The AGORA center was inspired by a vision that progress in translating advances in cancer research to the clinic can be expedited by assembling interdisciplinary research groups with complementary expertise to focus on grand challenges and opportunities.
The ISREC Foundation has financed and managed the construction of an iconic new building, located across the road from the CHUV hospital and in particular, its clinics that diagnose, treat, and care for cancer patients. The design principle of the building fosters collegial interactions and stimulates new ideas and collaborations via ‘bumping’ interactions. Offices are clustered, and the labs are open and not delineated by research group. There are interaction spaces proximal to the clustered faculty offices and the research labs, as well throughout the entire ground floor and an all-weather atrium spanning the adjacent building housing the Pathology Department of CHUV/UNIL.
Clinical and basic research groups – along with bioengineers – are interspersed in the 5 research wings, which will focus on hot topics such as ‘next-generation’ immunotherapy, human tumor profiling and personalized therapy, the roles of the tumor microenvironment, mechanisms of metastasis, and advanced cancer imaging technologies.
