Home | News | CNIO welcomes four young researchers seeking new ways to stop cancer, thanks CNIO Friends

From left: Jaime Alegrio-Louro, Marta Amorós, Yanira Méndez and Antonio Tapia, winners of the CNIO Friends grants in the 2026 call for applications. / MadMoviex. CNIO.

The high level of scientific productivity at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) would not be possible without the ideas of its youngest staff members, who are essential to finding new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. That is why the centre is celebrating the arrival of these researchers through the CNIO Friends International Contracts Programme.

At this latest edition, the generosity of donors to the philanthropic initiative CNIO Friends is funding postdoctoral contracts for four individuals with outstanding scientific careers. The duration of the contracts has also been extended to three years – one year longer than before – which makes the programme more attractive and increases competition for places.

Before joining CNIO, the new CNIO Friends researchers had been working at prestigious academic institutions in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, the United States and, of course, Spain. At CNIO, these researchers will investigatenew immunotherapies for brain tumours; improved techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer; the relationship between circadian rhythms – jet lag– and cancer; and potential anti-tumour strategies based on reducing protein production.

Yanira Méndez: “No cancer should go untreated”

 Yanira Méndez has been fascinated by chemistry since she was “very little,” she says. Her desire to see her expertise in this field applied to cancer research stems from an all-too-common experience: “We all have someone close to us who has suffered from cancer that could not be treated; the driving force behind my research – and, I believe, that of everyone at CNIO – is the desire to ensure that this does not happen.”

The aim of her research is “to create molecules that can detect prostate cancer — the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in men — using imaging techniques and, at the same time, treat it precisely.” Yanira, who was born in Meneses, Sancti Spiritus (Cuba), has carried out research at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) and at the Leibniz Institute (Germany).

Jaime Alegrio-Louro: how to deprive cancer of proteins

“I want to understand the interactions between proteins in as much detail as possible; that way, we’ll know which ones we need to modify in order to develop therapies,” says Jaime Alegrio-Louro, who is originally from Outil Cantanede, Portugal.

In his research, he examines the inner workings of cells at a scale of millionths of a millimetre, to shed light on how a particular RNA molecule manages to halt the protein-producing machinery, ribosomes. Understanding this could lead to the design of synthetic RNA molecules that will halt the synthesis of proteins involved in cancer.

“This CNIO Friends contract has been crucial; it allows me to continue my research and go on to apply for senior posts.” Jaime, who studied at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), spent time at the University of California, San Diego (USA) and at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in Strasbourg (France) before joining the Architecture and Function of Macromolecules Group at CNIO.

Marta Amorós: How does jet lag affect cancer?

“In research, things don’t always turn out as you expect, but it’s very rewarding to know that your work can improve patients’ lives,” says Marta Amorós, from Albacete, who has recently joined the Cancer Immunity Group at CNIO. “This contract offers me a new opportunity to continue my research into advancing cancer treatment.”

Marta wants to understand how the immune system protects the body against cancer, and how changes to normal circadian rhythms caused by night shifts, irregular working hours or chronic jet lag affect this process. She has carried out much of her research to date at the National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), located next door to CNIO on the campus of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) in Madrid.

Antonio Tapia: new cell therapies for brain tumours

Antonio Tapia is very familiar with the day-to-day lives of cancer patients. A native of Madrid, he has joined the CNIO-HMarBCN (CNIO) Clinical Research Unit in Cancer Immunotherapy after several years at the 12 de Octubre Hospital, to conduct research into a new immunotherapy based on STAb-T cells. It is an experimental strategy that is more personalised and effective than the cell therapies currently in use.

“I am developing new cell therapies for the treatment of brain tumours, which are particularly difficult to treat,” he explains. “My aim is to help genetically modify the patient’s own immune system cells so that they produce a molecule capable of destroying tumour cells.”

A programme based on generosity that has driven the cancer research carried out by fifty outstanding young people

Over the last decade, around fifty young researchers have spent part of their careers at CNIO thanks to the CNIO Friends International Programme, aimed at researchers of any nationality who wish to carry out a research project of excellence at CNIO.

To date, the programme has been funded by donations (ranging from 10 to 100,000 euros) from individuals, patient organisations and companies, to whom CNIO is extremely grateful for their generosity.

Furthermore, six of these contracts have been fully funded through single large donations (over €100,000), thanks to the commitment to science and society shown by foundations such as Fundación Domingo Martínez,  Fundación Humanismo y Ciencia and Fundación Juegaterapia, and by the company La Roche-Posay, part of the L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty group. 

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