The Swedish Cancer Society awards Kristian Pietras the title of Cancer Researcher of the Year 2025. He is a professor of molecular medicine at Lund University and co-director of WCMM Lund and is recognized for his research on the tumour microenvironment, which has given us the key to understanding how cells in blood vessels and connective tissue interact with tumour cells.
| Congratulations! How does it feel to be named Cancer Researcher of the Year 2025, , and what does this recognition mean to you personally and professionally?
- "It feels fantastic and is a great recognition for me and my team for all the efforts that we put in over the years. I am also happy that our field is being acknowledged as a key to providing new knowledge for developing new strategies to tackle cancer."
| Looking back on your career so far, which discovery or project stands out to you as your proudest achievement?
- "Throughout my career I have tried to incorporate a systematic renewal of our technological platforms to keep up with the development. I was very happy when we as very early adopters made use of single cell technologies to detail the heterogeneity among cancer-associated fibroblasts, a finding that serves as the basis for precision targeting of stromal cells."
| Almost simultaneously, the news broke that the Berta Kamprad Foundation is donating 420 million SEK to cancer research at Lund University. This is the largest individual donation to the university since its founding in 1666. Could you share more about your role in securing the historic donation to cancer research and what it means for the field?
-"The L2 Cancer Bridge collaboration between Lund and Lausanne has been running for quite a few years already, although funding has been irregular. After proving that the interactions delivered exciting results, we were approached with the opportunity to accelerate our efforts with a more sustainable donation. We are very grateful to the donors, and it will be very exciting times ahead."
| How will these newly awarded research funds be allocated, and what impact do you envision they will have on advancing cancer treatment?
-"The funds give us the chance to merge the unique expertise in cancer research, from fundamental insights, through drug development, to clinical studies, represented in Lund and Lausanne jointly. We will be able to build the drug discovery chain from start to finish, and hopefully deliver several promising drug candidates at the end of the 5-year project."
| Finally, what do you see as the most significant challenge currently facing cancer research, and how do you think the field should address it?
-"Cancer is an incredibly complex disease, and the tremendous heterogeneity between patients and even within the same tumour poses a formidable challenge. But I am convinced that new insights into the organizational principles of the tumour organ will lead to conceptually new ways to tackle the disease."
Thank you for joining us in this month's WCMM Fireside Chat!
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