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EACR Grant to Study the Metabolism of Gastric Tumor Cells

Cátia Ramos, student in the Doctoral Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Porto, and carrying out her research at i3S, was recently awarded an international mobility scholarship, awarded by the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR).

This scholarship will allow the young researcher to intern for a month at the Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE) in Biscay, Spain, in the laboratory of researcher Juan Manuel Falcón-Pérez, where she will study possible changes that occur in the metabolism of cancer cells of the stomach.

His doctoral project, supervised by Daniela Freitas, from the i3S, and co-supervised by Celso A. Reis, leader of the i3s research group Glycobiology in Cancer and professor at ICBAS, has the main objective of deciphering communication between the cells of the cancer and adipose tissue with the aim of preventing the development of cachexia (generalized weight loss).

To achieve this, explains Cátia Ramos, “we are studying the role of glycans (complex carbohydrates) present in extracellular vesicles (natural nanoparticles) that are released by cancer cells and how they interact with adipose tissue. We also intend to explore the remodeling of the metabolism of gastric tumor cells after interaction with adipose tissue and how this can lead to the development of cachexia in the patient”.

For the PhD student, receiving this mobility grant “is a true honor and an incredible opportunity”. This internship in the laboratory of researcher Juan Falcón-Pérez, highlights Cátia Ramos, “will provide me with an opportunity to learn and collaborate with one of the main experts in the field of extracellular vesicle metabolomics. I will also have the opportunity to learn new and essential techniques for the success of my project, in addition to working in a laboratory with cutting-edge technology in this area”. She concludes that “it will be an enriching international experience on both a personal and scientific level”.

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