Robert Albero Gallego and Anna Genescà Garrigosa, both from the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the UAB, were awarded grants in an event held on Thursday at TV3.
The exceptional amount of 14.4 milion euros collected in the past edition of La Marató de 3Cat will make it possible to fund a total of 38 research projects led by 91 research teams specialising in cancer. The funding, in addition to raising awareness about cancer, will be decisive in helping the research teams find more answers to a disease that, despite many recent advances, continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the world. In Catalonia alone, 46 people die everyday from cancer, two every hour. The incidence is very high and, according to experts, is on the rise: one in two men and one in three women will develop cancer at some point in their lives.
The projects that include the involvement of the UAB and that will be given grants this year are: "Mecanismes i estratègies terapèutiques per superar la resistència a la immunoteràpia en la síndrome de Sézary" [Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies for Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Sézary Syndrome], led by UAB Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology lecturer Robert Albero Gallego and by Dr Pablo Mozas Fernández from the Fundació Recerca Clínic - Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), with a funding of €224,891.25; and "Perills ocults de la moda: efectes genotòxics i proinflamatoris de la inhalació de microfibres tèxtils en la carcinogènesi associada a fibres" [Hidden Dangers of Fashion: genotoxic and proinflammatory effects of inhalation of textile microfibres in fiber-associated carcinogenesis], directed by lecturers Anna Genescà Garrigosa, also from the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the UAB, and Neil Joseph Ganem, of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Boston, with a grant of €292,499.14.
The 91 award-winning teams were presented with the grants at a ceremony held last Thursday 5 November, at the TV3 studios, hosted by journalist Ramon Pellicer, the presenter of the last edition of La Marató. The event featured interventions by Carme Figueras, councillor of the CCMA-3Cat and vice president of the Board of the La Marató de 3Cat Foundation; and the foundation's director, Lluís Bernabé; Dr Cristina Fillat, researcher at the Recerca Clínic-IDIBAPS Foundation who also received funding from La Marató; and Olga Pinart and Josep Maria Ribas, participants in the previous edition of the programme.
The event marks the launch of an initiative that will enable the enthusiastic involvement of more than three million people through various forms of participation—ranging from donations and volunteering to solidarity activities, buying the Marató album, organising educational sessions, to name a few examples.
Over the next three years, the winning teams will work to develop new prevention and diagnostic tools, as well as more efficient treatments, to address a disease that continues to have a major social impact.
The 38 works selected by the foundation's Board of Trustees, on the recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Committee, are those that received the highest evaluations among the 201 submitted to the latest research grant call. The Catalan Agency for Health Quality and Assessment (AQUAS), of the Ministry for Health, coordinated an international evaluation process in which 169 cancer experts participated. Projects were assessed according to their quality and methodology, scientific, health and social relevance, and innovative and transformative value, among other aspects.
In its 34-year history, La Marató has raised 272 million euros and funded 1,122 research projects, led by 1,913 top-tier teams, which have involved nearly 12,000 researchers. This makes it one of the main driving forces behind research in Catalonia and a powerful, internationally recognised platform for social awareness and scientific outreach.
