Advanced Preclinical Models for Therapeutic Discovery and Validation

To bridge discovery and clinical benefit, the lab develops and uses patient-derived organoids (PDOs). These 3D "mini-tumors" grown from a patient's own tumor tissue, overcome the limitations of traditional 2D cell lines. PDOs offer high fidelity, recapitulating the genetics, histology, and heterogeneity of the original tumor, and can be established with high success rates from small biopsy samples.

Interrogating Intratumoral Heterogeneity and Therapeutic Resistance

Tumor evolution, driven by intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) and phenotypic plasticity, is a primary cause of therapeutic failure. The Bailey Laboratory investigates the genetic and non-genetic mechanisms sustaining this diversity. Recent work from the Bailey and Corbo labs, published in Nature, has identified extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) as a major source of genomic heterogeneity and adaptability in PDAC. ecDNAs are small, circular DNA elements that exist outside of the chromosomes and can carry key oncogenes.

Developing a Spatial Omics Atlas of Pancreatic Cancer

The Bailey laboratory is using spatial omics technologies to build a high-resolution atlas of pancreatic cancer, conceptualizing the tumor as a pathological organ. These methods integrate molecular profiling with spatial tissue context, allowing for the analysis of gene expression, protein interactions, and metabolic states within their original architectural framework.

José Mário Leite

10 Dec. 2025

Postdoc Position at the Tissue Immunity Lab

Research
Application Starts: 10 Dec. 2025

Fundação D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr. Carlos Montez Champalimaud (Champalimaud Foundation), a private, non-profit research institution, is opening a call for a Postdoc Position.

17 December 2025

Why Transcranial Magnetic Brain Stimulation Stands Out as a Promising Therapeutic Solution for Bipolar Depression

Since the 1990s, non-invasive brain stimulation has grown from an experimental idea into an established tool for treating depression as well as advancing neuroscience research. Among these technologies, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is clinically validated and used to treat major depressive disorder, also known as unipolar depression.

16 December 2025

From a blank slate to a grown institution

Thinking about the past and how it shaped the present is never simple. But Zach Mainen, who has been here since day one, was a natural person to revisit the “Then and Now” of the Champalimaud Foundation (CF). We spoke about what it meant to take on a new and unpredictable project, and how the dream of a small group gradually became reality. I hope this story inspires you to step into the unknown and to trust that even when the future feels uncertain, it can still unfold into something remarkable.

16 December 2025

The frontier of our dreams

Maria João Villas-Boas has been close to the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) since its early days. “I was fascinated, truly fascinated,” she told me as I asked when she had first heard about it. She had been following Leonor Beleza's work in the press, and the clarity of her clear vision for the CF made a lasting impression.

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