The second Canadian Symposium on Telomeres and Genomic Integrity will be held on May 28-31, 2014 near Quebec City. The on-site organizer for this symposium is Dr. Jean-Yves Masson from Laval University. The Symposium is an evolution of previous Canadian Symposiums on Telomeres and Telomerase, a bi-annual meeting that was running since 1997 and that has expanded to attract and bring together a wider audience with interests in telomere maintenance and genomic integrity. Both fields converge on critical pathways in the onset and progression of cancer and aging and the added benefit from the enlarged topic is invaluable. This year, we have two internationally renowned keynote speakers: Dr. Peter Baumann (Stowers Institute, Kansas City MO) and Dr. Andre Nussenzweig (National Cancer Institute, USA), both mentors and role models for young investigators. Peter Baumann's research focuses on telomere maintenance, DNA repair and chromosome stability using both fission yeast and mammalian cells as model systems. Andre Nussenzweig aims to uncover the cellular mechanisms that detect DNA damage and repair DNA in order to maintain genome integrity. The organizers are excited at the opportunities and interactions that this meeting will bring for the fundamental, clinical and translational research aspects of cancer.