CutCancer

Twinning for excellence to strategically advance research
in carcinogenesis and cancer.

Project objectives

To improve excellence capacity and resources

To advance knowledge and capacity for innovative solutions based on cutting-edge methodologies in the field of 3D cancer research at NIB

To plan and execute enhanced strategic networking activities

To foster creativity supported by the development of new approaches in R&I collaborations

To strengthen research management capacities and administrative skills

To increase mobility

In 2020, 2.7 million people in the European Union were diagnosed with cancer, and another 1.3 million people lost their lives to it, including over 2,000 young people.

The number of cancer cases in Europe is increasing each year, regardless of age, gender or social status, placing an enormous burden on health systems, patients, families and society in general.

As carcinogenesis is extremely heterogeneous, dynamic and complex system, holistic approaches that can analyse complex cellular and molecular interactions during cancer initiation and progression are crucial for the establishment of the basis for new prevention strategies and personalized anticancer treatments.

Recent advances in novel in vitro 3D test systems and utilizing novel state-of-the-art methodologies, enable the generation of more reliable and predictive in vitro data on cancer initation.

There is a failure in translating promising drug candidates and therapeutic approaches from the bench to the bedside that can also be attributed to the inadequate use of model systems in cancer research.

Applications towards designing in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo systems to reproduce cancer complexity and patient-specific tumours are increasingly investigated. Novel techniques in single-cell proteomics and spatial transcriptomics that enable visualization of cellular and molecular composition of tumours allow us to develop new personalized treatments for cancer patients.

Through twinning with excellent partners from UK (Swansea University; SWAN, Sweden (Stockholm University; SU) and the Netherlands (VU medical center Amsterdam; VUMC)

in the Cutcancer project, combined with ongoing substantial NIB infrastructural advances and significant research equipment upgrades, NIB will improve research knowledge and methodology in cancer research and foster field networking.

Recent News and Events

Discover most recent news and events.

NIB hands on training at VUMC

Trainings28.04.2025

Tina Kolenc Milavec, a PhD student from the Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology at the National Institute of Biology (NIB), spent last two months…

Future Scientists in Action!

Other Events19.04.2025

Last Thursday, 17th of April, our institute had the pleasure of hosting a group of enthusiastic primary school students from Ribnica for a day full of…

President of Portugal Visits National Institute of Biology: Strengthening Ties in Science and Innovation

Other Events, Press18.03.2025

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, paid…

The Slovenian translational platform GlioBank for brain tumor research: Identification of molecular signatures of glioblastoma progression

Publications18.02.2025

Open access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110604 Metka Novak, Bernarda Majc, Marta Malavolta, Andrej Porčnik, Jernej Mlakar, Matjaž Hren, Anamarija Habič, Mateja Mlinar, Ivana Jovčevska, Neja Šamec, Alja Zottel, Marija…