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Postdoctoral fellow Enza Lonardo receives funding for three years
Enza Lonardo (Naples, Italy), a postdoctoral fellow in the Colorectal Cancer laboratory, headed by ICREA researcher Eduard Batlle, has received funding from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) to carry out a project on colorectal cancer metastasis over the next three years. The award, worth 135,000€, will allow Lonardo to further her research into the molecular characterization and targeted elimination of the TGF-beta-driven metastasis niche by colorectal cancer stem cells.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the western world and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths. A large number of patients develop deadly metastases in organs such as the liver and lungs. The IRB Barcelona research team will attempt to unravel the molecular basis of the relationship between cells from the original tumour and the metastasis host organ. Lonardo affirms that “discovering the mechanisms that govern how cancer cells in the colon can reach, settle and thrive in distant tissues, such as the liver is essential for us to figure out how we can stop the process of metastasis.”
The AECC, founded in 1953, is a non-profit, private social entity which aims to contribute to the fight against cancer, decreasing the impact of this disease in Spanish society and ultimately improving quality of life. It is a nationwide organisation with more than 2,000 local delegations, 109,000 members and 14,000 volunteers. In 1971, the AECC established its Scientific Foundation whose main purpose is to support cancer research in Spain. More information about the foundation at: https://www.aecc.es/
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
