Cancer Grand Challenges

📣 We’re thrilled to announce the Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: extrachromosomal DNA, taking place on June 11-13, 2025! The first edition in our new series, this conference will convene researchers from diverse backgrounds, from bench to bedside, across and beyond the ecDNA field to stimulate discussion about this exciting field. There is already a stellar line-up of speakers confirmed, including: 🌟 Paul Mischel (team lead of eDyNAmiC, the #CancerGrandChallenges team tackling our extrachromosomal DNA challenge) 🌟 Howard Chang 🌟 Mariam Jamal-Hanjani 🌟 Charles Swanton Learn more and register 👉 https://bit.ly/4evoVod

💡 New from our Future Leaders Spotlight series, where we share stories from early-career researchers on #CancerGrandChallenges teams. In the first edition of the series, Benoit Nicolet, PhD of The Netherlands Cancer Institute and team MATCHMAKERS takes us through: ✅ What it's like being on this scientific dream team (including receiving emails from one of the newest #NobelPrize winners!) ✅ How MATCHMAKERS is tackling the T-cell receptors challenge And more. Thank you, Ben, for sharing! Read 👉 https://lnkd.in/eAih8vRP

A few weeks ago in Singapore, we held think tank #6 to help identify topics for our next round of #CancerGrandChallenges, launching in March 2025 ⏰ These think tanks mark the first step in our 2-year cycle (you can find out more about that here: https://bit.ly/4et1dtH). They engage a diverse range of researchers, clinicians and patient advocates to stimulate debate and inspire thinking around the most pressing areas in #CancerResearch right now. We spoke to three attendees about their experience: 💡 Mark Dawson, Associate Director of Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 💡 Sherene Loi, Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and member of the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee 💡 Jingmei Li, PhD, Group Leader, A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research Read their reflections below ⤵️

🌍 Rejoignez la scène internationale de la lutte contre le cancer avec Cancer Grand Challenges ! 🔬 Ce programme financé par le Cancer Research UK (CRUK) et le National Cancer Institute (NCI) US offre un soutien exceptionnel (jusqu’à 25 M€ par équipe !) à des projets transdisciplinaires visant à résoudre les défis les plus complexes du cancer. Le Cancer Grand Challenges c'est : - 400 M$ investis depuis 2015 - 16 équipes internationales - +1200 chercheurs - 16 pays impliqués 💡 Immunothérapie, microbiome, cancers pédiatriques… Les découvertes issues de ces collaborations transforment déjà la recherche et ouvrent des voies thérapeutiques innovantes. 📅 Prochaine édition : mars 2025. Constituez dès maintenant vos équipes pour relever l’un des grands défis scientifiques et façonner l’avenir de la lutte contre le cancer. Gemma Balmer-Kemp conseille les équipes qui souhaiteraient postuler : 📢 "Il faut être motivés par l’idée de rejoindre notre équipe, être ouvert d’esprit et ouvert au débat, généreux de son temps, de son expertise et de son intelligence. N’hésitez pas à tirer profit de cette opportunité unique que vous offre Cancer Grand Challenges" 👉 Toutes les infos sur cancergrandchallenges.org #CancerResearch #Oncologie #CollaborationInternationale #Innovation

📣 Today in Nature Magazine: a new paper from #CancerGrandChallenges team eDyNAmiC and its international collaborators. The work, led by Andrea Ventura of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, provides a precise method to engineer extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), generating important pre-clinical models of ecDNA amplified cancer and demonstrating its ability to drive tumour formation. 🌟 Andrea will also be speaking at our ecDNA conference next June - registration is now open 🌟 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eGUdJje8

A few weeks ago in Oxford, we held think tank #5 in our series of eight to help identify topics for our next round of #CancerGrandChallenges, launching in March 2025 ⏰ These think tanks mark the first step in our 2-year cycle (you can find out more about that here: https://bit.ly/4et1dtH). They engage a diverse range of researchers, clinicians and patient advocates to stimulate debate and inspire thinking around the most pressing areas in #CancerResearch right now. We spoke to two attendees about their experience: 💡 Ana Domingos, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Oxford 💡 Björn Schumacher, Chair for Genome Stability in Ageing and Disease, University of Cologne Read their reflections below ⤵️

We recently spoke with Yvonne Diaz, a #LungCancer survivor, co-founder of Oncogene Cancer Research, and patient advocate on #CancerGrandChallenges team CANCAN, who are tackling our cancer cachexia challenge. At the time of her diagnosis, Yvonne was a busy professional working in PR and communications, raising her twin teenage sons in London. After she had been diagnosed, she wanted to apply her professional skills to help raise awareness. She has a strong belief that research needs to serve ALL cancers — especially those that are stigmatised, rare or not understood. When we asked her about her experience on team CANCAN, she said "It's been fantastic to be a patient advocate studying cancer-related cachexia — a debilitating syndrome which leads to worse outcomes for those with lung, colon and pancreatic cancers." Thank you Yvonne, for sharing your story. Learn more about CANCAN's work 👉 https://lnkd.in/egrKSn8F

A few weeks ago in Madrid, we held think tank #4 in our series of eight to help identify topics for our next round of #CancerGrandChallenges, launching in March 2025 ⏰ These think tanks mark the first step in our 2-year cycle (you can find out more about that here: https://bit.ly/4et1dtH). They engage a diverse range of researchers, clinicians and patient advocates to stimulate debate and inspire thinking around the most pressing areas in #CancerResearch right now. Our Madrid think tank was co-hosted by Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer. We spoke to three attendees about their experience: 💡 Juan Carlos Acosta Cobacho, Principal Investigator at CSIC, Instituto de Biomedicina y Biotecnología de Cantabria 💡 fabrice andre, Head of Research at Gustave Roussy 💡 Marta Puyol, Scientific Director at Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer Read their reflections below ⤵️

A few weeks ago, we held think tank #3 in our series of eight to help identify topics for our next round of #CancerGrandChallenges, launching in March 2025 ⏰ These think tanks mark the first step in our 2-year cycle (you can find out more about that here: https://bit.ly/4et1dtH). They engage a diverse range of researchers, clinicians and patient advocates to stimulate debate and inspire thinking around the most pressing areas in #CancerResearch right now. We spoke to three attendees about their experience: 💡 Elham Azizi, Herbert & Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Cancer Data Research at Columbia University 💡 Jin Chen, Principal Investigator at Altos Labs 💡 Karen Vousden, Principal Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute and member of the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee Read their reflections below ⤵️

Last week we held our Future Leaders' Conference, bringing together a key cohort of the #CancerGrandChallenges community: our early career researchers 🌟 It was 3️⃣ inspiring days of exceptional scientific talks and posters, keynotes, insights from patient advocates and networking. One of the keynotes was delivered by Dr Karin Straathof, a co-investigator on team NextGen. The NextGen team, which is funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, is tackling our solid tumours in children challenge. Dr Straathof gave an amazing overview of her career and work developing T-cell therapies, culminating in the clinical trials that NexTGen are preparing to begin. We also had a few award winners! Congratulations to: 🔸 Matthew Jones (best team talk, team eDyNAmiC) 🔸 Mariya Mardamshina M.D. Ph.D. (best poster, team PROMINENT) 🔸 Pooja Vikraman (best poster, team SPECIFICANCER) Learn more about our Future Leaders programme: https://lnkd.in/er3Rubtt