ERC Proof of Concept Grant for HemaTrax: Improving Prediction of Blood Toxicity in Cancer Therapies (Zaugg Lab)

30 June 2026 / News, People / Xiomara Banholzer

ERC Proof of Concept Grant for HemaTrax: Improving Prediction of Blood Toxicity in Cancer Therapies (Zaugg Lab)

Professor Judith Zaugg, Research Group Leader in the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant for her project HemaTrax. The project aims to improve the prediction of blood toxicity in cancer treatment and drug development, building on her previous ERC-funded research into how the bone marrow microenvironment regulates blood cell formation.

Many cancer therapies can impair blood cell production in the bone marrow, a side effect known as hematotoxicity. This can limit treatment intensity and dosing options for patients and remains a major challenge in the development of new cancer drugs. Current preclinical models often fail to accurately replicate human bone marrow responses, making it difficult to predict which blood cell populations will be affected and why.

HemaTrax seeks to address this challenge by developing a human-relevant approach to better understand and predict the impact of therapies on blood formation. By combining experiments with advanced computational modeling and clinical data, the project will establish a practical framework to support earlier and more informed decision-making during drug development.

In the long term, HemaTrax could contribute to safer and more effective cancer therapies, help optimize treatment strategies, and pave the way for scalable methods to predict human-relevant toxicity while reducing reliance on animal experimentation.