Bigger Research Projects 2026

Stiftelsen Assar Gabrielssons Fond annually awards, according to its regulations, "two grants for large projects, preferably one for preclinical cancer research and one for clinical cancer research".

This year, three projects of high quality will receive 600 000 SEK each: Agnes Dahlstrand Rudin, Erna Islamagic and Therese Axelsson.

Agnes Dahlstrand Rudin

Project title: Prospective tumor-informed ctDNA analysis in pediatric cancer: evaluation of feasibility and clinical utility

The aim of the project is to prospectively evaluate the clinical utility of personalized analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for monitoring children with extracranial solid tumors. Through regular blood sampling, ctDNA levels will be measured to investigate whether this approach can detect residual or recurrent disease earlier and with greater sensitivity than current follow-up methods, potentially enabling earlier treatment of relapse and reducing the need for invasive procedures. The study will also assess the feasibility of implementing this approach as a routine clinical tool in pediatric oncology care.

Agnes Dahlstrand Rudin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, University of Gothenburg (GU). She obtained her PhD in 2021 with a thesis on the role of neutrophils in periodontitis in Johan Bylund's research group, GU. Since 2023, she has been a member of Martin Dalin's research group, where she conducts translational research in pediatric oncology with a focus on molecular biomarkers for monitoring tumor burden. Her research aims to improve precision medicine approaches for children with cancer.

Erna Islamagic

Project title: Harnessing TRAIL for novel NK cell-based therapy in neuroblastoma

The purpose of the research program is to investigate the interplay between NKp46, TRAIL, and TRAIL receptors, with the long-term goal of developing novel natural killer (NK)-based immunotherapeutic strategies for neuroblastoma (NB). The main goals are to pinpoint the role of the NKp46/TRAIL/DR4/5 axis in NK cell recognition of NB cells, to generate optimised TRAIL molecules, and to determine their capacity to enhance NK cell responses against NB cells.

Erna Islamagic is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg. She received her PhD in Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Sarajevo in 2022. She transitioned to basic research in 2023 when she joined Fredrik Bergh Thorén’s research group at the University of Gothenburg, which primarily focuses on tumor immunology. Her research explores the immunotherapeutic potential of natural killer (NK) cells for the treatment of cancer.