Light Meets Precision:
EIC Pathfinder Project SCALPEL Pioneering a Revolutionary Photoimmunotherapy for Cancer
Theo Theodossiou, Project coordinator
In a groundbreaking effort to revolutionise modern oncology, the SCALPEL project launches a Europe wide initiative aimed at redefining cancer treatment by using light to precisely ‘click’ tags to cancer cells, enabling the immune system to recognise and destroy them with unparalleled accuracy. Project coordinator is Theo Theodossiou, head of the Protonics project group at the Department of Radiation Biology at OUH.
The multidisciplinary initiative funded by the European Innovation Council Pathfinder programme under Horizon Europe with a total budget of more than EUR 4 million aims to revolutionise modern oncology offering new hope for millions worldwide.
From major journals, first or last author from the Institute for Cancer Research
Patel D, Tiusanen V, Karttunen K, Pihlajamaa P, Sahu B(2025) Cancer cell type-specific derepression of transposable elements by inhibition of chromatin modifier enzymes Commun Biol, 8(1), 992 DOI 10.1038/s42003-025-08413-0, PubMed 40610675
Hurley JH, Coyne AN, Miączyńska M, Stenmark H(2025) The expanding repertoire of ESCRT functions in cell biology and disease Nature, 642(8069), 877-888 DOI 10.1038/s41586-025-08950-y, PubMed 40562928
Thulin MH, Ramberg H, Nielsen HK, Grytli HH, Sivanesan S, Pandya AD, Seip K, Andressen KW, Linder A, Øijordsbakken M, Poutanen M, Katz B, Halvorsen B, Mælandsmo GM, Taskén KA(2025) Beta-blockers prolong response to androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer through modulation of the neuro-immuno-oncology axis J Transl Med, 23(1), 672 DOI 10.1186/s12967-025-06644-7, PubMed 40528241