The projects address some of today's key challenges in oncology, including leukaemias, lymphomas, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer.
The grants will support new lines of research in areas such as immunotherapy, CAR-T therapies, precision medicine and the identification of novel biomarkers, with the aim of improving cancer diagnosis and treatment.
"La Marató de 3Cat is an extraordinary example of society’s commitment to biomedical research. This support enables innovative and collaborative projects that will help us better understand cancer and move towards more precise and effective treatments for patients," says Susana Puig, Director of IDIBAPS and Director of Research and Innovation at Hospital Clínic and the 4CB.
This edition of La Marató, which raised more than €12 million, will support 38 research projects selected from 201 proposals through a rigorous evaluation process.
Campus Clínic Projects Funded by La Marató de 3Cat
Among the projects selected in the La Marató de 3Cat research call dedicated to cancer are ten initiatives involving researchers from the 4CB. Eight of the projects are led from the Campus, while researchers from the centre participate in two additional projects together with teams from other institutions.
Projects Led by the 4CB
Defining surface proteins in drug-resistant mantle cell lymphoma to identify novel immunotherapeutic strategies
Funding: €300,000
Research team: Dr Virginia Amador Espinosa, head of the research group Functional Characterisation of Oncogenic Mechanisms in lymphomagenesis at IDIBAPS; Dr Josep Villanueva Cardús, from the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO).
Clonal architecture and immune adaptation as mechanistic determinants of response and resistance to CD7 CAR-T therapy in acute leukaemia
Funding: €300,000
Research team: Dr Jordi Esteve Reyner, haematologist at Hospital Clínic and head of the Myeloid Neoplasms research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Susana Rives Solà, from Sant Joan de Déu.
DYRK1A-targeted nanomedicine strategies to sensitise metastatic PDAC to KRAS inhibition
Funding: €299,753.84
Research team: Dr Cristina Fillat Fonts, head of the Gene Therapy and Cancer research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Ramón Martínez Ibáñez, from the Universitat Politècnica de València.
Epigenetic memory in B-cell cancers: predicting treatment response in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and multiple myeloma
Funding: €300,000
Research team: Dr Iñaki Martín Subero, head of the Biomedical Epigenomics research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Xabier Aguirre Ena, from the Foundation for Applied Medical Research of Navarra.
Evolutionary trajectories and transcriptomic plasticity driving histological transformation in lymphoma: biological mechanisms and clinical impact
Funding: €400,000
Research team: Dr Ferran Nadeu Prat, head of the Immunogenomics and Evolution of Lymphoid Neoplasms research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Manuel Irimia Martinez, from Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Dr David Posada González, from the University of Vigo.
Reprogramming the lymphoma microenvironment with anti-CD19 CAR-T cells secreting TIM-3 and CSF1R receptors to improve efficacy
Funding: €299,828.75
Research team: Dr Patricia Pérez Galán, head of the Microenvironment in Lymphoma Pathogenesis and Therapy research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Aïda Falgàs Comamala, from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute.
DYNAMITE: Dynamics of the tumour immune microenvironment as a pathway for the identification of novel biomarkers and therapeutic innovation in breast cancer
Funding: €393,428.46
Research team: Dr Aleix Prat Aparicio, Director of ICAMS and the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Centre, and head of the Translational Genomics and Targeted Therapies in Solid Tumours research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Endika Prieto Fernández, from the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO); Dr Sònia Pernas Simón, from the Catalan Institute of Oncology-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL).
Reprogramming tumour cell identity to restore antitumour immunity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (REWIRE-PDAC)
Funding: €299,936.71
Research team: Dr Tian Tian Tao, co-leader of the Translational Oncology of Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer research group at IDIBAPS; Dr Xianghua Li, from King's College London.
Projects with 4CB Participation
Mechanisms and therapeutic strategies to overcome immunotherapy resistance in Sézary syndrome
Funding: €224,891.25
Research team: Dr Robert Albero Gallego, from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Dr Pablo Mozas Fernández, haematologist at Hospital Clínic and researcher in the Lymphoid Neoplasms research group at IDIBAPS.
RNA-protein condensate dynamics orchestrate obesity-driven liver cancer across space and time
Funding: €300,000
Research team: Dr Raúl Méndez de la Iglesia, from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona); Dr Mercedes Fernández Lobato, head of the Translational Control in Liver Disease and Cancer research group at IDIBAPS.
Societal Solidarity Drives Cancer Research
Research is essential to advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Thanks to the funds raised through La Marató de 3Cat, these projects will deepen our understanding of the biological mechanisms that drive tumours, study the causes of treatment resistance and develop new therapeutic strategies that are more effective and tailored to patients.
