The Cancer Researcher Podcast

Research Focus: How Dietary Fats Shape Immune Defenses Against Cancer

What you eat – specifically the type of fat – might matter for how well your immune system can fight cancer under conditions of obesity. Dr. Hannah Prendeville and Dr. Britta Kunkemoeller, two key researchers behind this work, will discuss the key mechanisms they uncovered that involve weakened immune systems’ “killer” cells.
🔗 Read more about the publication: https://magazine.eacr.org/highlights-in-cancer-research-december-2025/6 
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast 
 

Behind the Scenes at the EACR Congress

Conferences don’t just happen – people make them. In this episode, Johanna Joyce, Joana Paredes and Mariangela Russo take you behind the scenes of the Annual Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research, from shaping sessions and selecting speakers to fostering early career opportunities and spotting emerging science. Hear their reflections on EACR 2025 in Lisbon and get an insider glimpse of the themes and initiatives planned for EACR 2026 in Budapest.
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast

Unlocking Cancer's Neural Code: A Deep (Molecular) Dive into Cancer Neuroscience with Trace-n-Seq

In this episode, we take a quick dive into the rapidly evolving field of cancer neuroscience. Joining us are Dr. Andreas Trumpp and Dr. Vera Thiel from DKFZ and HI-STEM, who introduce Trace-n-Seq, a groundbreaking technology that enables the molecular characterization of neurons within tumours at single-cell resolution. We discuss the application of this cutting-edge innovation in pancreatic cancer, from the insights it offers into neuron–cancer–microenvironment interactions, to the powerful clinical implications.
This episode focuses on the following publication in Nature (10.1038/s41586-025-08735-3), highlighted in a recent edition of the EACR’s Highlights in Cancer Research.
🔗 Read more about the publication: https://magazine.eacr.org/highlights-in-cancer-research-july-2025/9/
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast 
 

Bugging Cancer: Engineering Salmonella for Cancer Therapy

Two of the biggest challenges for the treatment of most solid cancers are drug toxicity, particularly systemic toxicity, and drug permeation in the tumoral tissue. These obstacles may be mitigated through the development of intracellular delivery systems designed to selectively deliver drugs to the tumour.
In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Vishnu Raman, CSO and co-founder at Ernst Pharmaceuticals, the benefits and challenges of using genetically engineered Salmonella strains as a vector for the transport of therapeutic proteins into malignant cells. The focus will be on his recent publication in Molecular Therapy (10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.12.038), highlighted in a recent edition of the EACR’s Highlights in Cancer Research.
🔗 Read more about the publication: https://magazine.eacr.org/highlights-in-cancer-research-march-2025/3/
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast

Research focus: novel approach to advance treatment of KRAS-driven non-small cell lung cancer based on ERK5 and FAK inhibition

We speak with Dr. Georgia Konstantinidou and Dr. Chiara Pozzato from University of Bern about their recent pre-clinical research investigating a new potential treatment approach for KRAS driven cancers. The conversation explores the role of FAK signalling in KRAS driven NSCLC and potential approaches to bypass drug resistance against FAK inhibitors from the molecular mechanisms involved to the impact of their study for the wider cancer research community.
This study has been published in EMBO Molecular Medicine and was included in the EACR's Highlights in Cancer Research, a summary of the most interesting and impactful recent papers in cancer research.
🔗 Read more about the publication: https://magazine.eacr.org/highlights-in-cancer-research-december-2024/7/
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast

Curiosity, optimism and collaboration: research insights from three award winning scientists

In this insightful and honest conversation, award winners Karin de Visser, Ido Amit and Marta Kovatcheva talk about their research, career journeys, and excitement for the future of cancer research. From curiosity  and scientific breakthroughs to diversity and balancing life in the lab, they reflect on what it really means to be a researcher today.
This episode explores the evolution of the cancer field and why optimism is more important than ever in science. The episode ends with a look ahead to the EACR 2025 Congress in Lisbon, where they’ll join fellow scientists from across the globe to share research and shape the future of cancer science.
Karin de Visser is winner of the Pezcoller-Marina Larcher Fogazzaro-EACR Women in Cancer Research Award
Ido Amit is winner of the Pezcoller Foundation-EACR Translational Cancer Research Award
Marta  Kovatcheva is winner of the EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award
🔗 Find out more about the EACR Congress at eacr.org/congress
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast

Charlie Swanton on perseverance, scientific change and asking questions

In this episode of The Cancer Researcher Podcast we interview Professor Charlie Swanton, Deputy Clinical Director of the Francis Crick Institute and Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK on his research interests, the evolution of the field and how he turned round his failing PhD. Charlie also shares with us what he’s looking forward to at the EACR Congress ahead of his Keynote Lecture and gives some excellent advice to early-career researchers on how to break away from the shyness that could hold some back from asking questions and networking at conferences.
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast.
🔗 Find out more about the EACR Congress at eacr.org/congress

Research focus: beating cancer at its own game - the effects of oncogenic signaling hyperactivation on cancer progression

In this episode of the Cancer Researcher Podcast we interview Matheus Diaz about his research in Rene Bernards' lab on a ‘paradoxical’ approach to cancer treatment involving the activation of oncogenic signaling. The conversation explores how this method potentially kills cancer cells and addresses drug resistance, based on Diaz's fascinating recent publication in Cancer Discovery.
🔗 Read more about the publication: https://magazine.eacr.org/highlights-in-cancer-research-december-2024/10/ 
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast
 

Insights from a Keynote Speaker

In this episode of The Cancer Researcher Podcast we welcome back Professor Carlos Caldas, Clinician Scientist and Professor of Cancer Medicine at the University of Cambridge. As a keynote speaker at the upcoming EACR Congress, he shares insights into his breast cancer research, the evolution of cancer science, and the power of patient-derived xenograft models. We also discuss the Congress programme, networking tips for early-career researchers, and why Lisbon is the perfect host city.
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast.
🔗 Find out more about the EACR Congress at eacr.org/congress

Collaborating Across Borders

Cross-border collaboration is crucial in cancer research because it fosters knowledge-sharing, accelerates innovation, and maximises the impact of research by leveraging diverse expertise and resources. However, it also comes with many challenges.
In this episode of The Cancer Researcher Podcast we're joined by four renowned experts — the Director of EMBO, the Director of Research and Partnerships at Cancer Research UK, the Past President of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, and the Past President of the EACR.
The guests discuss the complexities and benefits of cross-border collaboration in cancer research, emphasising the need for careful planning and understanding diverse funding models. They also explore the balance between discovery science and translational research, the importance of investigator-initiated and pragmatic clinical trials, and how such approaches can drive innovation and reduce healthcare costs.
🔗 Access transcripts for all our episodes at magazine.eacr.org/podcast.
🔗  Celis, J. and Ringborg, U. (2024), From the creation of the European research area in 2000 to a Mission on cancer in Europe in 2021-lessons learned and implications. Mol Oncol, 18: 785-792. https://doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.13632