Scientific Management Area

VHIO’s Scientific Management Area is responsible for overseeing scientific strategy, management, and institutional programs’ coordination. Its core mission is to support the development, promotion, and implementation of research projects for VHIO investigators and research groups, while managing the institute’s institutional research programs.

We strengthen the scientific activity of VHIO by facilitating the design and execution of research projects and initiatives. We also coordinate VHIO’s Task Forces, promoting collaboration across multidisciplinary teams and fostering joint oncology research programs in close partnership with the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (HUVH), within the Vall d’Hebron Campus.

Our activities’ scope includes both scientific and financial management, as well as strategic support and the implementation of institutional actions across key transversal areas such as education, ethics and regulatory affairs, scientific dissemination, and the coordination of research activities linked to VHIO’s participation in national and international consortia and partnerships. In addition, our Area supports the evaluation, conceptualization, and preparation of scientific proposals, disseminates relevant funding opportunities, and ensures effective monitoring and coordination of funded projects.

To boost international engagement, we devise tailored plans for VHIO’s research groups, centralize research proposals emerging from our Task Forces, and proactively match selected research priorities with competitive calls. Importantly, our team leads EU initiatives, such as CCE_DART or PRAGMATIL, linked to EU’s Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer, among others. We also spearhead applications to highly innovative technological calls, such as the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) within the Horizon Europe framework and oversee VHIO’s role as a project coordinator or partner in European research efforts.

Finally, the Scientific Management Area continuously works to strengthen its organizational structure and project management processes, with the aim of expanding VHIO’s capacity to deliver excellence in oncology research.

Alejandro Piris

Chief Scientific Officer

Biosketch

Team

Director of Area

Alejandro Piris Giménez

Head of Management of Scientific Strategy and Translational Programs Unit

Javier Carmona

Head of Pre-Awards Research Grants Office

Sandra Porta

Head of Management of Institutional Scientific Programs Unit

Neus Bayó

Head of Management of clinical programs and Task Forces Unit

Javier Gonzalo

Head of International projects and consortia

Elena Chavarria

Head of Advanced Therapies Program

Silvia Martin-Lluesma

Scientific/ Project Managers

Yasmin Arévalo, Andrés Castellanos, Natalia Czerniak, Alba Lopez, Goretti Mallorquí, María Marín, Mireia Monràs, Edurne Mugarza, Paola Pisacane, Christina Stangl, Xenia Villalobos

Project Management Technicians Senior

Isabel Vallvé Junior Yago Galera, Abraham Ruiz

Internship Students

Carles Castellà, Laura Meroño

Clinical Projects Manager

Arantxa Romero

Task Force Officers

Mireia Sanchís (Colorectal Cancer)

Advanced Research technician

Sebastián Guzmán (VHIO’s Colorectal Cancer Group)

Research Support Assistant

Inmaculada Hernández

Clean Room Technical Director

Jara Palomero

Clean Room Staff

Patricia Castro, Georgina Mitjans, Helena Pasamar

Unit Objectives

Identify and promote new research opportunities involving academic and industry partners.
Promote the creation of new scientific research programs aligned with the scientific strategy of VHIO.
Coordinate VHIO’s Internal Scientific Committee and working groups aimed at improving the internal operations and research capabilities.
Lead/ co-lead EU initiatives/ projects.
Write, coordinate and manage scientific proposals.
Launch and monitor institutional research programs.
Promote intramural research through spearheading education, networking and communication programs.
Actively involve patients in the development of our research initiatives.
Assist in the organization of scientific events and conferences to bolster the visibility and collaborations of VHIO’s research ecosystem.

Highlights

In 2025, we maintained a good track record with a success rate of 30%, out of 277 grant (competitive) applications, with 33 proposals pending resolution and in the 2nd phase of evaluation.
We have secured a broad and competitive portfolio of funding across institutional, international, and national programs, supporting a wide range of research activities and strategic initiatives. This includes sustained institutional support from regional and private funders, as well as recognition through programs such as the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence and AECC accreditation, reinforcing VHIO’s position as a leading cancer research centre.
At the international level, we are actively involved in multiple European consortia funded by Horizon Europe, EU4Health, and other frameworks. These include projects such as SHAIPeD (AI-based medical device pathways), LATE-AYA (AI-driven survivorship research), EU-CIP, JA PCM, SPARC, and LIGAND-AI, spanning key areas such as artificial intelligence, personalized medicine, and drug discovery. In addition, VHIO researchers have secured competitive grants including an ERC Proof of Concept (SonoMYC) and EHA and ESMO fellowships, further strengthening our international leadership.
At the national level, we have obtained a significant number of competitive projects, including multiple Knowledge Generation and Public-Private Collaboration grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science. These projects address key challenges such as treatment resistance, immunotherapy optimization, cancer genomics, and AI-based imaging, highlighting both the scientific excellence and translational focus of our research.
At the level of international academic alliances, we have maintained active participation and further expanded our presence in 2025 with the incorporation into Cancer Prevention Europe (CPE). In parallel, VHIO has continued to coordinate Cancer Core Europe (CCE) and EuroPDX, reinforcing its strategic positioning and leadership within the global oncology research ecosystem.
We have contributed to the professionalisation of the Scientific Manager role in the biomedical sector through educational programs (e.g. Master’s in Health Management) and targeted training activities.

Publications

Most relevant papers

Martín-Lluesma S, Dafni U, Vervita K, Karlis D, Dimopoulou G, Tsourti Z, Villacampa G, Galvao V, Lostes J, Muñoz-Couselo E, Rotxés M, Villalobos X, Muñoz S, Haanen JBAG, Svane IM, Piulats JM, Martin-Liberal J, Gros A, Coukos G, Garralda E. Safety of adoptive therapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and high-dose recombinant interleukin 2 in advanced cutaneous melanoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Oncol. 2025 Aug;36(8):909-919.
Arenillas C, Celada L, Ruiz-Cantador J, Calsina B, Datta D, García-Galea E, Fasani R, Moreno-Cárdenas AB, Alba-Linares JJ, Miranda-Barrio B, Martínez-Montes ÁM, Alvarez-Escola C, Lecumberri B, González García A, K Flores S, Esquivel E, Ding Y, Peitzsch M, Robles-Guirado JÁ, Regojo Zapata RM, Pozo-Kreilinger JJ, Iglesias C, Dwight T, Muir CA, Oleaga A, Garrido-Lestache Rodríguez-Monte ME, Del Cerro MJ, Martínez-Bendayán I, Álvarez-González E, Cubiella T, Lourenço DM Jr, A Pereira MA, Burnichon N, Buffet A, Broberg C, Dickson PV, Fraga MF, Llorente Pendás JL, Rueda Soriano J, Buendía Fuentes F, Toledo SPA, Clifton-Bligh R, Dienstmann R, Villanueva J, Capdevila J, Gimenez-Roqueplo AP, Favier J, Nuciforo P, Young WF Jr, Bechmann N, Opotowsky AR, Vaidya A, Bancos I, Weghorn D, Robledo M, Casteràs A, Dos-Subirà L, Adameyko I, Chiara MD, Dahia PLM, Toledo RA. Convergent Genetic Adaptation in Human Tumors Developed Under Systemic Hypoxia and in Populations Living at High Altitudes. Cancer Discov. 2025 May 2;15(5):1037-1062.
Kittane S, Ladewig E, Li T, Love JR, Blawski R, Gao Y, Arruabarrena-Aristorena A, Zhao P, Dalrymple SL, Liu H, Guo X, Sallaku M, Kelkar N, Garcia-Martinez L, Carmona Sanz J, Chen W, Stoudmann C, Baldino L, Razavi-Mohseni M, Kalemi I, Beer MA, Castel P, Brennen WN, Scaltriti M, Morey L, Cocco E, Ji H, Chan HM, Battle A, Leslie CS, Karthaus WR, Toska E. The Histone Methyltransferase KMT2D Is a Critical Mediator of Lineage Plasticity and Therapeutic Response in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. Cancer Res. 2025 Dec 11. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-2053.
Nasca V, Zhao J, Ros J, Lonardi S, Zwart K, Cohen R, Fakih M, Jayachandran P, Roodhart JML, Derksen J, Intini R, Bergamo F, Mazzoli G, Ghelardi F, Ligero M, Jonnagaddala J, Hawkins N, Ward RL, Wankhede D, Brenner H, Hoffmeister M, Vitellaro M, Salvatore L, Gallois C, Laurent-Puig P, Cremolini C, Overman MJ, Taieb J, Tougeron D, Andre T, Kather JN, Sundar R, Carmona J, Elez E, Koopman M, Pietrantonio F. Sex and outcomes of patients with microsatellite instability-high and BRAF V600E mutated metastatic colorectal cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. J Immunother Cancer. 2025 Feb 10;13(2):e010598.
Martín-Lluesma S, Svane IM, Dafni U, Vervita K, Karlis D, Dimopoulou G, Tsourti Z, Rohaan MW, Haanen JBAG, Coukos G. Efficacy of TIL therapy in advanced cutaneous melanoma in the current immuno-oncology era: updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Oncol. 2024 Oct;35(10):860-872.
Palomero J, Galvao V, Creus I, Lostes J, Aylagas M, Marín-Bayo A, Rotxés M, Sanz M, Lozano-Rabella M, Garcia-Garijo A, Yuste-Estevanez A, Grases D, Díaz-Gómez J, González J, Navarro JF, Gartner JJ, Braña I, Villalobos X, Bayó-Puxan N, Jiménez J, Palazón AN, Muñoz S, Villacampa G, Piris-Giménez A, Barba P, Codinach M, Rodríguez L, Querol S, Muñoz-Couselo E, Tabernero J, Martín-Lluesma S, Gros A, Garralda E. Preclinical data and design of a phase I clinical trial of neoantigen-reactive TILs for advanced epithelial or ICB-resistant solid cancers. Immunooncol Technol. 2024 Dec 2;25:101030.
Carmona J, Chavarria E, Donoghue K, von Gertten C, Oberrauch P, Pailler E, Scoazec G, Weijer R, Balmaña J, Brana I, Brunelli C, Delaloge S, Deloger M, Delpy P, Ernberg I, Fitzgerald RC, Garralda E, Lablans M, Lëhtio J, Lopez C, Fernández M, Miceli R, Nuciforo P, Perez-Lopez R, Provenzano E, Schmidt MK, Serrano C, Steeghs N, Tamborero D, Wirta V, Baird RD, Barker K, Barlesi F, Baumann M, Bergh J, de Braud F, Fizazi K, Fröhling S, Piris-Giménez A, Seamon K, Van der Heijden MS, Zwart W, Tabernero J. Cancer Core Europe: Leveraging Institutional Synergies to Advance Oncology Research and Care Globally. Cancer Discov. 2024 Jul 1;14(7):1147-1153.
Saura C, Ortiz C, Matito J, Arenas EJ, Suñol A, Martín Á, Córdoba O, Martínez-Sabadell A, García-Ruiz I, Miranda I, Morales-Comas C, Carrasco E, Viaplana C, Peg V, Nuciforo P, Bayó-Puxan N, Gonzalez-Medina A, Miquel JM, Gómez-Rey M, Villacampa G, Arévalo S, Espinosa-Bravo M, Balmaña J, Dienstmann R, Arribas J, Tabernero J, Vivancos A, Sansó M. Early-Stage Breast Cancer Detection in Breast Milk. Cancer Discov. 2023 Oct 5;13(10):2180-2191.
Serra-Camprubí Q, Verdaguer H, Oliveros W, Lupión-Garcia N, Llop-Guevara A, Molina C, Vila-Casadesús M, Turpin A, Neuzillet C, Frigola J, Querol J, Yáñez-Bartolomé M, Castet F, Fabregat-Franco C, Escudero-Iriarte C, Escorihuela M, Arenas EJ, Bernadó-Morales C, Haro N, Giles FJ, Pozo ÓJ, Miquel JM, Nuciforo PG, Vivancos A, Melé M, Serra V, Arribas J, Tabernero J, Peiró S, Macarulla T, Tian TV. Human Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma Patient-Derived Xenografts and Tumoroids for Preclinical Drug Evaluation. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Jan 17;29(2):432-445.
Carbonell C, Frigola J, Pardo N, Callejo A, Iranzo P, Valdivia A, Priano I, Cedrés S, Martinez-Marti A, Navarro A, Lenza L, Soleda M, Gonzalo-Ruiz J, Vivancos A, Sansó M, Carcereny E, Morán T, Amat R, Felip E. Dynamic changes in circulating tumor DNA assessed by shallow whole-genome sequencing associate with clinical efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC. Mol Oncol. 2023 May;17(5):779-791.
Cedres S, Serna G, Gonzalez-Medina A, Valdivia A, Assaf-Pastrana JD, Iranzo P, Callejo A, Pardo N, Navarro A, Martinez-Marti A, Priano I, Fasani R, Guardia X, Gonzalo J, Carbonell C, Frigola J, Amat R, Navarro V, Dienstmann R, Vivancos A, Nuciforo P, Felip E. Expression of TILs and Patterns of Gene Expression from Paired Samples of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) Patients. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jul 14;15(14):3611.
Elez E, Ros J, Fernández J, Villacampa G, Moreno-Cárdenas AB, Arenillas C, Bernatowicz K, Comas R, Li S, Kodack DP, Fasani R, Garcia A, Gonzalo-Ruiz J, Piris-Gimenez A, Nuciforo P, Kerr G, Intini R, Montagna A, Germani MM, Randon G, Vivancos A, Smits R, Graus D, Perez-Lopez R, Cremolini C, Lonardi S, Pietrantonio F, Dienstmann R, Tabernero J, Toledo RA. RNF43 mutations predict response to anti-BRAF/EGFR combinatory therapies in BRAFV600E metastatic colorectal cancer. Nat Med. 2022 Oct;28(10):2162-2170.
Tamborero D, Dienstmann R, Rachid MH, Boekel J, Lopez-Fernandez A, Jonsson M, Razzak A, Braña I, De Petris L, Yachnin J, Baird RD, Loriot Y, Massard C, Martin-Romano P, Opdam F, Schlenk RF, Vernieri C, Masucci M, Villalobos X, Chavarria E; Cancer Core Europe consortium; Balmaña J, Apolone G, Caldas C, Bergh J, Ernberg I, Fröhling S, Garralda E, Karlsson C, Tabernero J, Voest E, Rodon J, Lehtiö J. The Molecular Tumor Board Portal supports clinical decisions and automated reporting for precision oncology. Nat Cancer. 2022 Feb;3(2):251-261.
Verdaguer H, Saurí T, Acosta DA, Guardiola M, Sierra A, Hernando J, Nuciforo P, Miquel JM, Molero C, Peiró S, Serra-Camprubí Q, Villacampa G, Aguilar S, Vivancos A, Tabernero J, Dienstmann R, Macarulla T. ESMO Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets Driving Targeted Treatment in Patients with Cholangiocarcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Apr 14;28(8):1662-1671.
Monti M, Degenhardt T, Brain E, Wuerstlein R, Argusti A, Puntoni M, Rollandi GA, Corradengo D, Boni L, Ilhan H, Nanni O, Cortes J, Piris-Gimenez A, Piccardo A, Iacozzi M, Matteucci F, Di Iorio V, Alberini JL, Schröder C, Harbeck N, Gennari A. ERANET JTC 2011: Submission and Activation of an International Academic Translational Project in Advanced Breast Cancer. Experience From the ET-FES Study. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Jan 13;8:817678.