José Pedro Friedmann Angeli Receives ERC Proof of Concept Grant

Professor José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). The grant supports the translation of discoveries from ERC-funded basic research into potential clinical applications.

The project focuses on the development of a novel therapeutic strategy for KEAP1-mutant lung cancer, an aggressive cancer subtype that is often resistant to conventional treatments. Building on findings from his ERC Consolidator Grant project, Friedmann Angeli and his team identified a metabolic vulnerability in these tumor cells and developed SulfExstatin-1, a first-in-class inhibitor targeting a transporter involved in sulfite secretion.

By blocking this transporter, toxic sulfite accumulates in cancer cells, triggering cell death particularly in tumors carrying KEAP1 mutations. The ERC Proof of Concept Grant will support the further development of this approach and help advance it toward potential therapeutic application.

Friedmann Angeli is Professor of Translational Cell Biology at the Rudolf Virchow Center of the University of Würzburg and is internationally recognized for his pioneering research on ferroptosis, a regulated form of cell death with significant relevance for cancer therapy.