Axa supports cancer reserach of Peter Carmeliet with 1 million euro

83 new world-class research teams tackling global risks with AXA support in 2011. In 2011, AXA strongly expanded its support to scientific research on the global risks on the environment, human health and societies. According to its unique global corporate responsibility program, the AXA Research Fund selected 83 new academic teams and gave them a support globally amounting to 22 million euros. In Belgium 1 million euro goes to Peter Carmeliet (VIB/KU Leuven).

Peter Carmeliet and his team investigate angiogenesis and use this knowledge to develop new cancer drugs. “Recent research aims mainly to stop the energy supply to the blood vessels and thus stop the abnormal blood supply towards tumors. It is a fundamental new strategy in the search for new drugs in the battle against cancer”, says Peter Carmeliet. “Looking for a new strategy is a project full of risks. In the early stage of these kinds of projects it is very hard to find funding. The substantial support of AXA is therefor of great importance for this research.”
Also other research domains can rely on the support of AXA

Research Fund:

3 new AXA Research Chairs. For instance, the AXA-Nanyang Technological University Chair on Natural Hazards1 (Singapour), will strengthen the application of earth science to create safer and more sustainable societies in a region where millions of people are exposed to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, changing sea levels and other natural hazards. 14 new research projects, 7 of them in Belgium on the topics of cancer research, sleep disorders to network models for infection transmission. 66 postdoctoral and doctoral fellowships to contribute to the development of a new generation of scientific excellence (120,000 Euros each).

“As a leading insurer, our key expertise lies in understanding and managing risk, our key responsibility in protecting people. This means that we have an essential and active role to play in making sure the ever-evolving risk landscape – the greatest risk coming from where it is least expected – is understood by the society as a whole. I am very proud and delighted that the AXA Research Fund contributes more and more to this noble purpose and thus to the engine of human progress.” said Henri de Castries, Chairman and CEO of AXA. The AXA Research knowledge community now consists of 289 teams and researchers of 47 nationalities. AXA support amounts to 76 million Euros since 2008.

The 2011 supported initiatives have been selected on the basis of excellence through a rigorous process supervised by the AXA Research Fund Scientific Board, which is chaired by Pr. Ezra Suleiman (Princeton University) and on which eminent figures from the scientific world sit.