The ERC Synergy Grants are among the most coveted and fiercely competitive research grants in Europe. Through these grants, the European Research Council (ERC) supports scientific projects with the potential to yield groundbreaking insights. A prerequisite is that researchers with diverse skill sets pool their expertise so that, together, they can answer questions that could not be resolved individually. The bar for this top-tier funding is correspondingly high.
Together with three other researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Frank Westermann, research group leader at the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ) and DKFZ, succeeded in winning this competition. Frank Westermann and his research group study neuroblastoma, a form of cancer that primarily affects infants and toddlers. The tumor develops before birth but is often not detected until the disease is far advanced. While some neuroblastomas regress on their own, others develop into life-threatening tumors.
In the EVO-DETECT project, researchers from KiTZ and DKFZ, the University Hospital of Cologne, and the Institut Curie aim to determine which early changes in the genome and in gene regulation determine the further course of the disease. Based on these findings, the goal is to develop a blood test capable of detecting the first signs of neuroblastoma even in newborns and infants. In the long term, this could help detect dangerous tumors early and prevent severe disease progression.
Total funding for the project amounts to 9.8 million euros. Of this, 3.4 million euros will go to KiTZ and DKFZ. DKFZ, one of KiTZ’s three parent institutions, has another reason to celebrate: three additional projects involving DKFZ are also being funded by ERY Synergy Grants—more than ever before for a single institution in a single funding round.
EVO-DETECT
Cologne University: Matthias Fischer https://kinderklinik.uk-koeln.de/forschung/onkologie/experimentelle-kinderonkologie/
Martin Peifer https://www.translational-genomics.de/research-groups/peifer-lab
Institut Curie: Gudrun Schleiermacher https://institut-curie.org/team/schleiermacher
Source: DKFZ
