COURSE:

Microbiology of Cancer

A GRADUATE LEVEL CERTIFICATION TRAINING PROGRAM

Lectures, workshops & clinical case presentations designed for Master’s, PhD, PharmD, MBBS, MD students.

Lectures are hosted on Zoom, free to participants and begin
August 25, 2026, at 8:00AM EST/ 2:00PM CET/ 5:30PM IST

LIMITED SEATING FOR LECTURES SO EARLY REGISTRATION IS RECOMMENDED.

REGISTER HERE

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The objective is to deliver a microbial perspective of cancer.

By delving into the pathogenesis and epidemiology of cancers associated with microorganisms, molecular biology of the infective agents, screening tools and procedures, prevention and therapeutic approaches in clinical oncology involving both conventional and experimental strategies to treat these tumors.

There will be discussions of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) tools and models that are integral for connecting the microbiome with cancer onset, progression, and treatment response.

Curriculum Overview

Distinguished speakers will deliver lectures in this course. The lectures and clinical case presentations will be held remotely via Zoom.

Each talk is expected to be for 50-minutes with additional 10 minutes for Q&A.

MODULE ONE:
General Overview, Pathogenesis & Epidemiology

- Course Objectives, Importance & Outline
- Oncogenic Viruses
- Microbe- induced Transformation and Oncogenesis
- Host-Pathogen Interaction
- Epidemiology of Cancer
- Role of Microbiome in cancer initiation, promotion & progression

MODULE TWO:
HPV and Cancer

- Module Introduction
- Historical Perspective and Epidemiology of HPV
- HPV- mediated Oncogenesis & Host-Pathogen Interaction
- Invasive & Non-invasive Screening modalities for HPV
- Treatment of HPV associated Cancers, including Precision Management
- HPV Vaccination

Upcoming Modules: Role of HCV, HBV, EBV, other viruses, bacteria and microbiome in cancer.

Microbiology of Cancer with NGS and Bioinformatics Primer for Clinicians and Basic/Translational Scientists

Organized by the Department of Precision Medicine, AIIMS-Bhopal and Global Cancer Consortium Hybrid Mode

SCHEDULE

All courses will be held on Zoom at
8:00AM EST/ 2:00PM CET/ 5:30PM IST

Date TBA: Hands-on Workshop on NGS for clinicians at the Department of Precision Medicine, AIIMS-Bhopal

Date TBA: Clinical Case Presentation and Molecular Tumor Board Dr Saikat Das, MD, PhD, AIIMS-Bhopal

August 25, 2026 - Foundational Lectures

  • Course Objectives, Importance & Outline:
    Dr Vivek M Rangnekar, PhD, Markey Cancer Center, KY, USA,
    and Dr Debasis Biswas, MD, FRCP, AIIMS-Bhopal, India

  • Oncogenic Viruses and Implications in Therapeutics:
    Dr Priya Abraham, MD, PhD, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India

August 25, 2026 - Lecture Topic for Workshop

  • Overview of Technologies for Analysis of Microbe- associated Cancers:
    Dr Sharmila Sengupta, PhD, ICMR and Saroj Gupta Hospital
    & Research Centre, Kolkata, India

September 1, 2026 - Foundational Lectures

  • Microbe-induced Transformation and Oncogenesis:
    Dr Susanta Roychoudhury, PhD, ICMR and
    Saroj Gupta Hospital & Research Centre, Kolkata, India

September 1, 2026 - Lecture Topic for Workshop

  • NGS workflows from Raw data to clinical reports:
    Dr Vinod Scaria, MBBS, PhD, Karkinos Healthcare, Bengaluru, India

September 2, 2026 - Foundational Lectures

  • Host-Pathogen Interaction:
    Dr Hridayesh Prakash, PhD, Amity University, Noida, India

September 2, 2026 - Lecture Topic for Workshop

  • Bioinformatics for Clinicians: Requirements of Workstation
    and Data Storage/Backup, Linux Essentials:
    Dr Jinpeng Liu, PhD, Markey Cancer Center, Kentucky, USA

September 8, 2026 - Foundational Lectures

  • Epidemiology of Infection-related Cancers:
    Dr Partha Basu, MD, PhD, IARC, Lyon, France

September 8, 2026 - Lecture Topic for Workshop

  • Quality Control, Alignment & Variant Calling Concepts:
    Dr Jinpeng Liu, PhD, Markey Cancer Center, Kentucky, USA

September 9, 2026 - Foundational Lectures

  • Role of Microbiome in Cancer Initiation, Promotion and Progression:
    Dr Dipali Sharma, PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA

September 9, 2026 - Lecture Topic for Workshop

  • Variant Interpretation in Clinical Context:
    Dr Vinod Scaria, MBBS, PhD, Karkinos Healthcare, Bengaluru, India

September 10, 2026 - Foundational Lectures

  • Novel Insights in RNA and DNA Tumor Viruses:
    Dr. Vincent R. Racaniello, PhD, Columbia University, New York, USA

September 10, 2026 - Lecture Topic for Workshop

  • VUS/Negative Reports - Periodic Reanalysis & Reclassification:
    Dr Vamshi Yenamandra, PhD, IISc, Bangalore, India

September 22, 2026 - HPV-Focused Lecture Module

  • Course Objectives, Importance & Outline:
    Dr Rama Rao Damerla, PhD, MAHE, India

  • Historical Perspective and Epidemiology of HPV:
    Dr Krystle Kuhs, MPH, PhD, Markey Cancer Center, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

September 29, 2026 - HPV-Focused Lecture Module

  • Molecular Biology of HPV-mediated Oncogenesis:
    Dr Karl Munger, PhD, Tufts University Boston, Massachusetts, USA

  • Host-Pathogen Interaction:
    Dr Lou Laimins, PhD, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA

September 30, 2026 - HPV-Focused Lecture Module

  • Invasive & Non-invasive Screening Modalities for HPV:
    Dr Debasis Biswas, MD, FRCPath, AIIMSBhopal, India

October 6, 2026 - HPV-Focused Lecture Module

  • Treatment of HPV-associated Cancers, including
    Precision Management in Head and Neck Cancer:
    Dr Sarbani Laskar, MD, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India

  • HPV in Cervical Cancer and Vaccination:
    Dr Abraham Peedicayil, MD, CMC Vellore, India

COURSE DETAILS

  • The course will comprise of:
    A foundational module providing a general overview of microbial pathogens and oncogenesis, their epidemiology and how their composition differs across various tissue sites, as well as their epidemiology, prevention, treatment, and control. Each subsequent module will be dedicated to an in-depth description of oncogenic viruses, such as Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV), and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and their contribution to cancer.

  • The curriculum will also cover:
    The role of bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori and other microbes, including the microbiome in cancer development, examining how microorganisms can alter the host’s immune system and influence the effectiveness of immunotherapies.

  • Additional concepts covered:
    Dysbiosis and the tumor microenvironment, as well as microbiome modulation by dietary modifications, probiotics, and microbiota transplantation and emerging microbe-based therapies involving oncolytic viruses and engineered bacteria will be covered.

  • Course modules include workshops, clinical case presentations, seminars by invited experts in the field and clinical case presentations.
    These varying modalities for learning allow the course participants to hear from clinicians involved in patient care and connect the concepts to clinical practice by bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

Have Questions?

Please get in touch through the contact form.

Course Copyright

The lectures are delivered online and remain the intellectual property of the faculty member who delivered them. Access is provided only to those who register for the course. Individuals enrolled in the course may use the original content for their learning and completion of course requirements. Course recordings may not be reproduced, shared with anyone, or uploaded to other online environments. Trainees are not permitted to re-record the video and audio recordings of the course material. Downloading, copying, photographing or distributing them is prohibited. Trainees registered for the course are expected to maintain the security of their internet accounts used to access the recorded course materials.