1. A LESSON OF UNITY IN A WORLD OF DIVISION
by Laura Escudero
We are living in difficult times of change and instability, where
terrorism, division and isolation of nations are a reality. However,
these past four days I was taught some important lessons: one of
unity, collaboration and the will to help others.
Scientists from around the world gathered together at the 24th
biannual meeting of the European Association for Cancer Research
from 9th
-12th
July in Manchester, UK. The meeting was a success: 1470 researchers from 61 countries
were welcomed at EACR24. The content of the talks and poster presentations was intellectually
stimulating and were delivered with the highest quality. There were plenty of opportunities for
interaction, meeting new people and setting up new collaborations.
Scientists are famous for being unsociable and independent but the reality is completely different.
We all come from different places and cultures. We all have different occupations: mathematicians,
bioinformaticians, physicists, biologists, chemists and clinicians but we pursue the same goal: cure
cancer.
Cancer affects everyone in the world, directly or indirectly, and it does not discriminate. Similar to
our world, cancer is not static, it is dynamic and evolves. There isn’t just one universal solution, and
scientists know that the key to success is UNITY. Only together we will cure cancer. Together, we are
stronger.
I feel proud to belong to a community where everyone is respected and can learn from each other. A
community that asks questions, listens and respects the opinions of others. No matter how young or
senior, where you come from, we work towards the same goal: cure cancer.
I have learnt the importance of being part of a great organisation such as the EACR. They facilitated,
coordinated and organised the conference that enable us to gather together, share information and
establish collaborations. This way we can tackle the problem from different angles and be a step
closer to success.
For all this, I am sincerely grateful to the EACR for the meeting bursary that allowed me to be part of
this fantastic conference. I learnt a lot and it taught me important lessons that I want everyone who
suffers from cancer to know: one of unity, collaboration and the will to help others.
Laura Escudero
PhD student, Cardiff University.
escuderol@cardiff.ac.uk