customer Engagement at Genentech. Shane Jacobsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society, is listed as a tentative featured speaker, and panel discussions are part of the program.

Huntsman Cancer Institute characterized the event as an opportunity for scientists, clinicians and computational experts to discuss how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies could transform cancer prevention, diagnosis and care. Neli Ulrich, PhD, MS, chief scientific officer and executive director of the institute’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor of population health sciences at the University of Utah and a member of the symposium program committee, said: “By bridging disciplines and sectors, we can push boundaries, accelerate the translation of innovative approaches into meaningful clinical advances, and unlock new possibilities for understanding, preventing, and treating cancer.” The institute is an National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. It reports more than 400 open clinical trials and 300 research teams studying cancer at any given time. Registration and the call for abstracts are available through the symposium website.

Subject of Research: A 2027 multidisciplinary symposium on artificial intelligence, access and cancer care delivery

Article Title: Huntsman Cancer Institute to host Frontiers Symposium on AI, Access, and Action: Transforming Cancer Care Delivery

Article References: Huntsman Cancer Institute to host Frontiers Symposium on AI, Access, and Action: Transforming Cancer Care Delivery. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: Huntsman Cancer Institute, artificial intelligence, cancer care delivery, digital health, rural health, patient navigation, public-private partnerships, cancer prevention, clinical research, University of Utah, Huntsman, Cancer