Eight researchers from IIS Aragón receive research grants granted by the AECC in Aragón

The Spanish Association Against Cancer has held an event in Zaragoza to present Research Grants awarded in the province

Among the aid awarded, it is worth highlighting the LAB AECC 2022 Help, the aid that has the most important endowment, of 300.000 Euros, awarded to the Dr. Patricia Sancho, group director Metabolism and Tumor Stem Cells since 2017 from the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón)

In total, there have been 13 grants awarded since 2017 and they amount to 1.251.716 euros. This year €29,4 million have been awarded in 233 grants throughout the national territory, with the aim of increasing the average survival of people with cancer to 70% by 2030 and bringing research results to the patient.

The researchers who have received aid have been:

Dr. Eduardo Ruiz – Predoctoral support (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Dr. Noelia Mendoza Calvo – Predoctoral support (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Cecilia Pesini Martin– Predoctoral support (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Dr. Patricia Sancho Andrés – Help Idea Semilla and AECC Lab (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Ruth Mafalda Soler Agesta – Predoctoral assistance (University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR))

Dr. Juan Ignacio Aguiló Anento – Idea Semilla Help (University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR))

Alba Royo García – Predoctoral support (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Dr. María del Pilar Martín Duque – Idea Semilla Help (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Luis Folch Cirujeda – Laboratory Practice Program Academic Course (University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR))

Dr. Flor Navarro Negredo – Postdoctoral Assistance (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón))

Dr. María Sancho Albero – Postdoctoral Assistance (University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR)

Ismael Perise Badia – Predoctoral Assistance (Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón)

On this day, a dialogue table was also held where 4 of these researchers with different profiles (Luis Folch Cirujeda, student, Mr. Ismael Perisé Badia, predoctoral researcher at IIS Aragón, Dr. María Sancho Albero, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR), and Dr. María Pilar Martín- Duque, professor at the University of Zaragoza and researcher at the IIS Aragón) have been able to debate and reflect what the researcher's career entails with his different problems y situations depending on the moment of your career. The table has been moderated by the doctor Eduardo Ruiz, the first recipient of a predoctoral grant in Aragon.

Furthermore, in this act, José Luis Anso who has been provincial president for 8 years, the maximum time allowed by the Association's statutes, has handed over the baton to José María Arnal, new president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer in Zaragoza. Both have focused their words on the importance of research, highlighting the level of researchers working in Aragon since, year after year, aid for projects developed in the autonomous community has been growing.

Aid for cancer research from the Association

Among the aid awarded, it is worth highlighting the LAB AECC 2022 Help, the aid that has the most important endowment, of 300.000 Euros, awarded to the Dr. Patricia Sancho, group director Metabolism and Tumor Stem Cells since 2017 from the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), which is working on finding new anti-fat drugs to improve the treatment of pancreatic cancer and improve patient survival. This project focuses on pancreatic cancer, one of the cancers with low survival, thus responding to the objective of the Spanish Association Against Cancer of increasing survival to 70% by 2030.

The 2023 postdoctoral grants, which have a provision of 160.000 Euros each one, have been awarded to the Dr. María Sancho, from the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR), and the Dr. Flor Navarro, from the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), who are respectively working on the development of hybrid bio-nanoparticles for the selective treatment of cancer with a potential and realistic translation to the clinical setting, and finding new treatments that prevent the influence of fats to enhance the response to immunotherapies, thus improving the chances of survival of patients suffering from this extremely deadly disease.

The Association's Research Grants cover all phases of the research career (from internships as university students to consolidated groups), all phases of research (from basic research to deepen the knowledge of cancer to innovation and research clinic to bring results closer to patients), and all types of cancer, with special emphasis on those lines identified as strategic due to their impact on patients (radiotherapy, palliatives or epidemiology).

Source: Spanish Association Against Cancer

Image: Spanish Association Against Cancer