September 2023. Dr. Ivana Domljanovic was selected as one of the Lab Fribourg winners in the “Falling Wall” pitch competion

Dr. Ivana Domljanovic was one of the Lab Fribourg winners in the prestigious “Falling Wall” pitch competition, where she presented her “DNA origami diagnostic” project. She will now compete with other international winners for the title of “Breakthrough Winner” at the upcoming international global finale pitch competition that will take place on the 7th of November in Berlin. In this competition, participants can pitch their innovative ideas showcasing a breakthrough that positively impacts science and society in just three minutes. This remarkable achievement highlights that DNA origami technology used for breast cancer detection has the potential to make a significant impact on a global scale!

> find more about this pitch competition on https://falling-walls.com/science-summit/

June, 2023. Detecting breast cancer using a simple blood test

On June 29th Prof. Curzio Rüegg together with Yann Steulet, director of FriUp, had the chance to discuss on the radio during the program Le MAG about this new innovative project. While traditional mammography identifies tissues that are already affected, this new and less invasive method will make possible to detect the body’s immune response to this disease, which affects nearly 6,000 patients in Switzerland each year.

> listen to the podcast on radiofr: https://www.radiofr.ch/fribourg/podcasts/21483

June, 2023. Dr. Ivana Domljanovic was awarded the prestigious Swiss Nanotechnology PhD Award 2023

Dr. Ivana Domljanovic was recognized for her publication in the journal Nanoscale “DNA Origami Book Biosensor for Multiplex Detection of Cancer-Associated Nucleic Acids.” She developed a DNA origami nanosensor for specific, sensitive, rapid detection of nucleic acids for breast cancer diagnostics. The project was developed in the lab of Prof. Curzio Rüegg at the University of Fribourg in close collaboration with Prof. Guillermo Acuna and his team at the Physics Department. She will now pursue the development of a nanosensor for use as a breast cancer detection blood test in a Innosuissse-sponsored project. The final goal is to develop a commercial product by a soon-to-be-funded spin off company of the University of Fribourg.

> read more about the award on https://www.bioinspired-materials.ch/en/news-events/news/29255/

May, 2023. Best Innovation Project Award at the 2023 Bioinnovation Day

Prof. Curzio Rüegg from University of Fribourg (UNIFR) received the Award for the Best Innovation Project at the Agora of the CHUV in Lausanne during the Bioinnovation Day. He and his team are developing a blood test for the early detection of breast cancer which could revolutionize the patients’ management and the disease treatment.

> read more about the award on https://bioalps.org/bind-bioinnovation-day-awards/

March, 2023. The University of Fribourg joins the Swiss Biobanking Platform

The team of Prof. Curzio Rüegg is coordinating the GENOA study. It aims to develop a new generation of blood screening tests for breast cancer in collaboration with the hôpital fribourgeois (HFR), the réseau hospitalier neuchâtelois (NHe), the centre de chimiothérapie anti-cancéreuse (CACC), the centre d’imagerie du Flon (CiF) and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). This is a significant recognition for the University of Fribourg, which is now officially part of this important national research network.

> read more about it on https://www.unifr.ch/scimed/en/info/news/28870/the-university-of-fribourg-joins-the-swiss-biobanking-platform?

June, 2021. Breast cancer: detecting the invisible

Mammography is the method of choice for breast cancer screening. Although effective, this method has its limitations and, above all, it depends on the «visibility» of the cancer in the imaging process. Researchers at the University of Fribourg have shown that, even at an early stage, breast cancer causes an immune system reaction which can be detected by a blood test. This is an important result that opens up new prospects for diagnosis.

> read article on https://breast-cancer-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13058-021-01441-8

> listen to the podcast on rts.ch: https://www.rts.ch/audio-podcast/2021/audio/detecter-les-tumeurs-cancereuses-avant-qu-elles-ne-soient-visibles-25206767.html

August, 2020. Venture Kick’s financial and entrepreneurial support

To date, there is no specific monitoring test to assess whether breast cancer is cured, dormant, or progressing after the initial treatment. A soon to-be-founded company will bring an innovative blood-based test for breast cancer monitoring and early detection of relapses to the market. Prof. Curzio Rüegg, Marie Bertrand and Frederic Fer received a Venture Kick’s prize to support the development of the spin-off company.

> read more about the award on https://www.venturekick.ch/Xemperia