ERC funding: 1.5 million Euro for the development of new cell therapies against pediatric brain tumors
The research project REPLACE-TAM led by Dr. Marius Mader, head of a research group at the Research Institute Children's Cancer Center Hamburg, is being funded with 1.5 million Euro through a renowned European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant.
High-grade gliomas are among the deadliest forms of cancer in children. Despite intensive treatments, these tumors are currently considered incurable. One of the reasons: certain immune cells in the brain – so-called macrophages and microglia – support tumor growth and suppress the body's immune response.
Mader and his team aim to change this. In the REPLACE-TAM project, they are developing an entirely new therapeutic approach: harmful immune cells in the brain are selectively removed and replaced with new donor cells. These renewed cells can be engineered to counteract tumor growth and actively attack malignant cancer cells. This could open the door to an innovative cell therapy capable of fundamentally transforming the tumor environment and offering affected children a real chance of effective treatment.
Financial boost for promising research
Mader is one of 478 researchers across Europe selected by the European Research Council (ERC) for this year's Starting Grants. With a total funding volume of 761 million Euro, these grants support outstanding early-career research across a variety of fields, including natural and engineering sciences, life sciences, as well as social sciences and humanities. The funding is designed to help researchers at the beginning of their careers launch their own projects, build research teams, and pursue their most promising ideas.
Marius Mader works as a physician in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and has led a research group at the Research Institute Children's Cancer Center Hamburg since 2024. His group focuses on immune cells of the central nervous system – especially myeloid cells and their role in brain tumors – as well as the development of novel cell therapies for the brain. This pioneering research can now be advanced thanks to ERC Grant.
