
Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
LACR team consists of dedicated, enthusiastic and creative scientists who are passionate to pursue cutting edge research to improve life of cancer patients

Prof. Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro
Principal Investigator
Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro, is Full Prof of Oncology at the University of Fribourg and Head of Medical Oncology at the Cantonal Hospital of Fribourg.
In addition, she is the president of the Lung Cancer working group of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK); she is the coordinator of the Lung Cancer Program at the European School of Oncology (ESO). In ESMO, she is faculty member of the group Investigational Immunotherapy and editor in Chief of the ESMO Daily reporter journal.
Prof Curioni-Fontecedro obtained her medical degree from University Campus Bio-Medico (UCBM) Rome, Italy. She did a double MD at the Department of Molecular Biology of the University of Zurich and at the University Campus Bio-Medico in Rome. Prof Curioni-Fontecedro’s was scientific physician at the Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology of the University Hospital in Zurich (Switzerland) and at the laboratory of Experimental Immunology of the University of Zurich. She is principal investigator locally, nationally and internationally of multiple trials in the field of thoracic oncology. The focus of her research lab is evaluating new combinatorial treatments and their underlying mechanisms of action in mesothelioma and lung cancer with the final goal to develop new therapeutical approaches.

PD. Dr. Anurag Gupta
Head of Research
Anurag is an immunologist. He obtained his master's degree from Kanpur University in India. Anurag completed a PhD from the University of Basel, Switzerland. Anurag studies immunological responses in various diseases, including reproductive disorders, autoimmune diseases, infections, and cancer. For the past twelve years, Anurag and his research team have concentrated on cancer immunology. The major focus of his research team was to develop novel treatments that mobilize protective immunity against solid tumors and metastatic disease. At LACR, he is leading the research team to find innovative therapies for thoracic malignancies, specifically lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Dr. Laura Heeb
Postdoc
Laura has done her bachelor’s in biology at the University of Zurich and her master’s in molecular health sciences at ETHZ. Afterwards, she worked as Research Technician at ETHZ until she started her PhD in Cancer Biology at the University Hospital Zurich, studying the tumor microenvironment during post-hepatectomy liver regeneration in the murine model. After her PhD, she started her Postdoc position at LACR, working in an interdisciplinary project focusing on the tumor microbiome and its interplay with the immune system. Her research interests include tumor immunology, physiology, microbiology and nanoparticle application.

Antoine Torchiat
PhD Student
Antoine received his master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Dundee. Antoine research focuses on the development of novel cancer therapeutics and the identification of biomarkers for patient stratification.

Catherine Pythoud
Research Technician
Catherine received her lab technician diploma at the University of Fribourg (Institut of Histology).At LACR, Catherine is assisting in research that focuses on understanding the tumor microenvironment of thoracic cancers

Arya Nair
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​Arya holds a Master’s degree in Cancer and Molecular and Cellular Biology from Queen Mary University of London. She worked at Artios Pharma in Cambridge, where she contributed to the development of DNA damage response-based therapies for hard-to-treat cancers. Currently, her PhD research focuses on inducing tumor-specific immunity by targeting the spliceosome.