5 April 2019 |On 4 April 2019, the EuroTech Universities Alliance organised an evening event to discuss the future EU research and innovation mission on cancer. In preparation, the EuroTech Universities Alliance invited a diverse group of leading experts in cancer and health technologies across its member universities to develop some key recommendations, which centred on the following 10 points:
Fostering discovery and its applications
- Discovery research on mechanisms of cancer via new ERC panel on cancer
- Multi-omics profiling for precision cancer medicine
- Early detection for prevention
- Dynamic monitoring of tumor response & progression
- Affordable non-invasive tech for cancer evaluation
Enabling next generation cancer therapeutics
- Establishing infrastructure for impactful academic clinical cancer trials
- Engineering better drug delivery modalities
- Academic biotech partnerships to develop new cancer therapies
Training of next generation cancer specialists
- Training & early career development for cancer scientists, engineers and physicians
- Bridging disciplines to expedite progress in cancer therapy, detection and prevention
These recommendations were presented at the event by Douglas Hanahan, Professor and Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, EPFL and Chair of the EuroTech cancer mission think-tank. Prof. Hanahan’s intervention was followed by specific feedback from key stakeholders in the form of a panel debate and a broader discussion with the audience. The panel included Isabelle Manneh-Vangramberen, Head of Health and Research Programmes, European Cancer Patient Coalition, and Barbara Kerstiens, Head of Unit for Non Communicable Diseases and the Challenge of Healthy Ageing , DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission.
The members of the EuroTech cancer mission think-tank are:
- Douglas Hanahan, Professor and Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, EPFL (Chair)
- Sine Reker Hadrup, Professor at Department of Health Technology, DTU
- Alexis Gautreau, Chair of the Biology Department, L’X
- Yuval Shaked, Professor at Faculty of Medicine, Technion and Technion-Israel Integrated Cancer Center
- Jurjen Tel, Assistant Professor in Immuno-engineering, TU/e
- Wolfgang Weber, Professor and Director of the Clinic for Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Rechts der Isar, TUM
- Juliane Winkelmann, Professor and Senior Vice President International Alliances and Alumni, TUM
