The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded Joan Seoane, Director of Translational Research at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), with a “Proof of Concept” grant – a top-up funding scheme providing researchers, who are already ERC grantees, with support to bridge the gap between their research and marketable innovation.
More specifically, the grant will fuel current research into cancer stem cells (CSCs) towards developing more effective anti-cancer therapies for tumours that have a very short survival mean such as the most malignant form of glioma and one of the most aggressive of all human cancers – glioblastoma multiforme.
Seoane’s group will strive to develop personalized therapies aimed at eliminating CSCs that are responsible for tumour initiation, maintenance, recurrence and resistance to current therapies. Having unmasked a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in regulating CSCs, this funding will further facilitate the preclinical development of a therapeutic agent to block this particular pathway.
For more information about ERC´s “Proof of Concept” please visit:
