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Dr Direna Alonso-Curbelo. Photo / IRB Barcelona.
 03.12.2024

Direna Alonso-Curbelo receives an ERC Consolidator Grant to study how inflammation fuels tumor initiation and evolution

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant to Dr. Direna Alonso-Curbelo, head of the Inflammation, Tissue Plasticity & Cancer lab at IRB Barcelona, headquartered in the Barcelona Science Park. Backed by funding amounting to €2 M over the next five years, her project, IGNITE, will explore how different inflammatory processes and epigenetic mechanisms influence the development and evolution of pancreatic cancer. The findings could open new avenues for early diagnosis and the development of more efficient treatments.

The mechanisms underlying the earliest phases of tumor initiation remain enigmatic. While genetic mutations play a critical role, non-genetic factors such as inflammation and epigenetic mechanisms also significantly influence its development. Understanding how these factors interact is essential for advancing the prevention and treatment of this disease.

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant to Dr. Direna Alonso-Curbelo, head of the Inflammation, Tissue Plasticity & Cancer lab at IRB Barcelona. Backed by funding amounting to €2 M over the next five years, her Project, IGNITE (Unmasking Non-Genetic Determinants Instructing Tumor Initiation), will explore the fundamental mechanisms by which different inflammatory processes drive (or inhibit) the initiation and progression of cancer, taking inflammation-driven pancreatic cancer as a paradigm.

“We want to understand how individual cells perceive and respond to changes in their inflammatory environment,” explains Dr. Alonso-Curbelo. “We hypothesise that different types of inflammation affect cells in distinct ways and that epigenetics plays a key role in shaping the diversity and evolution of these responses.”

The IGNITE project proposes a multidimensional approach spanning cellular, tissue, and organismal levels to explain what drives cancer initiation beyond genetics. This strategy will enable an understanding of how individual cells with distinct epigenetic states sense and respond to inflammatory signals, how these responses impact tissue behaviour, and how tumor-driving cell-environment interactions are impacted by distal inflammatory disorders. By integrating these three levels of analysis, the project aims to unravel the complex interplay between genetic and non-genetic factors that ignite tumor development and progression.

The project requires a multidisciplinary team that will combine experimental models and human sample analysis, applying advanced techniques such as single-cell analysis, cell lineage tracing, and in vivo models.

Image / IRB Barcelona.

“The ERC Consolidator Grant allows us to tackle ambitious scientific questions through innovative technologies that would be difficult to implement without this support,” says. Dr. Alonso-Curbelo. “Our team is ready to carry out this project, and we hope our findings will have a significant impact on the field of cancer biology, linking tumor cell plasticity with tissue and organismal physiology.”

» For further information: IRB Barcelona website [+]