Move beyond the AI hype and learn how Large Language Models (LLMs) and Agentic workflows may reshape translational research and patient care. This is a fast-paced educational session designed specifically for a clinical and translational audience that aims to demystify complex computational concepts and discuss the potential real-world utility of artificial intelligence in modern medicine. Through a series of expert-led lightning talks, we will explore how AI is evolving toward autonomous research assistants, and examine the possible future impacts on areas such as drug discovery, clinical trials, and diagnostic workflows.

The wide variety of tools now available for profiling clinical samples (including single-cell, spatial, proteomic, and other high-dimensional platforms) creates opportunities but also poses challenges for interpretation and actionable insight. Not all profiling is equally valuable, and particularly in settings with limiting tissue, it’s important to consider how the total data package fits together. In this session, Genentech scientists will discuss some perspectives on study design, sampling, and assay selection from both computational and experimental perspectives.  The goal is to provide practical considerations to support design studies that generate integrated, decision-enabling data packages that maximize translational impact. Around 20 minutes will be reserved for “office hours” for any investigators who want to discuss specific questions.

Session Chair: 

     Stefan Frings (Roche)

Presenters/Panelists:

    Bruno Gomes (Roche)
    Ina Rhee (Genentech)
    Fred de Sauvage (Genentech)
    Vaios Karanikas (Roche)
    Elli Papaemmanuil (Genentech)

imCORE Essentials

Publications

imCORE Portfolio

Roche Pipeline

imCORE RFPs 

What is a Data Camp? 

Decoding the Ecosystem 

Theme: Tumor Microenvironment, Spatial Biology, and Novel Therapeutic Mechanisms

This session groups abstracts that utilize high-resolution profiling (Spatial Transcriptomics, scRNA-seq) to dissect the TME, as well as preclinical studies investigating new therapeutic targets (Treg depletion, oncolytic viruses, mRNA vaccines) and cell engineering.

Despite significant advances with checkpoint inhibition, durable immune control remains limited for many patients with NSCLC, and the causal mechanisms of resistance are still not fully defined. This workshop will examine how to distinguish true drivers of CPI resistance from downstream correlates and how to strengthen biomarker strategies to guide development. The discussion will then turn to T-cell engagers, drawing lessons from their development in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors such as prostate cancer and SCLC to inform strategy in NSCLC. A central goal of the session is to identify high-impact opportunities for future imCORE proposals.

Framed by Roche–Genentech’s strategic investments in HR+ breast cancer, this workshop will examine critical unresolved biological questions and showcase emerging translational work poised to accelerate progress and drug development in HR+ breast cancer.

This workshop will explore evolving strategies in lymphoma treatment, including second-line approaches for DLBCL with bispecifics or CAR-T, retreatment after targeted therapies, frontline trial design innovations, and management of post-BTKi progression in CLL and MCL.

This workshop will cover emerging multiple myeloma strategies, including bispecifics, dual-antigen targeting, MRD- and risk-adapted therapies, and translational insights into T-cell fitness, exhaustion, and immune monitoring

Beginning with a high-level overview of our current CRC pipeline, this workshop will explore the complex interplay between oncogenic signals—such as the WNT and MAPK pathways—and the immune microenvironment. We will examine how these factors drive tumor heterogeneity and shape therapeutic responses to therapies

Join us for a dynamic workshop that tackles two pressing challenges in prostate cancer: 1) Unlocking the anti-tumor immune response by comparing the current therapeutic landscape and mechanisms of checkpoint inhibitors versus T-cell engagers and other immune-based modalities, and 2) A fireside chat on the evolving biology of AR signaling in metastatic prostate cancer. We will explore emerging clinical and molecular insights, discuss what they reveal about AR pathway dynamics, and highlight critical knowledge gaps along with innovative strategies to address them."

This workshop will contribute to enhanced patient care by advancing your comprehension of how translational data informs future treatment decisions. Furthermore, the workshop is designed to facilitate the exploration of trial design considerations and molecular mapping strategies aimed at overcoming therapeutic resistance.
 

The ADC Workshop will provide an introduction to antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), including an overview of Genentech’s ADC history. It will highlight recent advances in understanding better determinants of therapeutic index (TI), the impact of conjugation site and drug load (drug-to-antibody ratio, DAR), provide a review of both legacy and next-generation payloads as well as explore new technologies for making ADCs.
 

This workshop will explore emerging strategies in cancer vaccine development, including vaccines targeting cryptic/dark matter antigens and KRAS, biomarkers for monitoring vaccine responses, and applications in the metastatic setting.

This workshop will tackle the rapidly evolving field of RAS-targeting cancer therapeutics, emerging themes in RAS biology, and opportunities to shape the future clinical landscape. Discussions will highlight context-dependent mechanisms that span tumor-intrinsic and extrinsic biology across cancer types, with a focus on translational and clinical implications.

This workshop will examine preventive approaches to manage treatment-related toxicities. It will cover ICI toxicity case studies, early learnings from a small molecule + ICI program, and emerging toxicities with RAS-targeted agents. Participants will evaluate biomarkers and models (e.g., organoids) to identify high-risk patients and discuss a pan-oncology framework and trial designs to generate robust clinical evidence.