5th FERO-ASEICA Grant – Dr. María Alieva

This project, awarded the 5th FERO-ASEICA Grant and led by Dr. María Alieva, focuses on identifying new therapeutic targets for an extremely aggressive pediatric tumor: diffuse midline glioma. This tumor affects children and has a devastating prognosis, as its infiltrating nature allows it to invade healthy brain tissue, making treatment extremely difficult. Dr. Alieva’s objective is to discover the factors that drive this invasive capacity in order to develop therapies that can inhibit them. These factors can be both intrinsic characteristics of the tumor cells and influences from other cells in the microenvironment surrounding the tumor.

To achieve this, with the support of the 5th FERO-ASEICA Grant, the team will use an innovative strategy based on the combination of different imaging techniques that allow for the simultaneous study of cell dynamics, the distribution of tumor cells within the tumor architecture, their relationship with microenvironmental niches, and gene expression profiles in these areas. This approach will integrate data from intravital microscopy, multiplexed 3D imaging, and spatial transcriptomics, providing a detailed view of the molecular mechanisms that favor tumor invasion and opening new avenues for the development of more effective treatments for children affected by this disease.