MIA team share learnings at two international conferences

The Melanoma Institute Australia team continues to play a leading role in advancing the frontiers of melanoma research, presenting new findings at two major international oncology conferences – the AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, and the EADO Congress in Prague.

AACR 2026

This year the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held their Annual Meeting in San Diego. The mission of AACR is to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication and collaboration. Over 23,000 people attended in person and online.

Prof Georgina Long AO delivered a thought-provoking presentation on tackling the ‘Third Space’ – patients resistant to current immunotherapies – and how we can accelerate the discovery of effective treatments and identify these patients earlier.

“It was a fabulous AACR meeting, densely packed with science and research that will help us tackle the third space in cancer – those people who are still dying. So pleased to prevent work on how we are tackling the third space at MIA.” – Prof Georgina Long

Dr Rebecca Simpson presented two posters on her research exploring the influence of the gut microbiome on neoadjuvant immunotherapy, generating significant interest and engagement from attendees.

EADO 2026

The MIA team world delivered important research results changing melanoma and cancer at the EADO, the world’s largest conference in dermato-oncology (skin cancers). The 22nd European Association of Dermato-Oncology (EADO) Congress was held in Prague, Czech Republic.

There was standing room only when Professor Georgina Long delivered the opening keynote lecture on vaccines for skin cancer, with a particular focus on melanoma.

Assoc Professor Inês Pires da Silva presented during a symposium session on how the location of melanoma metastases can influence the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

Recent MIA fellows, now working at other world-leading institutions, also presented research undertaken during their time at MIA. Dr Francis Proulx-Rocray shared insights into the Australian experience with neoadjuvant immunotherapy, while Dr Julia Ressler presented posters on two recent studies: genomic profiling to predict immunotherapy response in Merkel cell carcinoma, and immune-related hepatitis.