Launched in 2022, the AstraZeneca José Baselga Innovative Disruption (J-BID) Program honors the legacy of José Baselga, VHIO’s founding director, by fostering the disruptive innovation that shaped his vision and scientific work. The program aims to strengthen biomedical and translational research while helping retain research talent in Spain.

In 2025, the J-BID Program supported four VHIO groups leading pioneering projects with strong potential to advance our understanding of cancer and uncover novel actionable insights.

Next Generation CDK Inhibitors

Marcos Malumbres, Director of VHIO’s Systems Oncology Program and Group Leader of the Cancer Cell Cycle Lab, is developing next-generation cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors. In 2025, his laboratory identified a potential therapeutic strategy for aggressive WNT/MYC-high tumors through inhibition of two members of an unconventional, poorly explored CDK subfamily. These findings suggest that future inhibitors targeting these kinases may exert cytotoxic effects in highly proliferative tumors driven by WNT and MYC signaling.

Decoding the Tumor Microenvironment

Joan Seoane, Director of VHIO’s Immuno-Oncology and Tumor Microenvironment Program and Group Leader of the Gene Expression and Cancer Lab, is investigating how the tumor microenvironment shapes responses to immunotherapy using a patient-derived tissue culture platform. This work could guide the rational development of new immunotherapies and combinations, while supporting the identification of predictive biomarkers of response.

Understanding Aging-Driven Colorectal Cancer Risk

Mate Maus, Group Leader of VHIO’s Aging and Cancer Lab, is studying how aging-driven metabolic alterations, particularly disruptions in iron homeostasis, create cancer-permissive microenvironments in the colon. His research explores how these changes influence the selection of precancerous clones and increase colorectal cancer risk.

Novel Genetically Engineered Models

Francisco Barriga, Group Leader of the Cancer Genome Engineering Lab, is applying advanced genome engineering tools to define the role of copy-number alterations in pancreatic cancer progression and therapy resistance. In 2025, his lab established novel genetically engineered models using the MACHETE platform, enabling the systematic study of megabase-sized deletions. These models are helping reveal how large-scale genomic losses contribute to pancreatic cancer immune evasion and uncover deletion-specific vulnerabilities that could inform new therapeutic strategies.