Professor Óscar Molina, from the Department of Physiological Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona, has received one of the grants from the Association Against Cancer (AECC) to promote research focused on childhood leukaemia. This organization has awarded 54 grants for cancer research and six research centre accreditations with a total budget of €13.11 million, aimed at projects to be carried out in the province of Barcelona and covering all phases of research and research careers, from basic research to innovation and clinical trials.
As part of the AECC 2025 call for proposals, Filotea Crasovan, a student at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, has received a grant under the laboratory internship programme promoted by the AECC.
The research grants, which aim to achieve a 70% cancer survival rate by 2030, were awarded on Thursday 27 February at a ceremony attended by Núria Montserrat Pulido, Catalan Minister for Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia. The minister highlighted the importance of collaboration between institutions, the scientific system and social entities to advance research and improve the lives of people with cancer.
Óscar Molina has received a LAB AECC 2025 grant of €372,500 to develop the project "Identification of the Achilles heel of childhood leukaemia with aneuploidies to improve patient treatment". The study aims to understand how leukaemia cells can survive despite having an abnormal number of chromosomes (aneuploidy), a condition that alters cell activity. Understanding these mechanisms will enable the design of more specific treatments capable of weakening cancer cells, increasing therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects in children. The AECC grant will also enable Molina to set up his own laboratory and consolidate his scientific career.
Nationally, the Association Against Cancer is the social and private entity that allocates the most funds to cancer research, with €157 million committed to 792 ongoing grants involving more than 3,000 researchers from 160 research centres located in 38 different provinces. In 2025, the association has awarded €40 million through 282 new grants.
