University of Salzburg receives prestigious EU funding for innovative cancer research network

25.04.2025

spaXio (spatial crosstalk in immuno-oncology), a research project led by the University of Salzburg, has successfully secured funding through the highly competitive European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks program.

The project is based at the Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology and the Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology, a key research focus area at the university.

The project’s core team includes Jutta Horejs-Höck, Vice Rector for Research and head of the Molecular Immunology research group; Dirk Schmidt-Arras, head of the Tumor Immunology group and the Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology; and Peter Krenn, senior scientist in the Molecular Cancer Biology group led by Fritz Aberger, who heads the Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology. They were supported by Diana Amend from the Molecular Immunology group and Nikolaus Fortelny from the Computational Systems Biology group.

Thanks to an outstanding evaluation by international reviewers, the application ranked among the top 8% of over 1,400 submissions from across Europe. As a result of this achievement, spaXio will receive €5.2 million in funding over the next five years from the European Union and Switzerland.

Additional financial support comes from the State of Salzburg through the Life Science Initiative and the regional science and innovation strategy. The project also maintains close scientific collaboration with the University Hospital of Salzburg.

The goal of spaXio is to better understand how metastases – the spread and growth of cancer cells in distant organs – develop. Metastases are responsible for the vast majority of cancer-related deaths.

“The project aims to uncover why certain cancer cells ‘settle’ in specific organs and form life-threatening tumors there,” explains Peter Krenn. At the heart of the research is the concept of the “metastatic niche” – a complex interaction between tumor cells, immune cells, the microbiome, and the tissue environment, which remains largely unexplored. While modern single-cell technologies generate large amounts of data, they often overlook spatial context – and this is precisely where spaXio comes in. Using innovative spatial omics technologies, the spatial-temporal organization of cells and molecular processes is investigated. This is complemented by artificial intelligence (AI) and digital computer models, known as “digital twins” of metastases, which simulate disease progression virtually. This approach allows for the targeted simulation of new therapeutic strategies, which can then be tested in the lab.

spaXio brings together leading scientists from top universities in Tübingen, Marseille, Madrid, Lausanne, and Munich.

Together with clinics and companies across Europe and the United States, the project is developing new methods for spatially resolved analysis of molecular processes. “In our research, we use complex 3D tumor models (‘tumoroids’). Additionally, AI-supported data integration and modeling are used to generate innovative treatment strategies for advanced cancer,” says Dirk Schmidt-Arras.

The core of the project is the training of 13 doctoral candidates who will work both experimentally in the lab and computationally with large data sets. In addition to their scientific training, they will gain skills in science communication, ethics, open science, interdisciplinarity, and sustainability. Industry internships and international collaborations further promote the exchange between research and practical application.

spaXio will not only train excellent young researchers but will also, in line with the ambitious EU Mission Cancer, contribute new momentum toward personalized and highly precise cancer therapies. “Salzburg is thus developing into a European center for spatially resolved tumor biology. Cutting-edge research made in Salzburg will make a vital contribution to improving care for cancer patients in Europe and beyond,” emphasizes Jutta Horejs-Höck.

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