Iñaki Etxeberria Úriz (Pamplona, 1991) has received the I award to the Novel Talent of the Immunology Chair awarded by the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV) and the science and technology company Merck.

Iñaki Etxeberria, PhD in Immunology from Cima University of Navarra and currently researcher postdoctoral at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (USA), has received the award for the best publication in basic immunology, specifically on cancer immunotherapy.

The jury has distinguished the young researcher as first author of a work published in the scientific journal Cancer Cell. The study, which presents a novel intratumoral immunotherapy approach, confirms for the first time the antitumor effect of adoptive cell therapy in human endometrial cancer grafted in animal models. In addition, this new engineering strategy Genetics significantly increases antitumor activity, without apparent toxicity, in preclinical models of solid tumors.

According to Iñaki Etxeberria, "this award recognizes the work of an entire team that for more than four years has contributed to the development of a new therapeutic approach based on cancer immunotherapy. It represents a step towards the clinical development of a strategy with the potential to improve patients' lives".

On the other hand, in this first edition of the Chair of Immunology UFV-Merck, endowed with 3,000 euros, Javier Ignacio Muñoz, researcher of the research center of Cancer of Salamanca, has been the winner in the category of best publication in clinical immunology.