ASTRA 2025

Event description

The inaugural Asia-Pacific Spatial Translational Research Alliance (ASTRA) meeting will be held in-person from November 19-21 at the Rydges Resort, Hunter Valley, NSW. We have invited outstanding international and national speakers to contribute through a series of talks, debate and activities.

The ASTRA initiative aims to build a 2000+ pan-cancer atlas from the APAC region at a spatial resolution (as collaborative project between The Garvan Institute of Medical Research and University of Tokyo). This initiative aims to identify oncofetal cells and therapy response. We would like to invite you to the inaugural ASTRA meeting in 2025 where we will share key projects, discuss working groups, and invite partners from across the APAC region.

Event Schedule - Please click here to access the event schedule.

Conference Date: Wednesday 19th November 2pm - Friday 21st November 2025 5pm

Venue: Rydges Resort Hunter Valley, 430 Wine Country Drive, Lovedale NSW

Abstracts: Abstracts may be submitted via the below link, submissions close 5th November 2025

https://forms.gle/eUQPiRY7UsyGGwoH8

Getting to the Rydges Resort, Hunter Valley

Public Transport
You can catch a suburban train from Sydney to Morisset Station, using your Opal/Credit card to pay. Connecting buses run to Cessnock twice a day, one early in the morning and one in the evening. The whole journey takes around three hours. Regional TrainLink trains run between Sydney and Maitland, with regular buses running to Cessnock. The trip takes around 4.5 hours, and you’ll need to book ahead.

The Hunter Line starts in Newcastle and trains run to Maitland (30 minutes) and Singleton (1hr), where you can transfer to Cessnock. It also connects towns in the Upper Hunter, like Paterson and Dungog. You can use your Opal card to pay on this line as well.

Car, Taxi & Uber
The most direct route from Sydney to the Hunter Valley is via the M1 motorway. Head north out of the city, then follow the Cessnock/Hunter Valley Vineyards exit sign to Cessnock. This drive takes around two hours. For a scenic road trip, exit the M1 at Calga (just past Gosford) and take Tourist Drive 33 through historic Wollombi and then on to Pokolbin. This drive takes around 2.5 hours.

On-Site Parking
The Rydges Resort Hunter Valley has free on-site parking for all delegates.

Accommodation

The hotel has kindly extended a discount on accommodation for guests of the conference. Please follow these steps to book accommodation.

Please see instructions below on how to access your rates from the Rydges website (https://www.rydges.com/accommodation/regional-nsw/hunter-valley/)
1. Enter your date range (19-21 November) and guest numbers
2. Click "I have a code"
3. Enter code Garvan in the "Block Code" field
4. Click "Check Rooms" and your rates will appear on the screen

Organisers:

Ankur Sharma

Yutaka Suzuki

Platinum Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsors:

Photo/Video Disclaimer

By booking a ticket to this event, you acknowledge and agree that photographs and video may be taken during the event, and consent to the use of your image by the event organisers for promotional and marketing purposes. If you do not wish to have your photo or video used, please contact the event organiser prior to the event.

Should you have any queries regarding the event, please email astrameeting@garvan.org.au