TLRPROSTATE · Chemical programming of Toll like Receptor 4: Design, synthesis and biological studies of prostate-cancer vaccines

The IOF proposal, TLRPROSTATE, consists of a 24 month outgoing phase to The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, and a 12 month return phase to the Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA-CSIC) for a total of 36 months. TLRPROSTATE will use advanced methods in synthetic biology to develop synthetic vaccines against prostate cancer, which is the second most common cancer worldwide for men. The project will consist of the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of synthetic vaccines that will chemically stimulate the toll-like receptors and therefore create an immune response. This exciting research area will increase Miranda’s expertise and knowledge in the field of synthetic biology as well as in the synthesis of complex organic molecules. During the return phase, Miranda will integrate his research findings into the studies carried out by the research group at IPNA. The return of knowledge and skills to the Canary Islands, Spain, will take place at a time when there is an increasing support from the government and also European authorities for the development of the Canary Islands as a nerve center in Biomedical studies through research programs partially financed by European funding.