Kavli Oxford PI Elena Seiradake Awarded ERC Synergy Grant for Cancer Research

Kavli Oxford PI Elena Seiradake Awarded ERC Synergy Grant for Cancer Research

We are delighted to announce that Kavli Oxford's Principal Investigator, Elena Seiradake, has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant alongside other PIs from Lyon and Barcelona. The team will be working on "SUNRISE" (Structure-encoded Unc5 interactome in aggressive behaviours of Neuro-developmental tumours), which aims to address key challenges in paediatric cancer research.

Valerie Castellani (Lyon) and Daniel del Toro (Barcelona) with Elena Seiradake (in the middle)

Paediatric tumours like neuroblastoma (NB) are distinct from adult cancers, originating from embryonic cells with unique migratory and signalling characteristics. Building on recent research (Akkermans et al., Cell 2022), which showed how NB cells exploit the UNC5 receptor family and the ligand GPC3 to spread, the SUNRISE project will explore a broader network of UNC5 interactions to uncover mechanisms driving aggressive cancer behaviours.

The project takes an innovative approach by integrating molecular and structural biology with targeted, structure-based experiments to precisely investigate these interactions. Ultimately, SUNRISE aims to provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind NB and other paediatric cancers, potentially paving the way for novel therapeutic strategies.

Congratulations to Elena and the team on this achievement!

Read the press release here.

Since April 2021, Oxford University's KAVLI Institute for Nanoscience Discovery is proudly serving as a hub for research groups from seven different departments spanning both the medical and physical sciences, including Professor Elena Seiradake's group from the Department of Biochemistry.