Laura Usón, researcher at IIS Aragón, receives an Aragón Investiga Ramón y Cajal award
November 23, 2023
The IIS Aragón present at the I Conference on Clinical Research in Primary Care
November 24, 2023
A project led by researcher Elisa Espinet, from the University of Barcelona, and in collaboration with Patricia Sancho, from IIS Aragón, has received nearly one million euros from the ”la Caixa” Foundation to advance the early diagnosis of breast cancer. pancreas and the development of effective drugs in personalized therapy
Today in Barcelona, the ”la Caixa” Foundation held an event to grant aid to 33 research projects in biomedicine and health that will be carried out in research centers, hospitals and universities in Spain and Portugal. These are projects selected within the framework of the CaixaResearch call for Health Research 2023, which has the objective of promoting excellent biomedical research with great social impact in basic, clinical and translational research.
The call, to which 493 proposals had been submitted this year, is especially aimed at addressing health challenges, such as infectious diseases, neurosciences, cardiovascular and related metabolic diseases, and oncology. In addition, other award-winning initiatives will develop enabling technologies in some of these fields.
This year, a project has been selected that has significant Aragonese participation. The researcher Elisa Espinet, from the University of Barcelona, leads a project that has received 999.999,18 euros from the ”la Caixa” Foundation to advance the early diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. The project, in consortium with Meritxell Rovira Clusellas, from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL); Patricia Sancho, from the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón) and Ana Rita Grosso, from the Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA.ID.FCT), focuses on the ductal cells of the pancreas, the cell type that gives rise to the most aggressive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors , with a five-year survival of less than 10%. To date, there are no early detection methods or effective treatments available. This type of cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease, which makes it impossible to remove the tumor. with surgery, which at the moment is the only effective treatment that exists.
In previous studies, samples from patients have been analyzed and enormous heterogeneity among ADP tumors has been identified. Likewise, it has been observed that there is a relationship between the heterogeneity of the tumor and the response that the patient will have to the treatment. However, until now it is barely known how this heterogeneity is generated. Part of the heterogeneity of the tumor could come from the cell of origin from which it derives. The team has recently discovered that not all ductal cells are the same, but that there are different populations with very specific characteristics. Mouse models will be used to investigate tumor development originating from different ductal cells and this information will be integrated with data and cellular models from patients with ADP. This research seeks to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of heterogeneity in this type of tumors to identify new biomarkers and new therapeutic targets that allow their early diagnosis and the development of effective drugs in personalized therapy.
Support focused on results that improve patients' lives
At the aid delivery ceremony, which took place at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, the general director of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Antonio Vila Bertran, recalled: «Scientific research is fundamental for social progress and the well-being of citizens. "Science not only helps us build the knowledge society, but is key to improving the quality of life of those who need it most."
To achieve this, the CaixaResearch call for Health Research 2023 is endowed with a total of 25,3 million euros allocated to these projects - 22 of them, led by Spanish centers, and 11, Portuguese -, which will be developed over the next 3 years. The grants provide financial support of up to 500.000 euros for projects presented by a single research organization and up to one million euros for projects presented by consortia of between 2 and 5 research organizations.
The initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência ea Tecnologia (FCT), of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, which provides 2,3 million euros to subsidize 5 of the 11 Portuguese projects selected in this edition . The call is also supported by the Luzón Foundation, which subsidizes, together with the ”la Caixa” Foundation, a project on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). CaixaResearch for Health Research is a competitive call that has highly prestigious international experts in their fields of study for the selection of projects of greatest scientific excellence and social impact. Since the beginning of the program in 2018, the total allocation of the call has been 120,5 million euros for 171 projects, 117 of them led by Spanish teams, and 54 by research groups from Portugal. Currently, this is the most important philanthropic call for research in biomedicine and health in Spain and Portugal.
Source: «La Caixa» Foundation
