Stamatis Papathanasiou was the 2024 recipient of the EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award, which granted him funding to commence the project he proposed as part of the previous year’s ERC Starting Grant call.
Stamatis Papathanasiou is the Group Leader at The Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), in Mainz, Germany, and was chosen for this award based on the high quality of his project proposal on ‘Mechanisms of cellular response to errors in mitosis: a new, non-genetic approach to an old question’. An independent review panel consisting of representatives of the EACR, The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and the Pezcoller Foundation, unanimously chose him as the winner. We recently caught up with him to hear about the progress he has made in his research thanks to this award.
Can you tell us about the topic of your current research?
Our lab aims to unveil previously unappreciated mechanisms of response to errors in mitosis. We focus on understanding the functional consequences of chromosome mis-segregation and abnormal nuclear formation, such as the generation of micronuclei. On top of the known genetic instability that such structures can initiate, we are investigating the potential contribution of non-genetic consequences from these abnormal chromosomes to driving selective advantages and tumorigenesis.
How has the Rising Star Award contributed to your career goals in cancer research?
The Rising Star Award has been transformational for us during the first year of establishing our lab. Apart from financially supporting our research, the main reason was that it provided exposure of our research to the scientific community of cancer research in Europe and worldwide. For example, this award was the ideal springboard to meet and interact with leading researchers in cancer biology at the EACR conference and through personal communications. We firmly believe that these interactions will result in fruitful collaborations in the near future that can significantly contribute to our research goals.
What were the highlights from your Rising Star Award?
An undeniable highlight of my Rising Star Award was the discussions I had with the chair of the EACR and other leading scientists in the broad fields of cancer biology after my presentation during the EACR conference. In addition to that, another moment of excitement for our lab was the feedback from scientific peers to the original announcement of the award, complementing our research and scientific progress. Meeting the Mark Foundation representatives and the upcoming meeting in Trento for the Pezcoller Foundation are also highly appreciated experiences that this award provided.
Have you made or do you plan to make any presentations or publications about your work under this grant?
During this grant we completed writing of a detailed review of methods to study the functional consequences of mis-segregated chromosomes for the journal “Methods in Molecular Biology”. We acknowledge our funding from EACR, the Mark Foundation and the Pezcoller Foundation in this publication since authors were funded by the Rising Start Grant during the funding period and most importantly since these cellular systems and methodologies that we describe in that publication are included in the overall research plan of the Rising Star application.
We aim to prepare two more manuscripts in the future after the completion of the research plan proposed that will include our work carried out these seven months of funding. One will be a methods publication on different “SiMADi” applications and the second our work on potential selective adaptations upon MN-body formation of haploinsufficient loci.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I would like to once again take the opportunity and express my gratitude to the committee that selected our work, the EACR, and the Mark and Pezcoller foundations that provided both the financial support and the means to expose our science and finally all the people involved in the grant and conferences preparations. We are extremely grateful for this unique experience and support, a priceless motivational boost to perform high-end research in cancer biology.
Apply for the 2025 Rising Star Award
Applications are now open for the 2025 EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award. Click here to find out more!
About the EACR: The European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) is a professional membership organisation dedicated to advancing cancer research through communication, collaboration, and dissemination of knowledge.
About the Mark Foundation: The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research is a philanthropic organisation committed to accelerating cancer research and translating discoveries into improved patient care.
About the Pezcoller Foundation: The Pezcoller Foundation promotes and supports scientific research in oncology and recognises outstanding contributions to the field.
