First round of Bertarelli Rare Cancers Fund grants awarded

Posted on 6 April 2021

Following the establishment of the Bertarelli Rare Cancers Fund at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in 2019, the first round of grants was awarded in 2020, with more than $9 million distributed to nine teams representing more than 19 lead and co-lead investigators across HMS and its affiliated hospitals. Research kicked off this winter.

HMS Dean George Q. Daley said:

“This exciting new program will advance our capacity to prevent, treat, and cure rare cancers, which, combined, affect many tens of thousands of patients and their loved ones in this country each year. By building research capacity and cross-institutional collaboration, the fund helps us pursue our mission of generating new biological insights and treatment strategies that improve health for all.”

Dona Bertarelli commented:

“We have a shared ambition to conduct research and innovate for the good of society. It’s clear that there is a need and an opportunity to accelerate transformative rare cancer research, and it is my hope that the fund will create a community of researchers who will, in collaboration with scientists around the world, transform the understanding, treatment, and care of rare cancers.”

It can be hard to make research progress in a rare cancer. For instance, tissue samples are scarce and pharmaceutical companies have less incentive to develop drugs for small patient markets. Academic institutions such as HMS can be particularly helpful, Daley said.

With the fresh infusion from the Bertarelli fund, HMS is able to build the infrastructure, generate the knowledge, and strengthen the research communities for rare cancers that more common cancers benefit from.

The ultimate goal is to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of rare cancers.

The gift “shines a spotlight on the needs of rare cancer research” and addresses some of those needs by “supporting promising new research, bringing researchers together, and showing patients that progress can be made,” said fund director Ed Harlow, the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research and Teaching in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

The first grants span basic, translational, and clinical science while linking junior and senior faculty across the HMS community. The multidisciplinary collaborations promise to approach problems from different perspectives and produce stronger science.

Grant recipients are investigating different individual rare cancers as well as genetic and molecular mechanisms that span multiple rare cancers.

The fund administrators plan to support projects that build biological tools for studying clear cell cancers, including cell lines, xenografts, and three-dimensional tissue structures known as organoids.

To learn more about the Bertarelli Rare Cancers Fund and the different projects, visit:
https://brcf.hms.harvard.edu/

Pew Bertarelli Ocean Ambassadors announced

Posted on 9 November 2018

The Bertarelli Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts have brought together global leaders to form the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Ocean Ambassadors group.

Working closely with Dona Bertarelli, the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Ambassadors will advocate for and raise public awareness about the importance of marine protected areas in conserving the ocean.

Announced at Our Ocean 2018, held in Bali, Indonesia, from 29th to 30th October, the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Ambassadors are:

John Kerry, co-chair, Ocean Ambassadors; former U.S. secretary of state (2013-2017); former U.S. senator, Massachusetts (1985-2013); distinguished fellow for global affairs at Yale University; visiting distinguished statesman at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
David Cameron, co-chair, Ocean Ambassadors; former United Kingdom prime minister (2010-2016); former leader, U.K. Conservative Party (2005-2016).
James Alix Michel, former president of Seychelles (2004-2016).
Carlotta Leon Guerrero, executive director of the Guam-based Ayuda Foundation; former member of the Guam Legislature (1994-2000).
Heraldo Muñoz, former Chilean minister of foreign affairs (2014-2018).

To date, the Bertarelli Foundation has supported the designation of 2,371,816 km2 of marine protected areas. The Bertarelli Foundation, in partnership with Pew Charitable Trusts, aims to create the first generation of ecologically significant and effective marine reserves around the world.

New Caledonia commits to highly protect large area of Coral Sea Natural Park

Posted on 9 November 2018

During Our Ocean 2018, New Caledonia’s government announced a new commitment to highly protect 200,000-400,000 km2 of marine waters within the Coral Sea Natural Park. This new commitment comes after the designation in August of four marine protected areas, which fully protect the Astrolabe, Pétrie, Chesterfield, Bellona and Entrecasteaux reefs and cover 28,000 km2.

Dona Bertarelli commented:

“The commitment made by the government of New Caledonia will help deliver its pledge to protect the Coral Sea Natural Park. The formal designation will safeguard the health of the ocean for a wide array of marine life, and for future generations of the island communities that rely on these valuable marine waters. This is another important step as we continue to work to protect 30% of our ocean.”

The Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy will continue to work with the people of New Caledonia, the territory’s government, the fishing industry and local organisations to increase marine protection within the Coral Sea Natural Park.

New chapter opens for Easter Island Marine Protection. Bertarelli Foundation calls for other countries to protect the ocean.

Posted on 27 February 201819 March 2018

The final step to protect the unique waters around Easter Island through the establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) was completed today, February 27th, 2018, when Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed the decree.

The new Rapa Nui MPA covers 720,000 km2, an area of ocean about the size of France, and guards against industrial fishing and extractive activities, while protecting the traditional fishing practices of the Rapa Nui. It was achieved through the hard work and leadership of Rapa Nui groups, including a coalition of business leaders, fishers, and more than 20 local organizations, along with support from the Bertarelli Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Co-chair of the Bertarelli Foundation, Dona Bertarelli said:

“This is an incredible moment in the history of Easter Island. The Bertarelli Foundation is very proud to have accompanied the Rapa Nui for the past six years, as they campaigned to protect their waters and their heritage.”

The area around Easter Island is one of the most unique marine environments in the world and home to at least 142 endemic species, including 27 that are threatened or endangered. The Rapa Nui MPA contributes a huge stretch of ocean to the global push for 30% of the ocean in protection by 2030, the target recommended by scientists and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but there is still a very long way to go.

Dona Bertarelli stated:

“Chile has shown its leadership to conserve the global ocean, and looking forward, there is a lot more work to be done by countries everywhere if we are to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.”

Large scale MPAs are acknowledged as essential to building resilience of the ocean in a changing climate, helping to protect marine life and conserve complex ecosystems. But they will only work if the MPAs are robust and offer genuine protection.

The 30% target can be achieved through both the creation of MPAs in territorial waters and the protection of large areas of the high seas, which are beyond any one country’s national jurisdiction. Negotiations towards a new UN Treaty to protect the biodiversity of the high seas start later in the year and the Bertarelli Foundation is keen to see a strong outcome so that more of the ocean can be protected.

The first UN Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate a treaty to protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction will be held in September 2018.