The director of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Dr. Manel Esteller, has been awarded the Admirables prize for his scientific career in biomedical research. Diario Médico and Correo Farmacéutico awarded this prize to Dr. Esteller in recognition of his research in epigenetics and its alterations in human diseases, especially in cancer.
The FERO Foundation, founded by Dr. Josep Baselga in 2001 and dedicated to promoting cancer research, has just awarded the V FERO-ghd Project to Dr. Mariona Graupera, from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, to develop a project aimed at understanding the role played by endothelial cells in breast cancer metastasis, especially in the bone.
Researchers at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, led by Dr. Manel Esteller, have discovered a key epigenetic alteration that anticipates the clinical course of liver cancer. This is the deactivation of the NSUN7 gene, which is an epigenetic editor of RNA. Tumors with this alteration tend to have a poor clinical prognosis, although the research indicates that they are more vulnerable to bromodomain inhibitors, a family of anticancer drugs.
Researcher Salvador Macip, an expert in the study of cancer and senescence, joins the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute to lead the "Mechanisms of Cancer and Ageing" group. Dr. Macip will collaborate with specialists in epigenetics and senescence at the Josep Carreras Institute and will keep his current affiliations as professor, researcher and Director of Health Sciences Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and the University of Leicester (UK).
The researchers Eulàlia Genescà and Francesc Solé, from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, have organized the third edition of the course "NEXT, New Generation Diagnosis in Leukemia" together with the Spanish Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy (SEHH). The course, which has the support of the Spanish Program for Hematology Treatments (PETHEMA) of the SEHH, has shown that the diagnosis of leukemia, and of hematological cancer in general, "is at the same level in Spain as in countries with a recognized track record", according to both experts.
The President Pedro Sánchez has visited the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute this Thursday, May 4, where he has been able to learn more about the research carried out to advance the fight against diseases such as leukemia and cancer. The head of the Spanish Chief Executive was accompanied by Josep Carreras, President of the Institute’s Board of Trustees and the Josep Carreras Foundation, and Miquel Iceta, Minister of Culture and Sports.
The first patients are being treated with a CAR-T drug against B lymphomas in a Phase I study. This new advanced therapy drug offers a therapeutic proposal, unique in Spain, for patients with some types of lymphatic cancer that have not responded well to conventional treatments. CAR-T 19 SP is the second drug of this type produced and developed entirely at the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau - IIB-Sant Pau, which already has two academic CAR-Ts of its own production. The research project is led by Dr. Javier Briones, head of the Cellular Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Research Group at IIB-Sant Pau, member of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute and head of the Clinical Hematology Unit of the Hematology Service of the Hospital de Sant Pau.
On April 27, in the framework of the International Day of Immunology (April 29), the Catalan Society of Immunology celebrated its traditional Awards in recognition of those researchers who have made significant contributions in the field of immunology. This year the award for the best scientific publication in the category of new researcher was given to Ainara Meler, researcher of the Development and Lymphocytic Diseases group of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute.
The oncogenic activation of MYC, a critical gene in cancer progression, has the potential to identify lung cancer patients who may respond poorly to immunotherapy (ICB). This is the main conclusion of a study recently published by a team of researchers led by Dr. Montse Sanchez-Cespedes, Principal Investigator of the Cancer Genetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute. Their findings highlight a major contributor to poor response and suggest a new approach to selecting patients who will benefit from ICB or require alternative treatments well in advance.
The Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute has received this Thursday, April 13, the visit of the Minister of Health of the Government of Catalonia, Mr Manel Balcells. The Catalan Minister was able to learn more about the work of the Institute and met with its management team, led by Dr Manel Esteller.