iCARE-2 · International Cancer Research Fellowships - 2

International Cancer Research Fellowships - 2

1. What is the problem/issue being addressed? Cancer represents a major public health problem: the worldwide cancer burden is extremely high, and with it the economic burden in terms of costs for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, understanding the biological mechanisms of cancer and translating basic research findings into better prevention and therapeutic strategies are top public health priorities. The best approach to tackle this urgent need is to invest in international, frontier research by training young and talented scientists that will be able in the future to lead the global fight against cancer. 2. Why is it important for society? Training motivated and experienced researchers to become tomorrow leaders in worldwide cancer research to find a cure for cancer is important for several reasons. Cancer research is not an island: with iCARE-2 fellowships program, we give the opportunity to young researchers from different fields and different backgrounds to tackle the extreme complexity of cancer from different points of view, increasing the probability to find a cure for cancer. All iCARE-2 fellows moved to a different country to start their fellowships: such transnational mobility allows the cultural, scientific and professional growth of fellows, their supervisors, their groups and their Hosting Institution. In science we trust: in order to weaken the harm done by fake news and crooks taking advantage of other people’s illnesses and pain, building trust into science and scientific research is a crucial point. As part of the iCARE-2 experience, fellows interact with the general public, while learning to recount their scientific goals, results and experience and helping to increase the social trust in scientific research. 3. What are the overall objectives? Building on the success of two previous FP7 COFUND programs, the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (AIRC) has implemented a new fellowship scheme capitalizing on the experience gained and the input received from former awardees. iCARE-2 (international CAncer REsearch fellowships) is a transnational mobility fellowship program intended to foster worldwide cancer research by training competitive researchers. Excellent training in innovative scientific research areas, coupled with acquisition of transferable skills, will allow fellows to be at the forefront of research and to respond to the challenges posed by such a complex disease to the scientific community and the general population at large.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union