The third Canadian Symposium on Telomeres and Genomic Integrity will be held on May 24-27, 2016 at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta. The on-site organizers for this symposium are Drs. Tara Beattie, Jennifer Cobb, and Aaron Goodarzi. The Symposium is an evolution of previous Canadian Symposiums on Telomeres and Telomerase, a bi-annual meeting held since 1997. This expansion has been successful in bringing together a larger audience with interests in telomere maintenance and genomic integrity. Both fields converge on critical pathways involving cancer and aging and the added benefits from broader topics are extremely valuable in an era of collaborative research. This year, we have two internationally renowned keynote speakers: Dr. Steven Artandi (Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California, USA) and Dr. Philippe Pasero (Institute of Human Genetics-CNRS, Montpellier, France), both who are mentors and role models for young investigators. Steven Artandi's research focuses on telomerase, stem cells, cancer, and aging. Philippe Pasero aims to understand how genomic instability arises in normal cells and the role of replication stress during early events that lead to tumorigenesis. The organizers and participants are enthusiastic about the opportunities and interactions that this meeting will bring for the fundamental, clinical and translational aspects of cancer research.