Spaxio

SpaXio is an innovative European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) doctoral training network focused on understanding how cancer spreads to distant organs — a process known as metastasis. 

Metastasis is a major cause of death and, once established, metastatic disease can be controlled by treatment, but not cured. Understanding how tumor cells develop in a new environment, how they grow and interact with it, will not only help explain why cancer becomes metastatic, but also open up new therapeutic perspectives for treating metastases.  spaXio combines cutting-edge methods like spatial multi-omics, 3D tumoroid models, and AI-powered data analysis to uncover how metastatic niches form and how they might be targeted therapeutically. 

13 doctoral candidates will receive interdisciplinary hands-on training in academic and industry settings, preparing them to become leaders in cancer research and pioneers in the rapidly growing field of spatial biology. 

Researchers funded through these networks must not already hold a doctoral degree, can be of any nationality, and must be enrolled in a doctoral programme during the project. For Industrial Doctorates, candidates are expected to spend at least half of their time outside academia. They must also comply with EU mobility rules, meaning they should not have lived or worked in the host country for more than 12 months in the three years prior to recruitment.

• Paris Lodron University Salzburg (PLUS, coordinator), 
• Aix-Marseille University (AMU), INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale), 
• University of Tübingen, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Madrid (CSIC), 
• Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Technical University of Munich (TUM), 
• University of Lausanne (UNIL)

MSCA Doctoral Network