24 June 2022
The AstraZeneca Foundation and the Portuguese Oncology Society have distinguished a study by three Champalimaud Foundation researchers - Adriana Sánchez-Danés, Patrícia Borges and Raquel Soares - with a grant worth 35 thousand euros.
The BALANCE project, from the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Lab at Champalimaud Research, will focus on medulloblastoma, one of the most common malignant brain tumours in children, and aims to “discover to what extent the developing brain is plastic and capable of compensating for the disturbances caused by the formation of a tumour, while maintaining its normal development and function”, as those responsible for the study say. The project in question will thus “provide the first insights into the compensatory mechanisms used by the growing brain to ensure correct development, mechanisms that can lead to tumour shrinkage, opening promising avenues for the development of new treatments for paediatric patients”.
The winners of the 2022 edition of the "Faz Ciência" Award were announced on 23rd June, at a ceremony presided over by Maria do Céu Machado, new President of the AstraZeneca Foundation, which took place at the British Ambassador's residence in Lisbon.
The 26 candidates for the 2022 edition were evaluated by a jury composed of five specialists in the field of Oncology: Ana Raimundo, former president of the Portuguese Society of Oncology and president of the jury; Bruno Silva-Santos, deputy director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM) of the University of Lisbon and Associate Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon; Cláudia Vieira, member of the Portuguese Society of Oncology and researcher at the IPO Research Centre in Porto; José Carlos Machado, vice-president of the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology at the University of Porto (Ipatimup) and Nuno Bonito, member of the Portuguese Society of Oncology and coordinator of the Multidisciplinary Digestive Cancer Team at the Coimbra IPO.
From left to right: Maria do Céu Machado (President FAZ); Adriana Sánchez-Danés (Principal Investigator of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, responsible for the winning project BALANCE); Ana Raimundo (President of the FAZ Science Prize Jury); Leonor Ribeiro (SPO member).
