Project description
Vaccine for childhood cancer
Neuroblastoma is a rare and aggressive cancer, primarily affecting children under five years of age. Cancer vaccines offer a promising therapeutic avenue, but their effectiveness depends heavily on adjuvants, substances that boost immune responses against tumour targets. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NANO-ADJUVANT project is developing novel nanoparticles with manganese and zinc as innovative vaccine adjuvants. These nanomaterials are designed to enhance both antibody and cellular immune responses against neuroblastoma-associated targets. Vaccine efficacy will be assessed in preclinical models, with detailed molecular characterisation of anti-tumour immune responses. The project aligns with Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and aims to improve outcomes for children with this devastating disease.
Objective
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a rare, aggressive malignancy primarily affecting children under the age of 5. Despite significant advancements in treating NB, the disease remains a formidable challenge. A promising approach for NB treatment is the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines with innovative nanomaterial-based adjuvants. When used as adjuvants, nanomaterials offer several advantages, including efficient migration to lymph nodes, improved antigen presentation by dendritic cells, and cross-presentation to cytotoxic T cells. Numerous ongoing clinical trials for NB vaccines are investigating the combination of multiple adjuvants to enhance immune responses against target antigens. NANO-ADJUVANT focuses on developing innovative nanomaterial-based adjuvants, incorporating immune-stimulating elements to enhance anti-tumor immune responses. Using my expertise in nanomaterial formulations, I will develop novel selenium-based nanoparticles incorporating manganese and zinc. These nano-adjuvants will be designed to elicit balanced antibody and cell-mediated immune responses when combined with tumour-associated peptides. Mentor, Dr Piskareva’s experience in NB will be utilised for in vitro and in vivo studies to assess vaccine efficacy. During a secondment to Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, I will perform the preclinical evaluation of vaccine efficacy in a NB mouse model under the guidance of Dr Segura. To characterise anti-tumour immune response at the molecular and cellular level, I will use the expertise of Centre for Systems Medicine (CSM) in my host institution (RCSI) by performing scRNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis. NANO-ADJUVANT aligns with Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, which prioritises improving outcomes for children with cancer. By developing innovative adjuvant formulations, NANO-ADJUVANT contributes to enhancing NB treatment and improving patient's quality of life.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
D02 YN77 DUBLIN 2
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.