The Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (Spanish Association Against Cancer) has awarded a two-year Research Grant supporting the work of a researcher in oncology through their Scientific Foundation. The recipient is Juan Carlos Montero González, doctor in Biochemistry and Special Achievement Award winner in 2004 by the University of Salamanca. He is author of a total of 11 publications, some of them of particular importance within the proposed field of research.
Dr. Montero will carry out a sarcoma-related project named “ErbB receptors and their ligands. Signalling by Erk5 in cancer” in the Centro de Investigación del Cáncer de Salamanca, CIC (Centre for Cancer Research of Salamanca)– IBMCC, CSIC. The CIC is a state-of-the-art research centre located within the campus of the University of Salamanca, near the city Clinical Hospital, institution with which it maintains close collaboration.
The aim of this project is to research the role of ligands (a type of protein) in their relationship to cancerous tumours. These proteins have a role in the activation of ErbB receptors, another type of protein located in the cell membrane, which controls the correct division of the cells. The project will research how ligands such as the neuroregulins (the actual research object of this project) can have an effect on cell division (and thus in the proliferation of cancerous cells) by means of their interaction with the ErbB receptors.
The funding for this grant comes entirely from the María García Estrada Foundation thanks to the 66,000€ raised at the first two María García Estrada Memorials that took place in the Real Club de Golf de Tenerife (Tenerife Royal Golf Club), site where María began her career as a golfer.