Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research
The Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research ( Institut suisse de recherche expérimentale sur le cancer , short ISREC) was founded on June 18, 1964 in the form of a foundation . It is based in Epalinges in the canton of Vaud .
Since January 1, 2008, the ISREC has been divided into two parts:
- The ISREC Foundation
with the mandate to support translational cancer research projects and the next generation of scientists.
- The ISREC institute at EPFL
with research projects dealing with fundamental questions about the development of cancer.
history
The origins can be found in the anti-cancer center in western Switzerland ( Center Anti-Cancéreux Romand des Cantons de Friborg, Neuchâtel, Valais et Vaud , or CACR for short), which was founded in Lausanne in 1924. Initially it consisted mainly of three departments: an anatomical-pathological department ( Service d'anatomie pathologie ), a department for experimental research ( Service des recherches expérimentales ) and a therapeutic service ( Service thérapeutique ). The appointment of Alfredo Vannotti (1907–2002) as head of the department for experimental research in 1947 and the employment of Serge Neukomm (* 1917) a year later led to a strong expansion of experimental research. Nevertheless, in the 1950s the therapeutic service was continued as a medical-social service ( Service médico-social ). When, from 1957 onwards, cantonal sections of the Swiss Cancer League were founded in various cantons belonging to the CACR, the CACR transferred its medical and social activities to them. From then on it was limited to experimental cancer research. Under the leadership of Rodolphe Stadler (President since 1951) and Henri Isliker (Director), the ISREC was established as a Swiss foundation on June 18, 1964.
Initially, the ISREC was located in the immediate vicinity of the cantonal hospital ( Hôpital cantonal ) or, later, the Center Hospitalier Universitaire et Vaudois ( CHUV ). Because the ISREC grew steadily and at the beginning of the 1970s a collaboration with various other research institutions, above all the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the World Health Organization ( WHO ) and the Institute for Biochemistry of the University of Lausanne, the existing premises soon proved to be too much small. That is why ISREC built a new research center in Epalinges and moved into it in autumn 1976. In 1978 Henri Isliker handed over the management of the ISREC to Bernhard Hirt , who managed the research facility for 18 years. In 1996 the management was transferred to Michel Aguet. In 2008 the institute was integrated into the Faculty of Life Sciences at EPFL, and the institute has been headed by Douglas Hanahan in a new EPFL building since 2009 . Regardless of these changes, the ISREC Foundation (President Yves J. Paternot) is continuing its efforts to provide financial support to support projects in cancer research that have broad potential for innovation in both diagnostic and therapeutic terms.
Research (focus)
The research activities of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research - as an independent institute - have focused on basic research into cancer development for more than 40 years. Since the integration of the institute's research groups into the EPFL Faculty of Life Sciences on January 1, 2008 and the partial renewal of the scientific staff, research at the institute has essentially concentrated on topics such as the stability of the genome, the division, multiplication and differentiation of cells, as well as the role of signaling pathways in tumor development and tumor progression.
Publications
Since 1964, research at ISREC has resulted in the publication of more than 2,000 scientific articles, including numerous publications in Cell , Nature , Science and specialized journals of Nature .
Awards (selection)
The research work has been awarded many different prizes. Prize winners included:
- 1976: Jean-Charles Cerottini / Theodor K. Brunner
- 1995: Henri Isliker
- 1976: Heidi Diggelmann
- 1982: Otto Hagenbüchle / Ueli Schibler
- 1992: Erich Nigg
- 1994: Susan Gasser
- 1998: Bruno Amati
- 2002: Joachim Lingner
literature
- ISREC. Institut et fondation 2004 . Epalinges 2004.
- Henri Isliker: Historique de la recherche sur le cancer à Lausanne. Souvenirs professionnels rassemblés par Henri Isliker . Lausanne 2006.
- Olivier Robert, Francesco Panese: Dictionnaire des professeurs de l'Université de Lausanne dès 1890 . Université de Lausanne, Lausanne 2000.
Individual evidence
- ^ Entry of the "Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research" in the commercial register of the Canton of Vaud