Two outstanding scientists will lead the International Centre for Cancer Vaccine Science at the University of Gdańsk

Prof. Ted Hupp, Prof. Krzysztof Rutkowski, Rector for Development, and Prof. Robin Fahraeus

The Foundation for Polish Science (FPS) awarded funding in the International Research Agendas Programme (IRAP). Two laureates, Prof. Ted Hupp and Prof. Robin Fahraeus, will receive 41 M PLN (approx. 9.5 M EUR) funding for establishing the International Centre for Cancer Vaccince Science at the University of Gdańsk.

This innovative centre of excellence, as a joint unit of the University of Gdańsk and the University of Edinburgh, will strongly focus on top quality scientific research and contribute to the increase of internationalization and a better cooperation between science and industry.

Treatment of oncological diseases is currently one of the grand challenges for science in the area of health. New therapies aim at activating of the immune system, e.g. with therapeutic vaccines, in such a way that it would be able to identify and fight the increasing cancer cells. This direction of research, closely involving work in fields such as molecular biology, genetics, and proteomics, has been currently taken up with high expectations by numerous scientific centres in the world. New research teams of the International Centre for Cancer Vaccince Science will also develop research in this area. The founders of the Centre are Prof. Ted Hupp, currently Chair of the Experimental Cancer Research, University of Edinburgh and Prof. Robin Fahraeus, Director of Research at INSERM in Paris. The establishing of the Centre in Gdańsk has been initiated through the cooperation set up by the team for molecular virology, led by prof. Krystyna Bieńkowska-Szewczyk from the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG, and Prof. Ted Hupp’s laboratory.

The strategic partner institution from abroad is the University of Edinburgh, one of the best universities according to world rankings. The strategic partner will not only cooperate with the Centre in research, but will also support it with best practice transfer in the area of research management, organization and industry cooperation.

The University of Gdańsk has been rated very well in the competition as a place for conducting high quality molecular and biomedical research. A modern campus, including specialist laboratories from different research areas situated closely to each other, with high class research equipment and researchers who will cooperate with the new Centre, are elements of vital importance for the success of the new project. Advantage of Gdańsk are also a dynamic biotech and pharma environment as well as an attractive site location and easy communication with the world due to the airport close to the campus.

Read more at: http://www.fnp.org.pl/drugi-otwarty-konkurs-w-programie-mab-rozstrzygniety/