The biochemist Paul Nurse, the geneticist Mario Capecchi, the biologist Elizabeth Blackburne, and the immunologist James Allison share not only the Nobel Prize for Medicine, but also the fact that they received it - in different years - after receiving the Pezcoller prize, which is awarded in Trento and is one of the most prestigious international awards for oncological research. Tak Ua Mak, a Chinese geneticist active first in the United States and then in Canada, received the prize this year, which has a budget of 75,000 euros and is awarded in collaboration with the American Association for Cancer Research. His research paved the way for all cancer immunology and immunotherapy discoveries and applications. They helped us understand how a cell can become cancerous. They also demonstrated how the immune system communicates with the nervous system. Oncologist Enzo Galligioni, president of the Pezcoller Foundation, talked about a "research giant". Together with Tak Ua Mak, Johanna Joyce, professor at the University of Lausanne and an international leader in promoting the role of women in cancer research, and Nicola Aceto, who leads an international team of young researchers at ETH Zurich who deal with circulating cancer cells, those that form metastases, were honored. Saturday morning, the Teatro Sociale di Trento was packed for the awards ceremony, a sort of choral embrace that the city reserves every year for cancer research pioneers.
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