Newsletters

Dear friends of the SWISS BRIDGE Foundation, with the help of your support, we have been able to achieve so much over the past 27 years.

Dear Friends of the SWISS BRIDGE Foundation, we are pleased to present the latest issue of the SWISS BRIDGE newsletter. Unfortunately, we were blindsided by the sad news of Thomas Hoepli‘s death earlier this year.

In this issue of the newsletter, we would like to provide you with an overview of the cancer research projects we´re currently funding and the new projects we are currently initiating. The SWISS BRIDGE AWARD 2022; one of the most highly endowed cancer prizes in Europe, was announced once again in February. Currently it is in the heated evaluation phase, and we are very excited.

The prestigious European award for young scientists was announced this year for the 20th time since its inception. The SWISS BRIDGE Scientific Jury selected a promising topic fitting the occasion: Basic and translational research in childhood cancer. Some 50 applicants from 13 different countries took part in the competition, two of whom were finally selected by Prof. Dr. Gordon McVie, Chairman of the SWISS BRIDGE Scientific Jury, after a thorough evaluation by his great team.

Immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors – whose discoverers won this year`s Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine – raise hope and are promising, because they can sometimes also cure patients with advanced-stage cancers. However, immunotherapies are also cause for frustration because they often fail, with only about 20% of the treated patients responding to these types of therapies. Medical science does not yet know in advance with whom these therapies will work.

We launched our activities in April at the University of Zurich. “Insight into cancer research" - It was a unique opportunity to look over the shoulders of Prof. Mosimann and his team while they carried out their fascinating research. Prof. Mosimann was awarded the 2016 SWISS BRIDGE AWARD, among the most prestigious international awards for pioneering cancer research projects. His research in the field of rare cancers uses the zebrafish to decipher the disease and identify potential therapeutic approaches.