The CancerPrev Institute was founded in 2016 to promote new approaches to cancer prevention through international collaboration, research and education. Building on this initiative, CancerPrev investigators developed a successful application for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN), establishing a major European research and doctoral training program in cancer prevention.
From 2019 to 2023, the CANCERPREV ITN, coordinated by Prof. Cathrin Brisken with EPFL in Lausanne as the leading institution, brought together ten laboratories across Europe and 15 PhD students in a shared research program on innovative strategies for cancer prevention, with particular emphasis on sex hormone signaling, chronic inflammation, mathematical modeling and algebraic topology.
The program combined research, interdisciplinary doctoral training and outreach to the general public, together with extensive scientific and personal exchange among participating laboratories. Public engagement was an integral part of the ITN’s mission, extending its activities beyond the scientific community and creating opportunities for interaction between researchers and society. The program trained 15 doctoral researchers and generated 47 publications, many resulting from collaborations across the network.
CancerPrev is continuing and expanding the goals of the ITN, building on the international network and collaborative research and training activities established through the program. Current initiatives include discussions toward a new European doctoral training program building on CancerPrev’s expanded network, with direct involvement of clinicians, private-sector partners and patient advocates. For more information on the original ITN, its research, training activities and publications, visit the CANCERPREV ITN website.