CMM PI Hugo Snippert receives an ERC consolidator grant

Hugo Snippert explains: “My research is all about early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC), specifically the stage directly after tumors progressed from non-cancerous to invasive. This transformation is a crucial milestone in tumor development, with clear impact on treatment and outcome. However, it takes place in what I call the 'dark Middle ages' of its timeline, because it's not well understood due to the lack of good models and scarcity of patient samples. With this ERC grant, I'll be using special samples that include both the pre- and post-transformed tumor areas. I'll also create organoid models of these regions to study how the tumors change. My goal is to figure out the details of this 'dark Middle ages' phase, focusing on processes like how quickly the tumor mutates, the order in which DNA changes happen, and the patterns involved. By doing this, I want to settle the debate on how tumors progress halfway through their development. Improving our understanding could help us to recognize the earliest signs of malignant cancer, which could lead to new ways to intervene and prevent cancer from developing.”