If successful, Schagen, as part of her team, would seek to tackle the challenge to understand and prevent chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity and neuropathy (RESCuE). De Visser and Akkari and their team will focus on understanding cancer cell plasticity and its contribution to the development of pan-therapeutic resistance (OPTIMAL). Schumacher and his team want to decipher the T-cell receptor cancer-recognition code (MATCHMAKERS). Funded teams will be announced in March 2024.
Cancer Grand Challenges supports a global community of interdisciplinary, world-class research teams with awards of up to $25m to come together, think differently and take on cancer’s toughest challenges. In March of this year, they announced nine new challenges, with 178 interdisciplinary, world-class global teams submitting bold ideas to take them on. Teams RESCuE, OPTIMAL, and MATCHMAKERS are amongst the 12 that have been shortlisted. They draw together a unique set of expertise and unite researchers from multiple countries.
Each team will now receive seed funding to draft their full research proposal and compete for up to $25m in funding, empowering them to rise above the traditional boundaries of geography and discipline to ultimately change outcomes for people with cancer.