28/11/2023

The EIG Foundation’s first Press Conference was held on Tuesday, November 28, in Athens, with the presence of medical press representatives from printed and digital media.

Mr. Spyros Giamas, the Founder and Chairman of Trustees presented the vision and goals of the Foundation as well as his personal story, connected with his beloved late wife Elena, which motivated him to start the Foundation back in 2020. In her name and to honour her long struggle with this devastating disease, Mr. Giamas decided to contribute to the efforts of the scientific community worldwide by granting scholarships to exceptional PhD students who conduct their research in a scientific field related to cancer.

“However, our Foundation is not solely aiming at supporting new talent in the scientific research field; we aspire to spread the message of hope to the patients and their families and loved ones. Hope that, in turn, will transform to determination to face the challenges, persevere and endure the tough cancer treatments and believe in a future where cancer will not be a life-prohibiting burden anymore”, Mr. Giamas added.

Dr. Aristotelis Bamias, Professor of Therapeutics, Internal Medicine-Oncology at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, presented the latest developments and interesting statistics on cancer worldwide and stressed the importance of clinical research, as an important factor in the cancer cure progress.

Dr. Bamias said, among others: “It is encouraging that the mortality percentage due to most forms of cancer, is diminishing these last years. The basic and clinical research are the main pillars of this optimistic development, which is exactly what the Elena Iliopoulou Giama Foundation is aiming at supporting”.

Our first scholarship receiver, Ms. Foteini Papaleonidopoulou, is completing her PhD research at the Biomedical and Medical Science this academic year, conducted at the renowned Francis Crick Institute of London.