PRR Project

Summary

Since 2021, and under the coordination of Professor Mário Dinis-Ribeiro, the Precancerous Lesions and Early Cancer Management (PRECAM) Group integrates the Research Center at the Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto (CI-IPOP) and pursues the continuous innovation and improvement on the minimally invasive early diagnosis, treatment and management of neoplasm of the stomach, colon and rectum, by translating the new knowledge into the clinical practice, evaluating it in a social manner (CEA), formulating pioneering clinical guidelines and fomenting their worldwide adoption.These efforts are in perfect alignment with the EU Mission on Cancer that set the goal to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030, through prevention, cure and better quality of life. The early detection through screening offers the best opportunity to beat cancer. Nevertheless, the current gold-standard technology that allows detecting and treating stomach and colon and rectum tumors at curable stages, the gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, as a standalone screening procedure is suboptimal in Western countries, due to paucity of adherence and cost-effectiveness (namely by presenting lower than high risks).Taking these challenges as opportunities, a translational line of research – Technological development for risk assessment, noninvasive screening and surveillance of digestive tumors – was established, that works in close alignment with the clinical team, shares research priorities, and targets for a better risk assessment and citizens stratification. This strategy secured over 600k of national funding to advance our understanding of stomach precancerous lesions, through comprehensive approaches, namely omics-based, and derive it into clinical settings (IMAGE- Individualized gastric adenocarcinoma early diagnosis and improved patients´ survival: from liquid biopsies to a comprehensive management approach [NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000050]).The tenure position will ensure the sustainability, coordination and supervision of the research team on this unique, innovative and citizen-oriented line of works, pushing forward the field of individualized early cancer screening, detection and management in Western populations, where the available data, particularly focusing on stomach is rather scarce, even though Portugal exhibits one of the highest incidences, namely by:exploring the potential of liquid biopsies (better risk stratification and non-invasive screening to increase the pool of screened individuals).identifying and validating a molecular profile for the individualized monitoring of patients diagnosed with stomach lesions - “functional endoscopy” (reduce the pressure on the system and the carbon footprint associated with endoscopy).Developing citizen-oriented point-of-care devices (empowering citizens on their own risk assessment).Estimate the cost-effectiveness of the innovative screening and management strategies in social settings and participate in the preparation of recommendation guidelines.Participation on scientific and evaluation committees and science communication and dissemination strategies, including scientific articles preparation/revision.Apply to R&D projects grants and support the management of national and EU funded projects of the PRECAM Group, including making financial, technical, preparing deliverables and milestones.Managing the biobank at the PRECAM Group that currently gathers valuable biological samples due to its rarity (precancerous conditions/lesions and early stomach and colon and rectum cancers) and diversity (biopsies, blood, saliva, gastric juice, urine and faeces).The prospective employee should have a PhD in Biomedical Sciences for more than 5 years and less than 12 with student supervision and mentoring. Have more than five years of postdoctoral experience in translational cancer research in a clinical setting in a leading Oncology Center* and at least 12 months of experience as an Assistant Researcher and local project manager with formal training within the context of EU-funded projects in stomach cancer screening. Should have participated in the preparation and/or implementation of national and international competitive funded translational projects and have a good publication record in first-tier peer-reviewed international scientific journals*. Senior authorship is a must*. To have experience working in cutting edge research* namely (1) with liquid biopsies, including saliva; (2) high throughput technologies (e.g. genomics and transcriptomics) coupled with advanced computational pipelines and magnoresistive (MR) platforms towards the development of point-of-care devices. Experience in implementing SR/MA, CEA and participation in clinical recommendation guidelines is a must.*in the field of biomarker discovery and validation towards better risk stratification in sporadic stomach cancer detection and management of patients.