Partners

Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (IOLJ) conducts high-level research, development and initiation of new treatment methods through cooperation with internationally recognized cancer centers abroad. IOLJ is guided by its basic goal: effective translation of knowledge from the multilevel research domain into clinical practice. The concept of research work at the IOLJ is designed to cover all important oncology domains: (1) carcinogenesis, (2) cancer biology - tumor growth and its characteristics, (3) cancer epidemiology, (4) adaptable mechanisms of organisms affected with cancer and adjustable mechanisms of cancer cells - in particular tumor immunology, (5) cancer detection and classification, (6) cancer treatment, and (7) determination of early and late sequels of cancer therapies.

The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) is part of the University of Ljubljana. It offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in health care and related fields, as well as a joint doctoral programme with the Faculty of Medicine. Research at FHS is organized into research groups within departments. The research activities of the Medical Imaging Department, which will collaborate on this project, include medical imaging, radiation therapy, dosimetry, image quality control, image processing, biostatistics, and health informatics. Members of the department are working on several research projects in radiologic technology, medical image processing, and biostatistics, and have published more than 100 papers in the last 5 years.

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) is the largest public research organization in France, gathering around 1100 services and/or research units (either joint or not) throughout the country. As a multidisciplinary institution, it covers all fields of scientific research. Driving various programs and actions designed to address society and industry expectations. The CNRS has received the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers award committing its organization to implement the Charter and Code in its institution. CNRS has a strong experience in managing European funding as a participant in more than 2800 consortium, among which 42% in coordination, and as the host institution of more than 750 ERC grants.

The Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology (IPBS) is a department of research of both the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the University Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier, offering a multidisciplinary education in the fields of science (ranked 4th among the 25 classified French institutions and 237th out of the 963 world universities from 56 countries in the 2019 edition of the bibliometric classification of Leiden). It benefits from a highly collaborative and innovative scientific environment with access to state-of-the-art technological facilities on-site and on the University of Toulouse scientific campus. IPBS has a strong track record in European projects, including MSCA actions, ERC, Research and Innovation Actions from the FP5 to Horizon Europe and ERA-Net projects.

The Medical University of Graz (MUG) is associated with the University Clinics of Graz, with 1600 beds and 87.400 inpatients/year. MUG teaches 4,300 students and offers 2 PhD Programs and 3 Doctoral Colleges. Approximately 1.500 academic researchers are employed at MUG and published more than 4.500 publications. Main areas of expertise are in medical care and molecular diagnostics, research, education & training, biobanking and latest analytical technologies, high-through put next generation sequencing, proteomics and metabolomics platforms, biomarker development, quality management and regulatory affairs. At the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) Graz, 25 interdisciplinary facilities (departments, divisions and institutes) that specifically focus on cancer diagnosis and therapy work together closely to facilitate the early detection of cancer and its treatment. These aims are supported by the Med Uni Graz Biobank with its more than 20 million biological specimens (ISO-certified core-facility, hosting biological samples from in total 1.2 million patients, complemented by detailed medical data). Physicians, nurses, psychologists, and scientists responsible for diagnostics and care for tumor patients have a high level of education and receive constant training. More than 5.900 cancer patients are being discussed in 12 tumor boards per year.

KU Leuven (KUL) is currently by far the largest university in Belgium in terms of research funding and expenditure (€ 650 million in 2022), and is a charter member of LERU. KU Leuven conducts fundamental and applied research in all academic disciplines with a clear international orientation. In the Times Higher Education ranking KU Leuven is ranked as the 14h European university, while in the Reuters Top 100 of the World’s most innovative institutions (until 2019). The over 100 ERC grants since 2007 involving KU Leuven researchers, (including affiliates with VIB and IMEC) confirm that KU Leuven is a breeding ground and attractive destination for the world’s best researchers. Its success in the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions is a manifestation of the three pillars of KU Leuven: research, education and service to society. In Horizon 2020, we were involved in 126 Innovative Training Networks, ranking us first institution of higher education with regard to number of MSCA-ITNs. To strengthen international collaboration, KU Leuven has its own international research fellowship programme and supports international scholars in international funding applications.

The National Research Council (CNR) performs multidisciplinary activities in its own Institutes. It promotes innovation, competitiveness and internationalization of the national research system. The CNR Institutes involved in the project possess wide knowledge in biomedical and physical sciences. The Laboratory of Molecular Pathology and Experimental Oncology (LaPMOS), belongs to the Istituto di Farmacologia Traslazionale, involved in research studies to accelerate the translation of basic research discoveries in biology and medicine into novel therapeutics and diagnostics tools to transfer into clinical practice. LaPMOS has expertise in innovative protocols for genetic immunization and delivery of therapeutic molecules by pulsed electric fields and in biomarkers of colorectal cancer. The Laboratory of Self-Assembled Materials On Surfaces (SAMOS) belongs to the CNR Istituto di Struttura della Materia, involved on fundamental and applied research in the science of materials and technologies of matter. SAMOS is devoted to the synthesis and developed of two-dimensional nanostructures, mainly based on organic molecules, to obtain electronic devices and sensors, by using laboratory and large-scale facilities such as synchrotron sources. The Istituto di Biomembrane, Bioenergetica e Biotecnologie Molecolari is renowned due to fundamental original contributions given in biochemical, molecular genetics and biophysical aspects of bioenergetics and biomembrane research.