CanFaster · The Translational Cancer Faster Forward doctoral programme – CanFaster

The Translational Cancer Faster Forward doctoral programme – CanFaster

CanFaster is a joint venture among industry, health care and academia to enhance and accelerate innovations and clinical implementation within oncology. The vision of CanFaster is to prolong and save lives of cancer patients through integrated development and commercialization/implementation of diagnostic/treatment alternatives, thus reaching the market and patient more rapidly. CanFaster helps to save lives of cancer patients, not for future generations, but for today´s. The CanFaster programme is enabled by an intimate collaboration between industry, health care system and academia (in total investments of ~7 million Euro). It contributes to the Europe 2020 strategy, where one million new research jobs are needed to reach the Innovation Union flagship initiative. The collected track record of all partners in the proposed CanFaster programme demonstrates an impressive history of entrepreneurial spirit, state-of-the-art medical care but also truly world-class scientific excellence within translational cancer research. The CanFaster regional doctoral programme recruited 16 ESRs that were hosted within CREATE Health, a translational cancer research programme with broad international collaboration partners and excellent out-put for the last 15 years. The main objectives of the CanFaster programme are (i) increased international and intersectoral mobility, (ii) intensified collaboration within oncology between different sectors including academia, industry and health care, (iii) acceleration of innovation, attracting international investors leading to increased number of SMEs in the region and (iv) education of a new generation of excellent multidisciplinary, entrepreneurial scientists. This is achieved through the attraction of the MSCA programme for industrial partners to add-on to the EU and public national funding of the programme with financial and in-kind contribution. CanFaster managed to attract diverse and gender-balanced international talent by accepting 55.5% women and 44.5% male candidates to the programme, coming from various sectors and from three continents (Europe, Asia, and South America), with 12 nationalities represented. Efforts to keep this competence nationally were set in place through funding from the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova (“MSCA-Employment”). The success of the CanFaster programmes can be measured by the high fraction of fellows that decided to stay is Sweden after their PhD defence (12/16). Collaboration between sectors was tightened by arranged secondments - both to clinic and industry which lead to fact that 4/8 already finished ESRs were employed in the Medicon Valley area (including Malmö/Lund and the Copenhagen capital area). All ESRs got education in entrepreneurship and innovative thinking which increased their attractivity on the job market but also lead to two patent applications which are currently under the registration process. The high scientific impact of the CanFaster programme is measured by 33 peer-reviewed publications, including an article in Nature Communications, and additional 16 manuscripts ready for submission or currently under review.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз