Congratulations are in order for Prof. George Coukos, director of the oncology department at UNIL-CHUV, and director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch: he has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
This honor recognizes his groundbreaking contributions to oncology and immunotherapy. His research on the correlation between T cell infiltration and favorable prognosis in ovarian cancer has paved the way for new treatments for solid tumors. A well-deserved tribute to a career dedicated to innovation in oncology.
For more information: National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members – National Academy of Medicine
Congratulations to Prof. Denis Migliorini, M.D., holder of the ISREC Foundation chair in brain tumor immunology: he and his colleagues at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have achieved a significant breakthrough in the treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Prof. Migliorini’s team has succeeded in identifying a specific marker on the surface of tumor cells and in generating CAR-T immune cells capable of targeting and killing diseased cells while sparing healthy tissues. These promising results, published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research, are a first step towards the development of clinical trials aimed at improving treatments for this devastating disease.
For more information: https://www.unige.ch/medias/en/2024/des-cellules-programmees-pour-cibler-les-tumeurs-cerebrales
Congratulations to Prof. Hall, a scientist at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and a member of our Foundation Council as well as the President of our Scientific Board. He has received this prestigious award in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell growth and ageing.
Michael Hall has discovered two proteins, “Gene Target of Rapamycin 1 and 2”, also known as TOR1 and TOR2, that regulate cell growth and metabolism in response to nutrients. These proteins play a central role in the ageing process and the development of age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
These discoveries have paved the way for an important area of research that has since developed considerably.
For more information: Michael N. Hall – 2024 Balzan Prize for Biological Mechanisms of Ageing
Congratulations to Estelle Mougin, winner of this year’s Prix Pierre-François Leyvraz, an award created by the ISREC Foundation to promote interprofessionality in the field of oncology.
Estelle Mougin has been a clinical nurse in the CHUV’s oncology department since 2016. She is currently enrolled in the IUFRS (Institute of Higher Education and Research in Healthcare) Master of Science program on specialized nursing practice. As part of her studies, she is writing a dissertation aimed at defining the role of specialized nurse practitioners in the CHUV’s senology clinic. The Pierre-François Leyvraz Award was created by the ISREC Foundation in 2019, in recognition of the commitment of Prof. Pierre-François Leyvraz (former Director General of the CHUV) within its Foundation Council. This prize honors work promoting the development of interprofessionality in the oncological field.
For more information (in French): Le Prix Pierre-François Leyvraz pour Estelle Mougin – Direction des soins – CHUV
Congratulations to Prof. Fabrice André who has received the prestigious Giants of Cancer Care award 2024 from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
This distinction honors the contributions of internationally renowned experts in the fight against cancer and the advancement of cancer research.
We are exceptionally proud to be able to count on Prof. André’s expertise; he has been a member of our Scientific Board since 2016.
The ISREC Foundation supports 4 students within the scope of the “Summer Research Program for Undergraduate Students” – EPFL School of Life Sciences, and 3 students in the “Summer Undergraduate Research Program” – Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne.
During these eight weeks of hands-on training, the selected young biologists or physicians are given the chance to discover the world of research for the very first time; a rewarding experience and the opportunity to establish new contacts on an international level.
More information
Summer Research Program ‒ SV ‐ EPFL and About the SUR Programme UNIL
Congratulations to Prof. Andrea Alimonti, winner of the prestigious Cloëtta Prize 2024 in recognition of his scientific commitment. The “Prof. Dr. Max Cloëtta” Foundation honors this outstanding scientist for his exceptional scientific achievements.
Following Prof. Michael Hall (2003) and Prof. Anne Müller (2021), Prof. Alimonti is the third member of our Scientific Board to have been awarded this esteemed distinction. We are proud to be able to draw on the expertise of these world-renowned scientists.
For more information: Andrea Alimonti receives esteemed 2024 Cloëtta Prize (usi.ch)
Find out more about our activities and the projects we support.
Link to the annual report 2023
Merci à tous les scientifiques qui, avec passion et persévérance, œuvrent sans relâche pour faire avancer la recherche sur le cancer.
Merci à tous nos donateurs pour leur engagement fidèle.
Merci à tous ceux qui ont fait de ces 60 années une formidable aventure commune.
This year, seven research groups from Lausanne, Geneva, Bern and Basel have been awarded TANDEM funding.
Each team, consisting of a clinician and a basic research scientist, will address a question of direct clinical relevance from two angles: that of understanding the molecular mechanisms involved and that of directly improving cancer patient care.
Prof. Andreas Holbro & Prof. Lukas Jeker (USB & UNIBAS)
Toward a CD33-directed Shielded Cell/Immunotherapy Pair First-in-Human clinical trial for Acute Myeloid Leukemia
This project pursues preliminary research for a first-in-human clinical trial for the use of CD33-directed CAR-T in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The goal is to render this CAR-T therapy safer and more effective by eliminating the off-tumor impact of the therapy by protecting hematopoietic stem cells through the expression of an epitope-edited cell surface marker, CD33.
Dr. Thibaud Koessler & Prof. Tatiana Petrova (HUG & UNIL)
Harnessing normal organ chemo-injury response to prevent colorectal cancer metastasis
The theme here is metabolites and cancer. The applicants present preliminary evidence that chemotherapy can induce a “memory” effect in colorectal cancer (CRC). They will examine how the release of a host microbiome-derived metabolites reprograms immune cells in the metastasis niche to inhibit metastatic growth of a cancer.
Prof. Mohamed Bentires Alj & Prof. Walter Weber (USB & UNIBAS)
Immune mapping of tumor draining lymph nodes to predict therapy response and optimize immunotherapy-based combinations in hormone receptor positive breast cancer
This project will characterize immunological parameters in tumor-draining lymph nodes, to see if they can be used as predictive biomarkers for immune-therapy response in HR+/Her2- breast cancer patients.
Dr. Antonia Digklia & Dr. Melita Irving (CHUV & UNIL)
Combination TKI and next-generation CAR T cells for personalized sarcoma therapy
This project will address the limitations of current sarcoma treatments with a multidisciplinary approach (clinical, biological, protein engineering) that aims to develop and optimize CAR T cells for sarcoma in combination with tyrosine kinase inhibitors or other drugs.
Prof. Ren-Wang Peng, Prof. Adrian Ochsenbein & Dr. Sabine Schmid (UNIBE & INSEL)
Rational development of predictive biomarkers and combination regimens for precision immunotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma
This project will discover targets and mechanisms of resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapies in patients with mesothelioma, a dreadful cancer of unmet therapeutic need.
Dr. Laurent Derré & Dr. Ilaria Lucca (UNIL & CHUV)
Unravelling the transcriptomic landscape of Vδ2 T cells in bladder cancer patients
This team will do a single cell transcriptomics study of the roles of Vδ2 T cells both in bladder cancer cells and in the peripheral blood, to find useful molecular signatures that can be correlated with therapy outcome.
Prof. Michal Bassani-Sternberg & Prof. Jean Perentes (UNIL & CHUV)
Evaluation of the neoantigen specific T cell response in pleural carcinosis managed by Pressurized IntraThoracic Hyperthermic Aerosol cisplatin Chemotherapy (PITHAC)
This project aims to analyze neoantigens and the antigenic landscape in general of patients diagnosed with pleural carcinosis (lung cavity) tumors undergoing treatment with PITHAC (or pressurized intrathoracic chemotherapy distribution with moderate hyperthermia). The outcome of this study may facilitate the integration of PITHAC with immune checkpoint blockade treatments.