About the VHIR
Here at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) we promote biomedical research, innovation and teaching. Over 1,800 people are seeking to understand diseases today so the treatment can be improved tomorrow.
Research
We are working to understand diseases, to find out how they operate and to create better treatments for patients. Get to know about our groups and their lines of research.
People
People are the centre of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). This is why we are bound by the principles of freedom of research, gender equality and professional attitudes that HRS4R promotes.
Clinical trials
Our work is not just basic or translational; we are leaders in clinical research. Enter and find about the clinical trials we are conducting and why we are a world reference in this field.
Progress
Our aim is to make the research carried out at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) a driving force for transformation. How? By identifying new channels and solutions for the promotion of people's health and well-being.
Core facilities
We offer specialist support for researchers, internal and external alike, ranging from specific services to preparing complete projects. All this, from a perspective of quality and speed of response.
News
We offer you a gateway for staying up to date on everything going on at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), from the latest news to future solidarity activities and initiatives that we are organising.
Speaker: Prof. Elisabetta Rovida, Molecular Oncology & Cell Signalling. Associate Professor University of Florence.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling is frequently dysregulated in cancer and is of considerable interest as a therapeutic target. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), the two main primary liver malignancies, remain difficult to treat, making the identification of additional therapeutic targets a pressing need. This seminar will discuss current approaches to targeting MAPK signalling in liver tumours and present our group’s research on the role of ERK5 in HCC and CCA.Our work has identified a key role for the ERK5 pathway in HCC development and growth, as well as in maintaining the malignant phenotype of CCA cells through interactions with the tumour microenvironment. Furthermore, we are investigating how ERK5 cross-talks with other pathways that support cancer cell survival and proliferation to identify combination treatments that may prevent resistance mechanisms. In HCC cells, ERK5 inhibition is associated with compensatory upregulation of EGFR signalling, while studies in intrahepatic CCA point to a crucial role for ERK5 in the response to hypoxia. Together, these findings suggest that targeting ERK5, either as a monotherapy or in combination with other pathway inhibitors, may expand the therapeutic optionsfor liver cancer.
Host: Dr. José Miguel Lizcano de Vega, Head of group Protein kinases in cancer research (VHIR)
