CNIO's Scientific director del CNIO, Fernando Peláez, explains or work at CNIO.
“The key to putting a stop to cancer could be protein-to-protein communication. But honestly, I believe that the real key lies in our own communication, in how we share, question and collaborate; if we continue to keep this dialogue open, I think the day will come when we really understand cancer … and stop it,” said researcher Seokjin Ham, recruited thanks to donations to the CNIO Philanthropy program, at the CNIO Friends Day.
The video of the whole event can be viewed on this link, including talks by CNIO’s directors and by some of the researchers funded by the CNIO Friends Contracts program, who presented their innovative projects against cancer.
These are some of the highlights of the Day, which took place last June 26th to honour donors’ generosity:
Representives of the Domingo Martínez Foundation with Alejandro Da Silva (second from the left), from the Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group (CNIO), whose contract they fund. Da Silva explained how he researches the molecular mechanisms “that fuel aggresiveness and metastatic potential in bladder cancer”. At both ends, Jessica Rose (left) and Mercedes Antona, from CNIO’s Philantropy Department.
During the visit to the premises, Manuel Valiente (right) explains to several Friends at his lab how they work at the Group he heads, focused on the study of brain metastasis in order to advance new treatments and improve life quality for patients affected by this kind of tumors. Valiente leads, together with CNIO’s Biobank, the nationwide network RENACER, where 20 hospitals and research centres collaborate to gather the first international collection of brain metastasis live samples, with the goal of stimulating the development of both traslational research and innovative clinical trials.
CNIO Friends Contracts researchers Juan Ignacio Jiménez-Loygorri (Metabolic Interactions Group) , Sonia Burgaz (Telomeres and Telomerase Group – Humanism and Science Foundation) and Elena Gutiérrez (who will soon join the Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Group, with a contract funded by La Roche-Posay), flanked by Friends Sara and Alfonso.
Blas Chaves, researcher at the CNIO’s Computational Oncology Group, explains his work to several CNIO Friends. Bárbara Hernando –researche who ws able to continue her career thanks to the CNIO Friends Contracts program– also belongs to this group. In a recent study, Hernando has identified biomarkers that allow biomarcadores to predict which patients won’t respond to chemotherapy. This can avoid unwanted side-effects and the expenses related to treatments which will not be effective.
Researcher Elena Jiménez-Ortega (second from the left), with a CNIO Friends Contract, with representatives from the Asociación Social L@s Fuertes. At the Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Group, JIménez-Ortega has studied the 3D structure of proteins involved in the replication and maintenance of mitochondrial DNA.
Once again, Alejandro Da Silva, researcher from the Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group under a CNIO Friends – Domingo Martínez Foundation Contract, with two CNIO Friends.
Scientific director, Fernando Peláez, and managing director, Maria Isabel Salido, flanking youth researchers after the latters’ presentations to the CNIO Friends.
Salido thanked the Friends for their support that “allows us to continue promoting excellence, opening up opportunities and fostering transformative science in the field of oncology that has an impact on society as a whole.” Peláez stressed the importance of recruiting young postdoctoral students, “for whom there are fewer opportunities even though they are incredible valuable because they already have a doctorate.”