Objective
Our understanding of how the immune system shapes human tumorigenesis comes mainly from invasive cancers that have escaped immune control. Mice cannot fully reproduce this process, leaving the earliest phases of human immunosurveillance unresolved. To address this gap, I established systemic biosampling across tumorigenesis in patients with Lynch syndrome (LS), a hereditary cancer predisposition and unique model for immunosurveillance. During their lifespans, LS patients accumulate immunogenic mismatch repair-deficient (MMRd) progenitor lesions leading to invasive cancers frequently missed by screening due to their unusually rapid outgrowth. My central hypothesis is this rapid cancer onset is enabled by early systemic immune dysfunction resulting from chronic antigen exposure. To resolve this, CENTRI will define when systemic immunosurveillance emerges and fails in LS and how this collapse relates to tissue-level escape thereby identifying windows for optimal cancer interception.
CENTRI pursues three objectives to realize this aim: First (SO1), we will develop a computational framework to reconstruct the onset and evolution of systemic immunosurveillance from blood single-cell data. This will be augmented by a new in-patient antigen perturbation assay which will allow us for the first time to phenotypically characterise neoantigen-specific T cells in cancer-free patients. Second (SO2), we will define the co-evolution of systemic and tissue-level immune escape by mapping neoantigen-reactive T cells and Natural Killer (NK) cells from blood to colorectal cancer precursors. Third (SO3), we will functionally test T and NK cell surveillance across tumorigenesis stages using avatar mice engrafted with patient-derived immune cells and MMRd colorectal cancers. Together, CENTRI promises to delineate the emergence and failure of human immunosurveillance, advance our quantitative understanding of systemic immunity, and provide the basis for immune-based cancer interception.
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.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
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.
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-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) ERC-2026-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
08036 Barcelona
Spain
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.