'HEAT-CAMERA: towards an early diagnosis and treatment of cancer' - prestigious ERC Proof of Concept Grant 2025 for Prof. Anna Kaczmarek
With two new ERC PoC grantees in 2025, Ghent University once again strengthens its leading position in Europe in the field of research (read more in the news item by Ghent University). One of the laureates is CRIG researcher Prof. Anna Kaczmarek, who aims with the HEAT-CAMERA project to bring theranostic nanoplatforms one step closer to being practical tools in everyday medical care for cancer patients.
Early cancer detection gives patients the best chance for successful treatment – but today’s imaging techniques can still miss very small cancerous lesions. Also, the location of the tumor may play a role in how big it must grow before it is visible. This is resulting in a rising interest from the medical community in new diagnostic tools. Luminescent thermometers could be an excellent new approach for early cancer detection, though currently still not used in clinics. Yet, diagnosis alone is not enough, fast and efficient therapies are the next step. Conventional chemotherapy however causes severe side effects, as it also affects healthy tissue. The ideal route to overcome these issues is designing a system where cancer is diagnosed and treated using a single advanced nanoplatform.
The ERC PoC project HEAT-CAMERA is the 2nd ERC grant obtained by Prof. Anna Kaczmarek. The project builds on ERC Starting Grant NORTH, which tackled developing hybrid nanothermometers for theranostics, and on the latest scientific advances. It focuses on constructing and validating theranostic nanoplatforms that can both identify tumors through temperature readout and release drugs locally (on-demand) using light. This will be possible through combining Ag2S thermometers, with biocompatible, highly tuneable periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) materials with photoswitching moieties in their walls.
The successful outcome of the project will bring theranostic nanoplatforms one step closer to being practical tools in everyday medical care.
Congratulations to Prof. Kaczmarek for this prestigious and exciting grant, which is another boost for cancer research in Ghent!