First award of “i3S Fundraising Cancer Travel Grant by Tabfund”

PhD student Ana Filipa Costa, member of the “Glycobiology in Cancer” group, was the winner of the 1st edition of the i3S Fundraising Cancer Travel Grant by Tabfund, worth 500 euros. The prize was awarded at the 29th Porto Cancer Meeting, and will allow her to participate in one of the most prestigious glycobiology conferences in the world which is to be held in the United States.

“I am very happy to have won this travel grant. With this amount I will be able to cover part of the costs associated with my trip to the United States to participate in a ‘Gordon Conferences’ on ‘Carbohydrates GRC: Basic and Translational Glycoscience for Human Health and Diseases’” said Ana Filipa Costa. “I'm really excited to be able to attend this conference, learn from the world's best in glycobiology, and have the opportunity to show and discuss the work I'm doing on my PhD”, she adds.

During her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and under the guidance of researcher Catarina Gomes, Ana Filipa Costa is “exploring the potential of using new compounds that affect the synthesis of glycans (sugars existing on the surface of cells) aberrant in cancer that can be implemented as future therapies”. She adds, “we are validating an extremely promising drug that was derived from a trial carried out at i3S” and “I am also participating in a study on the ability of different chemically modified sugars to inhibit the synthesis of glycans associated with cancer”.

This grant resulted from a partnership established by the i3S Fundraising team with TabFund, a browser extension that raises funds for research as you browse the internet. «”ith the donations raised, we opened the 1st edition of the i3S Fundraising Cancer Travel Grant by Tabfund, worth 500 euros”, explains Joana Caldeira. “We received 11 high-quality applications, among which Ana Filipa Costa stood out, who was selected to receive this grant”. With this initiative, she adds, “anyone can support Science, even without spending money! You just need to install the Tabfund extension, open your tabs normally and you will be contributing to scientific research!”

This partnership is to continue and the objective for the 2024 campaign has already been defined: to raise funds for research in Rare Diseases. In addition, underlines Joana Caldeira, “it is always possible to support the science of i3S by purchasing our merchandising products, making a direct donation, finding a patron. or joining our team of volunteers”.