Cancerfonden, the Swedish Cancer Society, is investing in researchers at seven universities across Sweden to drive progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
“Sweden has a strong position in cancer research, and with this investment we can enable important breakthroughs. All researchers, who have been selected in a highly competitive environment, have great potential for new discoveries,” says Malin Sund, Chair of the Cancerfonden's Research Board, in a press release.
For Sofie Mohlin, associate professor of molecular physiology and recipient of a Senior Investigator Award, this funding will further her work in understanding how early genetic changes drive neuroblastoma development.
Each year, around twenty children in Sweden are diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops in the sympathetic nervous system, forming tumors in the adrenal glands, along the spine and in nerve tissue. Despite advances in treatment, the disease remains difficult to cure.
This is the reason that Sofie Mohlin and her research team are studying how genetic changes during early development may contribute to tumor formation. By using chick embryos as a model for normal embryonic development, she aims to identify what triggers the first genetic changes in cells, during fetal development, that then develop into cancer. The goal is to find new ways to detect and treat the disease at its earliest stages.
“I am deeply grateful and honored to receive the Senior Investigator Award from Cancerfonden. This grant, which funds my position for the next six years, allows me to continue pursuing my long-term research vision: understanding the fundamental biology of tumor initiation during embryogenesis,” says Sofie Mohlin, associate professor of molecular physiology at Lund University and cancer researcher.
“I believe that this knowledge will drive the development of new and more effective therapies for this deadly cancer, which also plays a crucial role in reducing the severe late effects experienced by childhood cancer survivors.”
