Fight Against Cancer: ISREC Foundation
Fight Against Cancer: ISREC Foundation
A collective effort at the heart of AGORA
On October 3, 2018, the ISREC Foundation officially inaugurated the AGORA cancer research center. Initiated by the ISREC Foundation in 2013, the realization of the AGORA project was the result of a partnership between the CHUV, the University of Lausanne, the EPFL, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the University Hospitals of Geneva and the University of Geneva. This project has emerged from a common vision and will eventually become an important platform for collaborations between various cantons.
The building, owned by the ISREC Foundation, was designed by the architectural firm Behnisch Architekten of Stuttgart. It offers 11’500 m2 of laboratories, technology platforms, offices, conference rooms, a large auditorium and a restaurant. The architecture of the building fosters interactions between disciplines, among researchers, and between established scientists and students.
A Public-Private Partnership
Promoting humane medical practice
AGORA contributes to the community at large by helping connect patients with clinicians and researchers. Communal spaces, such as an atrium near the entrance of the building and the Paternot Auditorium, host events at which scientists and clinicians explain to the public the treatment processes and the value of ongoing research.
With the construction of the AGORA building the ISREC Foundation contributed tangibly to the development of an oncology platform in the Lake of Geneva area. Medical advances achieved within AGORA act as ideal stimulants for the future support from the foundation, which continues as a leading player dedicated to patients and cancer research.
The ISREC Foundation
Supporting innovation in cancer therapies
The main tasks of the ISREC Foundation are to promote translational cancer research and foster the careers of promising young scientists in the biomedical arena. The members of its Foundation Council, led by president Me. Pierre-Marie Glauser and the ISREC Scientific Board, chaired by Professor Michael Hall, work together with ISREC Foundation’s director, Professor Susan Gasser, and its director of administration and finance, Aylin Niederberger, to support exceptional scientists and to help clinicians pursue their translational research goals. All major academic and medical institutions of the Lake Geneva area provide indispensable engagement, allowing the implementation of these projects.
Exchange, positive perspectives, professionalism, dialogue and openness are the hallmarks of the work that takes place in Agora. The ISREC Foundation is supported by donors who, year after year, make it possible for it to achieve these missions. Without philanthropic support, promising projects in translational cancer research could not be accomplished.
