On February 23 and 24, 2023, Michael Boutros (WP3), Peter Nagy, René Medema and Simon Oberst (WP6), and Eric Solary (WP1), were invited to a Vatican conference entitled “Strategies to decrease inequalities in cancer therapeutics/care and prevention”. The meeting was chaired by Joachim von Braun, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, together with Cardinal Peter Turkson, Chancellor of this academy, and Michael Baumann, President of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences.
Following an introduction by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel who mentioned the importance of UNCAN.eu initiative, Elisabete Weiderpass, member of the Cancer Mission board, addressed inequalities in cancer care and prevention across the world. Attendees from many European Member States but also North America, UK, South Africa, India, China, Australia and Taiwan shared experience in dealing with various level of inequalities in the cancer field.
The leader of WP6, Prof. Péter Nagy, participated at the conference with a presentation titled Inequalities in cancer research – improved science with improved outreach focusing on the activities of Uncan.eu WP6. Eric Solary provided an overview of the current status of the project. This meeting was an opportunity to identify multiple initiative to collect and share cancer research data in diverse countries including United States, Australia, Switzerland and Norway, as well as further discussing EMBL organization represented by Edith Heard and Jan Korbel.
Several of the participants were subsequently invited to the Heidelberg workshop organized by 4.UNCAN.eu WP3 in order to explore potential interactions within the future European Federated Cancer Research Data Hub.
For more information on the event visit the conference page on the Pontifical Academy of Sciences website.
Illustration: Lorenzo Rumori