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American Cancer Society-Jiler Professors & Fellows Conference

This conference boosts today’s ACS-funded early-career cancer researchers to be tomorrow’s leaders in cancer research. 

Watch the video to feel the energy, witness the impact of the Jiler Conference.

About the Conference 

The unique and exclusive ACS-Jiler Professors and Fellows Conference brings together ACS-funded postdoctoral fellowsClinician-Scientist Development Grant recipients, and ACS Professors (Clinical Research and Research Professor Awardees). 

"Our goals are to leverage the ACS ecosystem to showcase innovative cancer research, foster collaborations, and advance careers, all with the intent to end cancer as we know it, for everyone," says Bill Dahut, MD, chief scientific officer of ACS Discovery Science.

ACS Professors are an essential part of our ecosystem and specifically at the Jiler Conference. These seasoned mentors, who have already influenced many of today’s leaders in cancer research, attend the ACS-Jiler Conference to help train the next generation of ACS-supported cancer leaders. Through formal presentations and informal gatherings, they share their expertise, experiences, and wisdom in science, mentoring, and leadership in the advancement of cancer research.

Who Are ACS Professors?

ACS Professors are cancers leaders from across the country who have made seminal contributions that have changed the direction of cancer research, cancer care, or both. They are leaders at cancer centers and in academia, founders of companies, and recipients of prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize.

The ACS Research Professors and ACS Clinical Professors are the ACS's most prestigious research grants. The title can be used throughout the scientist's career, or as we say: “Once an ACS Professor, always an ACS Professor.”

The 2022 ACS-Jiler Conference in Dallas

About 80 ACS-funded postdoc and clinician scientist grantees and 23 ACS research professors attended the Fall 2022 conference with the theme “Trends in Cancer Discovery and Translational Research.” Scientific sessions were selected to showcase the ACS Extramural Discovery Science's diverse and innovative research portfolio and were considered highly engaging.

  • Precision oncology
  • Personalized interventions in cancer care
  • Cancer evolution
  • Cancer epigenome and RNA regulation
  • Cancer immunology

There were career development sessions, special programs, a poster reception, and many opportunities for networking.

Who Were the Jilers?

Harry Jiler founded the Commodity Research Bureau, Inc. with his brother Milton in 1934. It was one of the original commodity index providers, leading the way for many others like Dow Jones, UBS Bloomberg, and S&P Goldman Sachs.

Harry and his wife Elsa were lifelong residents of New York City. With no children, they left a significant part of their estate to the American Cancer Society for the purpose of establishing the Harry and Elsa Jiler Memorial Fund to help support the Professor Awards and a Professors Conference.

The Jilers valued creating intellectually stimulating environments to facilitate exchange of information and promote collaboration, so that’s been our guiding principle since the inaugural gathering of professors in 1999.