The Spanish Association Against Cancer in Huesca presents the grants for cancer research that will be carried out in Aragon

In 2025, the Association awarded more than €216.000 to promote cancer research in Aragon, distributed in 4 grants, all of them at the IIS Aragon.

The Association promotes the largest cancer research network in Spain with more than 3.000 researchers, distributed across 160 research centers in 38 provinces.

The Spanish Association Against Cancer in Huesca has organized an event to present the AECC 2025 Grants that will be developed in Aragon.

In 2025 the Association has awarded more than 216.000 € to promote cancer research in Aragon, distributed in 4 helps These range from summer internship grants and predoctoral grants, which support new generations of scientists, to the promotion of collaborative projects at the national and international level.  

The award ceremony was attended by Ramón Reyes, national president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer and its Scientific Foundation, José Manuel Ramón y Cajal, president of the Provincial Board of Huesca, Naiara Cambas, director of scientific dissemination of the Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, as well as the guest of honor Carlos López Otín and the journalist and patient Marian Penella.

These grants, like all those promoted by the Association, have the main objective of increasing cancer survival rates to exceed 70% by 2030, improving the treatments received by patients and improving their quality of life.

Ramón Reyes, national president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer he stated thatToday in Huesca, we are highlighting how Aragon's research talent is contributing to saving lives and changing the future of cancer. Supporting research talent from its inception is key to achieving real progress. We have a clear objective: to exceed a 70% cancer survival rate by 2030, and research is the fundamental pillar for achieving it. Reyes added that “At the Association, we believe that the patient should be the working hypothesis of the research, actively participating in all phases of the process, so that it responds to their needs, arrives sooner and better in the form of effective treatments.”

José Manuel Ramón y Cajal, provincial president of the Association in Huesca, pointed out that “We are everyone’s association against cancer. Cancer research means curing and saving lives. Being able to stand alongside researchers is thanks to all the people who support us, contributing their bit with donations and their involvement in everything the association organizes.”

Regarding the AECC 2025 grants awarded in Aragon

To promote young talent in the region, a grant has been awarded AECC Aragón Predoctoral Grant 2025 endowed with €110.660 at 4 years, which has relapsed in Irene Chavarría Cubel, researcher at the Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón). Her project “Attacking cancer's energy factories to cure childhood brain cancer"It aims to study possible treatments for childhood medulloblastoma, using chips and laboratory models, and contribute to increasing the survival of children suffering from this brain cancer."

Also to encourage new generations of scientists, in the 2025 call for proposals, a grant was awarded of 1.022,14 € for carrying out internships during the past summer Aitana Solé Muñoz, who was able to learn about the reality of biomedical research in a laboratory of the IIS Aragón.

La Dr. Rebeca Sanz Pamplona, leader of the group «Cancer Heterogeneity and Immunomics» in the IIS Aragón, has been the beneficiary of an international TRANSCAN grant, endowed with €85.000. His project “Patient avatars for testing new drugs against ovarian cancer"It aims to create a realistic model outside the body that allows finding and validating combinations of treatments that generate a strong and lasting immune response against ovarian cancer."

In addition to these 3 grants awarded in Aragon, the Dr. Alberto Jiménez Schuhmacher, responsible for the group of Molecular Oncology from the IIS Aragón, participates in the project led by the DMs. Aránzazu Villasanteat the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). This is possible thanks to a AECC Synergies Aid 2025, endowed with €20.000To encourage collaboration between junior and senior researchers from different institutions and provinces, they are joining forces on the project “New therapies for childhood cancer through a collaborative bioengineering and immunotherapy approach targeting neuroblastoma and diffuse glioma” to create new treatments for children with some of the most aggressive brain tumors.

Cancer research a priority

Currently in Spain, a case of cancer is diagnosed every two minutes. One in two men and one in three women will develop cancer in their lifetime. Therefore, promoting cancer research must be a priority for all of society, including governments, businesses, and institutions.

AECC Grants 2025 They cover all phases of the research career and their strategic lines are: increasing funding with a special focus on cancers with low survival rates, attracting research talent to promote job stability for researchers and boosting innovation and clinical research so that the results reach the patient, as well as encouraging Spanish researchers to be part of collaborative international research networks.

Currently, the Association supports the largest network for cancer research in Spain with more than 3.000 researchers, distributed in 160 research centers in 38 provinces working on all phases of cancer development, from prevention to metastasis. The Association remains the entity that allocates the most funds to cancer research. As of December 2025, the Association had €157 million committed to 792 development grants. For over 50 years, the Association has been promoting impactful research focused on people's needs. The research supported by the Association covers all phases of cancer development.

In Aragon, 8.412 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2023. The Association in Aragon assisted 3.215 people in 2024 through its free services provided by professionals.

The Association promotes research in Aragon with nearly €1,4 million awarded in 13 development grants.

Source: AECC.