Yesterday the European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of its latest Advanced Grant competition. CSCI’s Professor Walid Khaled was selected as one of 281 leading researchers across Europe to receive some of the 721 million euros in funding to pursue his breast cancer research. The ERC fund will provide €2.5 million over 5 years for the research project, Understanding Precancerous changes in Breast Cancer for the development of Therapeutic interceptions(PreBRCATx).
Other ERC grantees’ work will cover a wide range of subjects, from investigating how diet and exercise affect brain cells related to ageing, to creating AI digital twins that mirror and enhance human thought and social skills, and exploring the hidden oceans on Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons.
Developing a preventive vaccine for breast cancer with the Khaled Group
Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide. Despite significant advances in immune and targeted therapies, scientists have yet to find a cure – especially for cancers found at a later stage.
At the University of Cambridge, Walid Khaled and his team are working to understand what happens in the body at a cellular and molecular level before breast cancer develops, especially in people with inherited mutations in certain genes – BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2. These are responsible for repairing damaged DNA, and are classified as tumour suppressor genes because, when functioning properly, they help prevent uncontrolled cell growth that can lead to tumour development. Mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2 can therefore lead to a significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer, among other types of cancer.
The Khaled Group will use years of research into how breast tissue changes over time to study how these changes lead to the earliest signs of cancer. They plan to test the efficiency of approved and nearly approved drugs in intercepting these changes, aiming to develop a preventive vaccine for people with these specific gene mutations. If successful, this could lead to clinical trials and, in the future, offer a way to stop breast cancer before it develops.
This research will also generate new tools, resources, and data, benefiting others in the search for hereditary cancer prevention, and supporting a wider goal across Europe: to catch cancer earlier, reduce its impact, and help people live longer, healthier lives.