This year´s annual Fero Foundation (Fundación de Investigación Oncológica) Grant for Translational Research and the very first Fero/J.P. Morgan Private Bank Clinical Oncology Research Grant to promote clincial/translational oncology research in Spain, were presented Tuesday 21 May, to Yasir Ibrahim and Jordi Rodón respectively:
The 2013 Fero Grant for Translational Research in Oncology
Post-Doctoral Fellow of VHIO´s Experimental Therapeutics Group, Yasir Ibrahim, has been awarded this year´s Fero Grant for Translational Research in Oncology in support of talented young oncology professionals. More specifically, this research grant of 70.000 EUR will fuel essential research aimed at identifying predictive biomarkers and understanding the mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapy in triple negative breast cancer, with special emphasis on the blockade of the P13K/Akt/mTOR pathway.
Upon receiving the grant, Yasir thanked the selection committee headed by eminent oncologist Carlos López Otín and highlighted the importance of the grant in helping to advance precision oncology in breast cancer treatment and care, “It is a great honor to have been selected by FERO´s selection committee, and I am excited about this opportunity to continue my research developing strategies that improve treatment options for patients and families affected by cancer.”
The Fero/J.P. Morgan Private Bank Clinical Oncology Research Grant
The very first Fero/J.P. Morgan Private Bank Clinical Oncology Research Grant of 30.000 EUR was also presented at the same ceremony to Jordi Rodón, Principal Investigator of VHIO´s Early Clinical Drug development Group and Medical Coordinator of the Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) – “la Caixa”. The Award will help to support VHIO´s involvement in the design and implementation of the first WIN (Worldwide Innovative Networking in personalized cancer medicine) Consortium clinical trial, WINTHER.
WINTHER is a unique academic and international clinical trial, representing a major step forward in the evaluation of precision treatments in oncology. Rodón and colleagues will join other trial partners to collectively develop a comprehensive analysis of the genetic background of tumors in order to predict drug sensitivity adopting powerful bioinformatic tools, and optimize individualized therapeutic decisions with improved clinical outcomes.
Both grants were presented during a special Fero event hosted by the National Art Museum of Catalunya (el Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya – MNAC), attended by more than 600 guests, and presided over by José Baselga, President of the Fero Foundation, Physician-in-Chief of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York), and President of VHIO´s Scientific Committee.
