New computational opportunities and challenges have emerged within the cancer research and clinical application areas as the size, source, and complexity of cancer datasets have grown. Simultaneously, advances in computational capabilities, with exceptional growth in AI and deep learning, are reaching unprecedented scales. A special emphasis for the 2021 workshop is computational approaches to develop digital twin capabilities of relevance to cancer research and clinical applications. Such efforts span many key areas in cancer including multi-scale modeling, radiation oncology, and precision cancer treatments.

This Seventh Computational Approaches for Cancer Workshop 2021 (CAFCW21) will bring together a wide-range of individuals including clinicians, cancer biologists, mathematicians, data scientists, computational scientists, engineers, developers, thought leaders and others with an interest in advancing the use of computation to better understand, diagnose, treat and prevent cancer. As an interdisciplinary workshop, the sharing of insight and challenges fosters collaborations and future innovations accelerating progress in computationally and data-driven cancer research and clinical applications.  

This workshop will be held in conjunction with SC21.The CAFCW21 is highly relevant to SC given the pervasive interest in cancer applications of high performance computing among conference attendees. The workshop further sustains a special topics track to attract new attendees to the conference, as the role of computation in cancer raises in visibility as well as obtainability. The topic of cancer is, unfortunately, a topic that touches everyone, attracting participation across all demographic, geographic, professional and organizational classifications. The workshop continues a well-established record of inclusivity by maintaining a diverse organizing committee, maintaining substantial cross-interest representation on panels within the workshop and actively engaging participants from all backgrounds.

Background

High-performance computing (HPC) has been and will continue to be a key component of cancer research. Industry, academic and government interest is demonstrably high with ongoing commitments, new announcements, advances and new opportunities involving cancer and computing. One need only review recommendations provided by the National Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel to confirm the increasingly visible and critical role computing and HPC in particular will play in accelerating cancer research objectives. As HPC-related efforts from projects funded through the 21st Century Cures Act begin to mature, the workshop will provide an ongoing avenue for new computational approaches involving HPC at all scales to be shared with the growing community.

Over the past seven years, the CAFCW has brought together cancer researchers and advanced computing scientists to share ideas and challenges, establish collaborations and identify common needs. Despite being virtual, last year’s workshop had 11 paper presentations, 17 posters and more than 130 attendees. Last year’s successful call for papers will result in a special supplement published in BMC Bioinformatics later this year. In previous years, the workshop has been at room capacity, and one of the teams that has presented the progress of its work throughout the workshop series was awarded the SC19.

Submission guidelines

The workshop specifically takes efforts to include international participation to foster international collaborations as well as takes steps to assure gender balance on invited panels and as presenters. To encourage broad participation, the workshop maintains an open call for submissions of papers focused on application of computational approaches to cancer challenges for consideration to present at the workshop.

Authors are invited to submit abstracts in English for consideration by the program committee. Abstracts may be submitted either as brief or extended abstracts. Brief abstracts will be considered for 15-minute presentations, while extended abstracts will be considered for presentations up to 30 minutes.

• Brief abstract guidelines: Submitted in English with a length up to 500 words.
• Extended abstract guidelines: Submitted in English, structured as preliminary technical papers of a length up to four letter-size pages (not including bibliography).

Include a bibliography and use the IEEE format for conference proceedings. Submissions not conforming to these guidelines may be returned without consideration or review.

Abstracts will be reviewed and judged on originality, technical strength, integration of computational approaches and cancer research topics, general alignment to expressed cross-disciplinary aims of the workshop and anticipated interest to workshop attendees. Abstracts will also be considered for specific alignment to the special workshop topic of AI and HPC: Overcoming Data Challenges in Cancer Research and Clinical Applications.

Submissions received after the due date, exceeding the prescribed length or not appropriately structured may also be returned without consideration or review. In submitting the abstract, the authors acknowledge that at least one author of an accepted submission must register for and attend the workshop.

Abstracts should be submitted electronically as PDF documents.

Contact

Petrina Hollingsworth, JDACS4C Community Engagement Manager: petrina.hollingsworth@nih.gov.