Lars Forsberg receives ERC Proof of Concept Grant
Lars Forsberg will use the funding to develop a new tool for studying the effects of genetic alterations directly in cells and tissues. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University
Lars Forsberg, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). He will use the funding to develop a new tool for studying the effects of genetic alterations directly in cells and tissues.
In the newly funded project TUMORLY, the goal is to develop a user-friendly method for studying the effects of genetic changes directly in tissues, on a cell‑by‑cell basis. Current technologies for this type of analysis, known as spatial omics, are very expensive and difficult to use. As a result, only a few research laboratories worldwide have access to them.
Lars Forsberg and his research group now plan to develop a cheaper, faster and more accessible tool that will make this type of spatial analysis possible for many more researchers.
Loss of chromosome Y in different cell types
The project will focus on understanding how loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in different cell types affects disease development, for example in cancer.
“LOY is a very common genetic alteration in men that increases the risk of several common diseases. More than a decade has passed since my discovery that LOY in blood cells increases the risk of disease in men, but it is still unclear how LOY affects different cell types in the case of disease. With the new technology, we hope to map these processes in detail and identify mechanisms that may be important for future diagnosis and treatment,” says Forsberg.
Fully develop the method
With the ERC grant, the researchers can take a crucial step from idea to practical application. They have shown that the concept works in model systems, and they can now fully develop the method, test it on tumour samples, and demonstrate how LOY and other genetic changes are organised in tissues.
“LOY occurs in both tumour cells and immune cells, but we know little about how these changes interact. By mapping and studying LOY in different tissues, we hope to learn more about why men more often develop cancer and other common diseases at a younger age than women,” says Forsberg.
The researchers also hope to further develop the technology so that it can eventually be used by research laboratories and clinics to study a wide range of disease mechanisms – not only LOY – and be broadly applied in both research and diagnostics.
Kerstin Henriksson
ERC Proof of Concept Grant
The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) and can be applied for by researchers who have previously received ERC funding. The purpose of the grant is to support researchers who want to explore the commercial or societal potential of their work.
The grant amounts to EUR 150,000 and can be used over 18 months. In the current call, which was the second in 2025, 136 grants were awarded and TUMORLY was the only Swedish project to be funded.