About

The project “eRaDicate” is an EU-supported Horizon-Europe Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral-Network (DN) offering an international, multi- & interdisciplinary as well as inter-sectoral training, research and development programme in the cancer field.

The aim of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Network “eRaDicate” is to develop new therapies against cancer stem cell-driven relapse and metastasis. We will test and design novel approaches targeting nuclear receptors that can prevent metastasis or cancer relapse. The EU has funded eRaDicate with a total budget of 2.5 million Euros. eRaDicate has two main objectives: to provide the best possible training for eleven young doctoral candidates (DCs) and to perform anticancer research at the highest international level.

To offer the best possible education for our eleven doctoral candidates (DCs) in the highly relevant fields of cancer research and drug development, the PhD students will conduct original and independent research at their host institutions and during their secondments, being exposed to cutting edge technology and science. They will profit from a thorough training in scientific and technical skills, such as cancer biology, genomics, bioinformatics, drug discovery, chemistry, image analysis, and many more. A special focus also lies in their training of soft and transferrable skills, such as sustainability, ethics, science communication and outreach, data management, entrepreneurship, intellectual property, leadership, or job applications. After having completed their studies and the eRaDicate programme, this innovative and multidisciplinary training will qualify this new generation of scientists not only for an academic career, but also for working in industry and beyond.

The scientific aims of eRaDicate are for the DCs to test novel nuclear-receptor targeting drugs as anti-cancer agents, such as the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and the vitamin D receptor (VDR) using a variety of molecular biology and biochemical methods, as well as bioinformatics approaches. We will use state-of-the arte medicinal chemistry to develop innovative variants of these molecules, and investigate their mechanisms of action, cross-reactivity, efficacy, binding, as well as structural properties. Finally, we will research pre-formulation strategies for active substances for making a medicine out of a drug, and develop a novel deep-learning-based method for cancer analysis and diagnosis.

The international eRaDicate consortium includes the Medical University of Vienna (coordinator), the University of Wroclaw (Poland), the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), the Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Israel), the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain), TissueGnostics GmbH (Austria), the University of Warsaw (Poland), the Medical University of Warsaw, and Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) as beneficiaries.

Associated partners of eRaDicate include Biolution GmbH (Austria), Donaugrafik (Austria), Janssen Scientific Ireland UC (Ireland), the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences (Austria), Physiolution GmbH (Germany), Pikralida Sp. z. o.o. (Poland), Queensland University of Technology (Australia), Selvita S.A. (Poland), the Shaare Zedek Medical Center (Israel), and Wannaboo S.r.l. (Italy).