The 6th annual edition of Gilead’s Fellowships in Biomedical Research has awarded VHIO’s Experimental Hematology Group, for research on: Understanding the tumor immune microenvironment in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma for the development of immunotherapeutic strategies that target each individual’s immune biology, under the leadership of Principal Investigator of the project, Francesc Bosch (also PI of the same VHIO group).
Gilead Sciences Inc. actively supports and promotes Spanish research of excellence that focuses on advancing biomedicine and improving the quality of life of patients. Gilead’s funding, totaling at 900.000 EUR this year, will spur collaborations between public and private entities across the fields of HIV, Hepatitis and Hemato-oncology. Evaluated and selected by the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), and organized in collaboration with the GeSIDA aids research group, the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (AEEH), and Spanish Association of Hematology & Hemotherapy (SEHH), 21 projects were awarded – eight of which were presented to researchers in Catalonia.
Specifically, Gilead will fuel their research focused on better understanding the role of the individual immune system in the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of adult and aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, towards developing more effective therapies.
Commenting for VHIO Communications, Marta Crespo, Translational Research Coordinator of Francesc’s group observed, “We are extremely honored to have received this award. Not only does this funding recognize our group’s efforts centering on the relevance of the immune system in the fight against diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, it also represents an important forward step in developing immune-based therapies to more effectively treat this disease in a more personalized way.”
“Rapidly mounting evidence suggests that therapies modulating the immune system will constitute essential anti-cancer armory across several tumor types. By more precisely dissecting the immune landscape associated to different cancer subtypes, we will be able to design and optimize more effective therapies that will significantly improve outcomes for our patients,” she concluded.
For more information about this project please contact Amanda Wren, Director of Communications, Vall d´Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) via email: awren@vhio.net.
###
