Last Monday, May 22, 2023, the 24th FERO Fellowships and the 5th FERO-ghd Project were presented at a charity gala held at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in Barcelona.
The event began with a welcome cocktail reception outside the venue, where more than 700 attendees from the scientific and social spheres were received, and continued inside the iconic Oval Hall, one of Europe’s largest venues for social events.
The formal presentation of the gala was hosted by presenter Nuria Roca and led by Sol Daurella, President of the FERO Foundation. The winning translational research projects of the 24th FERO Fellowships and the 5th FERO-ghd Project were then announced, the invited speakers delivered their speeches, and fundraising began to continue financing the Advanced Molecular Diagnostics Programme (DIAMAV) led by Dr Ana Vivancos. Total funds raised at the gala exceeded €700,000, and the amount reached on the counter at the end of the night for the DIAMAV project was €63,690, 25% more than the previous year.
The three winning translational research projects of the 24th FERO Fellowships and the 5th FERO-ghd Project.
The winning translational oncology research projects of the 24th FERO Fellowships were led by Dr Jon Zugazagoitia Fraile and Dr Francisco Martínez-Jiménez, and the 5th FERO-ghd Project by Dr Mariona Graupera Garcia-Milà. We are convinced that their research will bring us one step closer to eradicating cancer as a cause of death.
Winning project of the 24th FERO Fellowship sponsored by the Bosch Aymerich Foundation.
The first 24th FERO Fellowship of the evening was awarded to Dr Jon Zugazagoitia Fraile, currently a group leader in the Medical Oncology Department at Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid.
His project, entitled ‘Enhancing the therapeutic target OX40L to increase the efficacy of immunotherapy in lung cancer patients’, aims to find new immunotherapy strategies that make it possible to treat a greater number of lung cancer patients more effectively.
“I would like to make a special mention of the FERO Foundation and the opportunity it gives us doctors who conduct research from within the hospital to generate knowledge, and for that knowledge to later be translated into new therapies that will benefit patients in the future. I firmly believe in this approach, and we are going to work hard to achieve it.” the doctor stated.
Winning project of the 24th FERO Fellowship sponsored by the Ramón Areces Foundation.
Dr Francisco Martínez-Jiménez, head of the Computational Immunogenomics laboratory at @vhiobarcelona and leader of the Data Mining unit at the Hartwig Medical Foundation, received the second FERO Fellowship of the evening.
His project, entitled ‘Characterisation of genetic markers that reduce the therapeutic efficacy of immunotherapy’, aims to discover genetic biomarkers that help identify early those patients for whom immunotherapy is not effective, preventing them from undergoing this therapy and suffering its consequences.
“This fellowship will allow us to carry out a project I believe in, and one with which we will truly be able to optimise cancer treatments, specifically immunotherapy. Also because mine is a very young group—we have only been going for a few months—and this project will allow us to consolidate, it will allow us to grow. In addition, belonging to FERO, to the FERO family, is a source of pride, a satisfaction, and also a responsibility.” the doctor explained.
Winning project of the 5th FERO-ghd Project sponsored by ghd.
Dr Mariona Graupera Garcia-Milà, a scientist at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, an ICREA professor, and head of the Endothelial Pathobiology and Microenvironment group, was the third awardee of the gala with a FERO-ghd Project.
Her project, ‘Identification of factors that promote bone metastasis in breast cancer’, aims to understand how cancer cells instruct the normal cells around them to work to their benefit and to discover new therapeutic targets.
“This project will allow me to train a new generation of cancer scientists. This is very important—we need them. They are our future.” the doctor added.
Finally, we would like to highlight the high quality of all the proposals submitted and thank all collaborators for their attendance and participation. Let us keep researching!
