VHIO ACADEMY
Manager of the VHIO Academy Imma Falero Training Coordinator Maria Yubero Academic Officer Natàlia Molner Training Officer Thomas Guegan VHIO Academy Scientific Chairs Francisco Barriga, Elena Élez, César Serrano
VHIO Academy co-Chairs (left to right): VHIO’s Francisco Barriga, Elena Élez and César Serrano.
As already highlighted, the VHIO Academy has achieved several highlights including the launch of international Academic Programs (Bachelor, Master, PhD calls), the implementation and consolidation of a structured International PhD Program (+100 PhD students) adhering to the principles of interdisciplinarity and internationality, early independence and scientific creativity, excellence in science and technology, collaboration, and mentoring, and the deployment of an Advanced Training Program.
In 2023, the VHIO Academy coordinated 5 Academic Programs:
- BBVA Foundation International Secondments Program
- BBVA Foundation – Severo Ochoa VHIO International Summer Internship Program
- BBVA Foundation – Severo Ochoa VHIO International Masters Internship Program
- VHIO International PhD Program
- Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera – VHIO MD-PhD Fellowship.
Throughout the year it also coordinated a total of 18 VHIO-CaixaResearch Scientific Seminars, provided 11 scientific trainings, 16 transferrable skills trainings, organized 4 workshops on professional development skills for clinicians, and coordinated the Cancer Core Europe (CCE) Summer School 2023, 08 -14 October, Porto Bay Falésia, the Algarve, Portugal. Another highlight this year has been the implementation of the e-Learning tool VHO Moodle as a versatile platform for training.
VHIO - CAIXARESEARCH SCIENTIFIC SEMINARS SERIES
Scientific co-Chairs (left to right): VHIO’s Elena Élez, Joaquin Mateo and Laura Soucek.
Coordinated by the VHIO Academy, the VHIO – CaixaResearch Scientific Seminars Series is supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation. This annual educational program welcomes internationally renowned researchers and clinical investigators to VHIO to share and discuss their latest research findings and to meet with VHIO investigators. Established in 2019, these seminars take place in the VHIO Auditorium and typically consist of a 30-45 minute talk followed by a Q&A session.
A total of 18 VHIO – CaixaResearch Scientific Seminars were organized in 2023.
|
DATE |
SPEAKER |
TALK TITLE |
|
27/01/2023 |
Edwin Cuppen, Scientific Director, the Hartwig Medical Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
Routine whole genome sequencing-based cancer diagnostics for precision medicine |
|
10/02/2023 |
Itay Tirosh, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann |
Dissecting intra-tumor heterogeneity by single cell RNA-seq |
|
24/02/2023 |
Chiara Ambrogio, Professor of Molecular Biology, University of Torino, Italy |
Targeting KRAS: Pre-Clinical Validation & Therapeutic Perspectives to Overcome Drug Resistance |
|
10/03/2023 |
Fernando Valladares, National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN), Research Professor, Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Associate Professor of Ecology, Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), Madrid, Spain |
The challenge of planetary health |
|
24/03/2023 |
Jakob Kather, Full Professor, Clinical Artificial Intelligence, Technical University Dresden, Germany |
Artificial intelligence-based biomarkers in precision oncology |
|
28/04/2023 |
Cayetano Pleguezuelos, Hans Clevers Group, Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands |
Using organoids to dissect the role of mutagenic bacteria in colorectal cancer |
|
26/05/2023 |
Andrew Tutt, Head of Division, Breast Cancer Research, Director, Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Center, The Institute of Cancer Research, Director, Breast Cancer Now Research Unit – King’s College, London, UK |
Extending the targeting of HR defects with PARPi into early breast cancer and understanding and tackling clinical resistance when PARPi fail |
|
02/06/2023 |
Ramon Alemany, Head of the Cancer Virotherapy Group, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) – Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain |
Cancer Virotherapy Oncolytic Adenoviruses |
|
23/06/2023 |
Albert Antolin, Principal Investigator, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) – Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Barcelona, Spain |
Towards Systems Drug Discovery: Harnessing Big Data and AI to tackle drug resistance |
|
07/07/2023 |
Laura Mezquita, Thoracic Oncology Group, Hospital Clínic – IDIBAPS, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, University of Barcelona (UB), Spain |
Radon gas and lung cancer |
|
26/07/2023 |
Yardena Samuels, Full Professor, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel |
Deciphering the immunogenomic landscape in melanoma |
|
08/09/2023 |
Roger Gomis, Group Leader, Growth Control and Cancer Mestastasis, IRB Barcelona - Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona, Spain |
ER+ Breast cancer metastasis cell fate mapping |
|
06/10/2023 |
John Bridgewater, Clinical Professor, Research Department of Haematology, University College London (UCL), UK |
The onocological management of biliary tract cancer |
|
19/10/2023 |
Ulrike Harjes, Senior Editor, Nature Medicine, Berlin, Germany |
Publishing oncology research in Nature Medicine |
|
03/11/2023 |
Robert H. Vonderheide, Director, the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, |
The prospect of immuno-precision medicine to treat and prevent cancer |
|
30/11/2023 |
Christina Curtis, RZ Cao Professor of Medicine, Genetics and Biomedical Data Science, Director of AI and Cancer Genomics at Stanford University, USA |
Genomic, host and microenvironmental determinants of tumor progression |
|
01/12/2023 |
Isidro Cortes, Group Leader, Cancer Genomics Group, EMBL – EBI Cambridge, UK |
Computational cancer genome analysis: applications to early detection and insights into the mechanisms underpinning cancer genome complexity |
|
15/12/2023 |
Gaylor Boulay, Group Leader, Oncology In Vitro Biology, Evotec, Toulouse, France |
Mechanisms of action of transcriptional drivers of oncogenic states in fusion protein driven sarcomas |
Benchstorming Seminars
VHIO’s Benchstorming Seminars co-Chairs. Left to right: Francesco Grussu, Fabio Giuntini and Sara Simonetti.
Established in 2016 by co-founders Verónica Rodilla, a former Postdoctoral Fellow of VHIO’s Growth Factors Group, and Jordi Martínez Quintanilla, a Postdoctoral Fellow of our Stem Cells and Cancer Group, our Benchstorming Seminars represent an excellent opportunity for young researchers to present and discuss their research interests with other VHIO groups.
Not only do our young researchers learn more about their colleagues and respective research lines, but they can also share their thoughts on each seminar topic. The informal format of these meetings further promotes interaction between speakers and participants.
Recently, as part of VHIO’s training for PhD candidates coordinated by the VHIO Academy, all 3rd year PhD researchers prepare and deliver a Benchstorming seminar to discuss the big picture of their research. They present on all their experiments conducted up to the date of the seminar, highlight the potential societal benefits that their research may yield, and reflect on what remains to be done to conclude their PhD journey.
Reflective of VHIO’s purely translational and multidisciplinary research model, our Benchstorming co-Chairs also organize clinical seminars that count on the participation and expertise of our clinical investigators and medical oncologists.
A total of 16 seminars took place in 2023. Our Benchstorming co-Chairs, Fabio, Sara and Francesco, acknowledge the tremendous help of Inma Soria, General Services and Infrastructures (SSGG) Area, the VHIO Academy, as well as VHIO’s Communication and IT/Informatics teams. Their support is key to the success of these seminars.
|
DATE |
SPEAKER |
TALK TITLE |
|
30/01/2023 |
Santiago Duro Sanchez, Growth Factors Group |
Therapy-induced senescence enhances the efficacy of HER2-directed Antibody Drug Conjugates |
|
13/02/2023 |
Francesco Grussu, Radiomics Group |
Microstructural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in oncological applications |
|
27/02/2023 |
Mafalda Oliveira, Breast Cancer Group |
Clinical development of oral SERDs and other targeted therapies for HR+/HER-neg breast cancer |
|
13/03/2023 |
Maria Teresa Salcedo Allende, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital Pathology Department (Santiago Ramón y Cajal) |
Pancreatic cancer: new challenges |
|
27/03/2023 |
Esther Rimbau, CEO of VHIO-born spin-off ONIRIA Therapeutics |
I have an innovative idea. How can I give it value? |
|
24/04/2023 |
Estela Carrasco, Hereditary Cancer Genetics Group |
Genetic counselling in cancer: coping with secondary and incidental findings in cancer susceptibility genes after exome sequencing in paediatric patients |
|
08/05/2023 |
Mariano Zacarias-Fluck, Models of Cancer Therapies Group (Laura Soucek) |
Reducing MYC’s transcriptional footprint unveils a good prognostic gene signature in melanoma |
|
22/05/2023 |
Stefania Napoli, Molecular Oncology Group |
Microbiota-based biomarkers of relapse in rectal cancer |
|
19/06/2023 |
Caterina Tozzi, Radiomics Group |
Dissociated tumor responses are a poor prognostic factor in patients receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors |
|
03/07/2023 |
Irene Casanova Salas, Prostate Cancer Translational Research Group (Joaquin Mateo) |
A novel liquid biopsy assay using circulating tumor extracellular vesicles to monitor prostate cancer genomics and transcriptomic evolution |
|
18/09/2023 |
Enrique Javier Arenas Lahuerta, Growth Factors Group (Joaquin Arribas) |
Uncovering Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance to Immunotherapies: a 6 year journey at VHIO |
|
02/10/2023 |
Marta Ligero, Radiomics Group |
Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence for Immunotherapy Response Prediction |
|
30/10/2023 |
Carolina Ortiz, Breast Cancer Group |
ctDNA in breast milk for early detection of pregnancy-associated |
|
13/11/2023 |
Alberto Hernando Calvo, Early Clinical Drug Development Group (Elena Garralda) and Cancer Genomics Group |
Leveraging the power of genomics and transcriptomics in |
|
04/12/2023 |
Vicente Peg Cámara, Vall d'Hebron Hospital Pathology Department (Santiago Ramón y Cajal) |
New challenges in the evaluation of HER2 in Breast Cancer |
|
11/12/2023 |
Olivia Prior Palomares, Radiomics Group |
Deciphering spatial and temporal cancer heterogeneity with machine learning and precision imaging |
1st VHIO-BBVA Foundation International Symposium
1st VHIO-BBVA Foundation International Symposium on Cell-based Therapies in Oncology: exchanging experiences, ideas and creating connections.
Marking the end of the first BBVA Foundation Comprehensive Program of Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunology (CAIMI) and the start of its second edition, CAIMI-II, the 1st VHIO-BBVA Foundation International Symposium on Cell-Based Therapies in Oncology, 29-30 November, 2023, took place at the Ateneu Barcelonés cultural center in Barcelona. This event brought together 220 participants including PhD students, group leaders, undergraduates and representatives from pharmaceutical companies, and provided an outstanding forum to present the very latest developments in the field of advanced cell therapies, and to foster collaboration among leading, international experts.
Organized by VHIO's Scientific Management Area, directed by our Chief Scientific Officer Alejandro Piris, with the scientific co-Chairs Alena Gros, Group Leader of Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy at VHIO, and Sònia Guedan Group Leader of Cellular Immunotherapies for Cancer at the Clínic Barcelona - August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), this meeting included 6 different sessions:
- Adoptive cell therapies for solid cancers
- Adoptive cell therapies for adult and pediatric indications
- Determinants of ACT activity
- Advances in CAR T cells for hematological malignancies
- Clinical developments in T cell therapies
- Next-generation CAR T cells
|
SPEAKERS/SESSION CO-CHAIRS |
TALK TITLE/SESSION PARTICIPATION |
|
Ramon Alemany, Head of the Cancer Virotherapy Group, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) – Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain |
Co-Chair Session III: Determinants of ACT activity |
|
Joaquin Arribas, Head of VHIO’s Growth Factors Group, ICREA Research Professor, Barcelona, Spain |
Immune redirection against HER2-driven tumors. Co-Chair Session III: Determinants of ACT activity. |
|
Pere Barba, a Clinical Investigator of VHIO’s Experimental Hematology Group, Head of the Advanced Therapies Program, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain |
Co-Chair Session IV: Advances in CAR T cells for hematological malignancies |
|
Dirk Busch, Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany |
Advanced T cell engineering for polyclonal repertoire analysis and cell therapies |
|
Reno Debets, Principal Investigator of the Tumor Immunology Group, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
Ropporin-1, a novel tumor-restricted target to treat triple-negative breast cancer with TCR-engineered T cells. Expert panelist: Roundtable discussion on regulatory aspects of T Cell therapies |
|
Julio Delgado, Head of the Lymphoid Neoplasms Group, Clínic Barcelona - August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), Spain. |
Co-Chair Session II: Adoptive cell therapies for adult and pediatric indications. Expert panelist: Roundtable discussion on regulatory aspects of T Cell therapies |
|
Vladimir Galvao, a CORE Phase I Investigator, VHIO’s Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) – CaixaResearch, Barcelona, Spain |
Co-Chair Session IV: Advances in CAR T cells for hematological malignancies |
|
Elena Garralda, Director of VHIO’s Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) – CaixaResearch, and co-Director of Clinical Research at VHIO, Barcelona, Spain |
Co-Chair Session V: Clinical developments in T cell therapies |
|
Luca Gattinoni, Head of the Department for Functional Immune Cell Modulation, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Regensburg, Germany |
Fighting fire with fire: Boosting T cell therapy by intercellular mitochondrial transfer |
|
Alena Gros, Head of VHIO’s Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Group, Barcelona, Spain |
Towards tailored minimally invasive T cell therapies for solid cancers. Co-Chair Session I: Adoptive cell therapies for solid cancers |
|
Sònia Guedan, Group Leader of Cellular Immunotherapies for Cancer, Clínic Barcelona - August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), Spain. |
Driving the preclinical development of CAR T cells. Co-Chair Session I: Adoptive cell therapies for solid cancers |
|
John Haanen, Head of Cancer Immunotherapy, Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
Learning from TIL to develop next-generation cell therapies |
|
Ander Izeta Permisán, Head of the Tissue Engineering Group, Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute (HRI), Gipuzkoa, San Sebastian, Spain |
Expert panelist: Roundtable discussion on regulatory aspects of T Cell therapies |
|
Christopher Klebanoff, Laboratory Head of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, USA |
Therapeutic targeting of recurrently mutated ‘public’ neoantigens using TCR gene therapy. Co-Chair Session VI: Next-generation CAR T cells |
|
Robbie Majzner, Assistant Professor, the Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA |
Biological insights drive novel CAR T cell engineering |
|
Silvia Martin Lluesma, Head of VHIO’s Advanced Therapies Program, Barcelona, Spain |
Chair: Roundtable discussion on regulatory aspects of T cell therapies |
|
Víctor Moreno, Director of Clinical Research, the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit in Medical Oncology – START Madrid, Jiménez Díaz Foundation University Hospital, Madrid, Spain |
Clinical advances in 2023 with modified TCR cells for solid tumors |
|
Antonio Pérez Martínez, Head of the Translational Research Group in Childhood Cancer, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, and Cellular Therapy at the Health Research Institute, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain |
Adoptive naive T cell-depleted therapies for pediatric diseases |
|
Concetta Quintarelli, Head of the Gene Therapy Research Institute, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital Rome, Italy |
Developing CAR T cell therapies for paediatric indications |
|
Claire Roddie, Associate Professor in Haemato-Oncology, University College London (UCL), UK |
Advances in CAR therapies for haematological malignancies: the UCL CAR T programme experience. Co-Chair Session II: Adoptive cell therapies for adult and pediatric indications |
|
Sol Ruiz, Head of the AEMPS Biological Medicines, Biotechnology and Advanced Therapies Division, and Chair of the EMA Biologicals Group, Madrid, Spain |
Expert panelist: Roundtable discussion on regulatory aspects of T Cell therapies |
|
Andrew Sewell, Professor, the Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, UK |
New cancer targets from dissection of successful cancer Immunotherapy |
|
Velia Siciliano, Head of the Synthetic and Systems Biology for Biomedicine Group, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy |
Co-Chair Session VI: Next-generation CAR T cells |
|
Melody Smith, Assistant Professor of Medicine, the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Stanford University, California, USA |
Interrogating the impact of the Intestinal Microbiome on Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell Outcomes |
|
Josep Tabernero, VHIO’s Director and Head of the Medical Oncology Department, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (HUVH), Barcelona, Spain |
Welcome Address |
|
Álvaro Urbano, Director of the Institute of Hematology and Oncology, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Spain |
Academic development of CAR T cell therapy. Co-Chair Session V: Clinical developments in T cell therapies |
|
Johan van Eldere, Secretary General, European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA), Coordinator, European Center for Gene and Cellular Cancer Therapies (EUCCAT), Brussels, Belgium |
Expert panelist: Roundtable discussion on regulatory aspects of T Cell therapies |
Ad-hoc courses, workshops, perceptorships and observerships
Focused on specific, cutting-edge aspects of cancer research and treatment, we also organize and host several ad-hoc events throughout the year. A total of 44 ad-hoc courses, workshops, preceptorships and observerships took place in 2023.
In addtion to these events, as a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (2022-2026), VHIO has developed its PAtient and CiTizen InvolvemENT Program. This program includes VHIO Talks for patients and their families as well as conferences for patient advocacy associations.