The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) – now rebranded as Worldwide Cancer Research – has awarded one of its prestigious project grants aimed at supporting fundamental or translational research into the causes, mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer, to Laura Soucek, Principal Investigator of VHIO´s Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group. More specifically, this AICR grant, the first of its kind to be awarded to a VHIO group, recognizes her pioneering work on the inhibition of Myc family proteins towards advancing cancer treatment for patients.
Amounting to 200,000 EUR, this funding will support continued research into the therapeutic effects of Myc inhibition through the activation of Omomyc, a strategy which has, thus far, shown very positive results in the treatment of both lung and pancreatic cancer in mice. Her group´s latest studies, recently published in Genes & Development, demonstrate that gene therapy based on Omomyc activation, eliminated up to 200 lung tumors in mice, without resistance to treatment or significant side effects.
Representing a major economic boost in the development of promising, novel cancer therapies based on Myc inhibition, this grant will allow her team to develop the clinical application of Omomyc activation and ultimately provide safer and more effective anti-cancer therapies for patients.
Based in the UK, the AICR is an independent charity which has been supporting fundamental research by eminent and promising scientists throughout the world, into the causes, mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.
AICR funding is received through entirely private donations and awarded to projects of the highest scientific level following a rigorous peer review process by world experts in their field. Nurturing and supporting oncology research of excellence for over 33 years, it currently funds 174 research projects in 18 different countries, 17 of which are being carried out in Spain.
For more information about VHIO´s Mouse Models of Cancer Group´s current research lines and projects, please contact Amanda Wren directly via email: awren@vhio.net.
