The FERO Foundation has announced in Barcelona the winning projects of its latest scholarships: the XXVI and XXVII FERO Scholarships, the VI FERO-MANGO Project in Breast Cancer and the III Dr. Baselga Scholarship. On this occasion, they have been distributed 540,000 euros between the four awarded researchers, to help them carry out their projects. This edition of the scholarships proposes projects to improve knowledge about different types of tumors and, in this way, improve existing treatments or even develop new alternatives, in cases where there are currently not many options.
The official delivery of the 2024 aid took place during a charity dinner held in Barcelona, at the Drassanes Reials, on June 10, attended by about 800 people. The event was attended by prominent personalities from the scientific and social fields. “For the FERO Foundation it is a pride to continue supporting cancer research in our country. It is through science that we will be able to continue improving the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, and we are convinced that in the future we will be able to achieve a cure” commented Silvia Garriga, president of the FERO Foundation, who was also accompanied by vice presidents Sol Daurella and Angie Miquel.
In this edition, the XXVI and XXVII FERO Scholarships and the VI FERO-MANGO Project are endowed each with 80,000 euros, to carry out their translational research project over the course of two years. For its part, The III Dr. Baselga Scholarship is endowed with 300,000 euross. Unlike the other FERO grants, which seek to promote the work of young researchers, This last scholarship is intended for researchers with projects with a very short-term impact on the clinic, and with it we want to honor the figure of this great cancer researcher, Josep Baselga, died in 2021.
During the charity dinner, which served to raise funds for researchIn addition to announcing the different winners of the FERO Foundation grants, the important collaborative work that is being carried out with leading research centers in our country was explained. “We currently have an agreement with the Vall d’Hebron Institut d’Oncologia (VHIO) of Barcelona, the Research Institute (INCLIVA) of Valencia or the Foundation for Biomedical Research of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital (i+12 Foundation), which we allocate one million euros annually. They will now be joined by what we will also start with the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona,” added Silvia Garriga.
The SMART-T project or how to bring cell therapies to solid tumors
He Dr. Luis Álvarez-Vallina, researcher of Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid and the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), on this occasion has been the selected for the III Dr. Baselga Scholarshipwith the project SMART-T, which seeks to overcome the defenses of solid tumors in order to use cellular therapies in their treatment. “These types of therapies are working very well in hematological tumors, but only some type of cell therapy works in solid tumors, due to the heterogeneity of the tumor cells that compose them and their ability to evade the immune system. What we want is to ensure that they can also be useful in the latter,” explains Dr. Álvarez-Vallina.
The project will use different advanced technologies to modify and direct T lymphocytes isolated from the patient’s peripheral blood. In this way, they will be provided with a series of tools that will allow them to act on different targets and that can, at the same time, attract other cells of the immune system that are not T cells. In addition, their effectiveness will be tested in studies of laboratory and in animal models. New antibodies will also be developed to improve the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue.
The stemTIME cancer stem cell project
Dr. Silvia Affo, researcher at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), has received the XXVII FERO Scholarshipsponsored by Fundació Bosch Aymerich, for the stemTIME project, a very promising initiative in the research of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), the second most common liver tumor and whose incidence is increasing in recent years.
Their focus on understanding the role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is crucial, as these components are critical for cancer progression and response to therapy. .
Making PARP1 inhibitors more effective in triple-negative breast cancer
Dr. Sara Sdelci, a researcher at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) of Barcelona, has been selected for the VI FERO-MANGO Breast Cancer Project, for her project on PARP1 inhibitors. The PARP1 inhibitors (PARP1i) market is projected to reach $8.43 billion by 2026, reflecting growing interest in this targeted cancer therapy. However, the number of patients who can benefit from PARP1i remains limited. Currently, these inhibitors are only approved for a few types of cancer, primarily those with genetic mutations in homologous recombination genes.
“Our preliminary data indicate that nuclear localization of a specific metabolic enzyme regulates PARP1 function, and that a cell’s susceptibility to PARP1 inhibition increases with the amount of this enzyme present in its nucleus,” explains Dr. Sdelci. . Based on this finding, the grant project hopes to be able to develop two objectives with diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Understanding the genetic changes of HGSOC and its relationship with the immune system
The doctor. Francisco Barrigaresearcher at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), has been the winner of the XXVI FERO Scholarship, sponsored by the Ramon Areces Foundationfor a project that seeks to better understand the genetic mechanisms behind one of the ovarian cancers more aggressive. High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the deadliest form of gynecologic cancer, with a mortality rate greater than 70%. This is largely due to a lack of response to available therapies. Genetically, HGSOC is characterized by the almost universal loss of the TP53 gene and a high number of copy number alterations of certain genes (CNA).
About scholarships
In this edition, they have been 72 research projects that have been presented to this new call for scholarships, of which 39 have been submitted for the FERO Scholarship, 14 for the FERO-MANGO Project and 19 for the Dr. Baselga Scholarship. With this, there are now sixteen years of experience, in which we have sought to promote the development of translational oncological research. In charge of this selection of projects is the jury of the FERO Calls, a group of 15 independent researchers of reference in the field of oncology in Spain.
They are led by Dr. Andrés Cervantes, head of the Medical Oncology Service at the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia and president of the Scholarship jury, and include personalities such as Dr. Josep Tabernero, director of the Vall d’Hebron Institut d’ Oncology (VHIO); Dr. Akaitz Carracedo, Ikerbasque researcher at CIC bioGUNE; Dr. Luis Paz Ares, head of the Medical Oncology Service at Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid; Dr. Ana Lluch, coordinator of the Breast Cancer Biology Research Group of the INCLIVA Health Research Institute of Valencia; Dr. Aleix Prat, head of the Medical Oncology Service at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona; Dr. Carlos Arteaga, director of the Simmons Cancer Center at the University of Texas; Dr. Antoni Ribas, researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Dr. Maurizio Scaltriti, vice president of Translational Medicine in Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca, among others.
The FERO Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to promoting cancer research. The entity, founded in 2001 by Dr. Josep Baselga and currently chaired by Silvia Garriga, is committed to translational research, a model based on the transmission of results from basic research to the clinic, which allows patients to benefit fastest of scientific advances against cancer. The foundation is the promoter of the Vall d’Hebron Institut d’Oncologia (VHIO), an international reference institution in the field of oncology, and has institutional agreements with other reference centers, such as the Hospital Clínico de Valencia and the Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, and starting this year also with the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona.
Besides, for fourteen years it has been providing FERO Scholarshipsaimed at promoting the careers of young researchers, and collaborates with twenty research centers throughout Spain, financing projects, programs and teams that are changing the way we face cancer today.