New international projects strengthen IOR research on leukemia and lymphoma
Institutional Communication Service
The Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), affiliated to USI and member of Bios+, is involved in three new international research projects focused on developing new therapies for blood cancers. The projects involve Professor Francesco Bertoni, Head of the Lymphoma Genomics laboratory at IOR, and highlight the Institute’s growing role in international research collaborations.
The first project, a bilateral Swiss-Czech grant project carried out in collaboration with the group of Professor Ondrej Havranek at Charles University in Prague, is supported by funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (Swiss part) and the Czech Science Foundation (Czech part). Its goal is to better understand the role of the cytoskeleton—namely, the internal framework that helps cells maintain their shape, movement, and organization—and, in particular, a protein encoded by the Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome gene (WASp), in processes that may promote the growth of B-cell lymphomas, among the most common blood cancers in adults. A deeper understanding of these mechanisms may help pave the way for more targeted therapeutic strategies in the future.
In addition to this study, IOR is involved in two other international projects supported by the Eurostars and Health~Holland programs, respectively. In these initiatives, Professor Bertoni’s group will collaborate with BIMINI Biotech in the Netherlands, the Central University of Punjab in India, and Navegador Biosciences in Portugal. These projects aim to develop new therapeutic approaches for certain types of lymphoma and for acute myeloid leukemia, a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer. As in the previous case, this work builds on research conducted at IOR on cellular mechanisms related to WASp.
“These projects represent an important recognition of the work carried out at IOR and further strengthen our international collaborations,” said Professor Francesco Bertoni. “Our goal is to translate research findings into new therapeutic opportunities, with the hope of providing more effective treatments for patients in the future.”
With these new funds, IOR further consolidates its commitment to research on hematological malignancies and to building collaborations that can accelerate the translation of laboratory findings into potential clinical applications.
