The Nanostructured Films and Particles (NFP) group of INMA, awarded in the Eighth Edition of the Premio Tercer Milenio
The Nanostructured Films and Particles (NFP) group of INMA, led by Jesús Santamaría, has been awarded in the Eighth Edition of the Premio Tercer Milenio with the Research and Future Award: “Manufacturing drugs inside tumours”.
Despite the current therapeutic arsenal, cancer continues to cause ten million deaths each year worldwide. The CADENCE (Catalytic Dual-Function Devices Against Cancer) project aims to find a new way to fight this disease, avoiding the problems associated with conventional chemotherapy and its devastating side effects. To achieve this, catalysts capable of manufacturing toxic substances from within the tumour are used, minimising their diffusion through the body.
To achieve this, three fundamental problems must be solved. First, developing suitable catalysts (catalytic nanoparticles) capable of operating inside a tumour and manufacturing toxic molecules there. Alternatively, nanoparticles can operate in other ways (by heating remotely) and also produce tumour death. It is also necessary to selectively deliver these catalysts to the tumour, avoiding their accumulation in other organs. Finally, these catalysts must be selectively activated inside the tumour. Throughout the project, which began in 2017 and concludes next year, answers to each of these problems have been obtained that have opened new paths in the fight against cancer.
Led by the Nanostructured Films and Particles (NFP) group at the Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón, INMA, (CSIC-Unizar), headed by Jesús Santamaría, this research has been funded for five years through an ERC Advanced Grant project endowed with 2.5 million euros. The ERC Advanced Grants are the most prestigious European projects, awarded by the European Research Council in a highly competitive international competition.
The jury of this eighth edition convened by HERALDO was composed of Ramón Guirado, Director General de Investigación e Innovación del Gobierno de Aragón; Luis Oro, researcher at the Instituto de Síntesis Química y Catálisis Homogénea (CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza); Francisco Rojas, head of Technology Missions and Communication to Society at the Technological Institute of Aragon; Sabina Scarpellini, researcher at the Misiones Tecnológicas y Comunicación a la Sociedad en el Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón and the CIRCE Institute; Antonio Novo, managing director of IIDiA-Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación en Aragón; and Pilar Perla, coordinator of Tercer Milenio. The awards will be presented at a ceremony to be held on 7 November at the Paraninfo.
The other award winners were:
– Dissemination in Aragon Award: I am a scientist. I live in your neighbourhood. Runner-up: ‘The human brain, explained by Dr. Santiago Ramón y Cajal’ and Ambassadors of Biodiversity.
– Young Talented Researcher Award: Julia Ramírez García. Runners-up: María Sancho Albero and Beatriz Moya García.
– Research and Future Award: Manufacturing drugs inside tumours. Runners-up: New therapies against tuberculosis using bioreactors and Logistics in the framework of the circular economy.
– Transfer Award: New tools for in vivo self-monitoring of antibiotic residues in production animals. Runners-up: Sustainable products and processes and More efficient fertilisers.
More information at: https://bit.ly/3gG3BV6.
07/11/2022
