The Physical Science of Cancer GRS provides a unique forum for young doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to present their work, discuss new methods, cutting edge ideas, and pre-published data, as well as to build collaborative relationships with their peers. Experienced mentors and trainee moderators will facilitate active participation in scientific discussion to allow all attendees to be engaged participants rather than spectators.
Cancer initiation and progression emerge not only from genetic alterations but also from dynamic physical interactions between cells and their microenvironment. The 2027 Gordon Research Seminar on the Physical Science of Cancer will focus on how mechanical forces, tissue architecture, collective cellular behaviors, and multicellular interactions regulate oncogenic transformation, tumor evolution, and disease progression.
Recent advances reveal that cancer-relevant phenotypes arise from dynamic interactions among epithelial, stromal, and immune cells mediated through force transmission, spatial organization, and tissue remodeling. Cutting-edge experimental and theoretical approaches now enable interrogation of how cell–cell interactions regulate collective migration, mechanical signaling, cell-state transitions, and the emergence of heterogeneity during tumor initiation and progression. Bringing together researchers at the interface of physics, engineering, and cancer biology, the seminar will examine tumors as evolving multicellular systems shaped by physical constraints and cooperative cellular dynamics across scales. Discussions will focus on how tissue mechanics and multicellular organization influence cell fate decisions and disease outcomes.
By fostering the exchange of unpublished work and new conceptual perspectives, the meeting aims to advance an integrated physical and biological understanding of cancer while strengthening collaborations among the next generation of researchers in the field.
Application Instructions
The seminar will feature approximately 10 talks and 2 poster sessions. All attendees are expected to actively participate in the GRS, either by giving an oral presentation or presenting a poster. Therefore, all applications must include an abstract.
The seminar chair will select speakers from abstracts submitted by November 1, 2026. Those applicants who are not chosen for talks and those who apply after the deadline to be considered for an oral presentation will be expected to present a poster. In order to participate, you must submit an application by the date indicated in the Application Information section above.
Program Format
Gordon Research Seminars are 2-day meetings which take place on the Saturday and Sunday just prior to the start of the associated GRC. The GRS opens with a 1-hour introductory session on Saturday afternoon, followed by a poster session, dinner and a 2-hour session in the evening. Sunday morning begins with breakfast and is followed by another 2-hour session, a second poster session, and lunch. A final 1-hour session takes place just after lunch, and the associated GRC begins later that evening.
