Ground-breaking immunotherapy research for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis and brain tumors

 Every two years the Francqui Foundation awards start-up grants to excellent young researchers under 40. This year the prestigious Collen-Francqui start-up grant goes to VUB professor Kiavash Movahedi, who leads the Kiavash Movahedi lab of the Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy (LMCT) at the Brussels Health Campus. The Collen-Francqui grant now provides Prof. Movahedi 200.000 Euro in funding to further develop his promising research. In addition to the financial allowance this three-year mandate also includes a research chair.

Prof. Movahedi studies how a class of immune cells called macrophages affect the development and progression of brain disorders. This includes neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or multiple sclerosis, and aggressive primary brain tumors called glioblastomas. The Movahedi lab aims to develop new therapies for these diseases by modulating the functions of brain macrophages.

"I am extremely honored to receive the Collen-Francqui start-up grant.  Not only is it a great recognition for our work, but it also gives us increased freedom to pursue an ambitious research line. The generous funding will allow us to further investigate the role of brain macrophages in neurological diseases, which in time will hopefully lead to new treatment options for patients."