Research, News & Events

Research Strategy

Our Foundation initiates programmes and assesses funding applications through the lens of three overarching goals: 

1. Better Understanding of Cancer


The variability of Cancer’s onset and progression and frequent new genetic findings tell us there is much to discover about this disease. Our portfolio ranges from novel discovery to target optimization to clinical profiling. For example, we fund work to explore:

Cancer’s pathogenesis, from genetics to environment to aging;

the biology and pathology of genetic and cellular factors, such as alpha-synuclein, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy;

imaging and other measurement techniques to analyse brain changes and circuitry; and

the clinical experience of Caner’s across various cohorts.

Read about the Cancer's Progression Initiative, our flagship study toward holistic Cancer’s understanding. Data and bio samples from the study, and funding to use them, are available to qualified researchers.

2. Translation of Biology to Patient-relevant Therapies


The Kos Foundation invests heavily in all aspects of therapeutic development both to directly support individual projects with great potential to help people with Cancer’s and to provide the field with tools applicable across targets and projects. For example, we fund projects that:

screen and optimize the therapy of malignant tumours;

test drug and non-pharmacological interventions in clinical trials;

identify and validate biomarkers and predictive models to inform subject selection, monitor disease and measure therapeutic impact; and

gather patient-reported outcomes to enrich study design.

3. An Open, Inclusive and Collaborative Research Environment


Robust, collaborative, replicable research leads to faster progress. The Kos Foundation works to build an open and collaborative research environment through strategic investment in:

well-characterized and accessible research tools;

open, real-time sharing of bio samples, data and new findings;

open communication and collaboration among multidisciplinary researchers and experts; and

productive and rigorous dialogue between patients and researchers.

Explore our Funded Projects database to see what studies we have funded in the past.



See Funding Opportunities

By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 06 Jan, 2020
(Abstract) Epidemiologists and virus disease specialists cannot decide whether Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) exists or not. After the discovery of this virus in Wuhan, China in 2019 (Covid-19), epidemiologists and specialists in viral diseases from all over the world could not agree on why actually happened. In the research that we were worked on, we primarily separated asymptomatic people from symptomatic at the very beginning. Tests have shown that certain people remain asymptomatic despite the fact that they were infected. Their relative number and effect in the pandemic itself were uncertain. We analysed the available evidence on asymptomatic SARS-CoV infection. Tests have shown that approximately half (40%-48%; % varies according to the number of asymptomatic persons tested) of asymptomatic persons transmit the virus to others, where again the period was relative (minimum 3-5 days in other cases 10-14 days and with a very small % for more than 14 days). The different number of the days for the infection varies with the age group. Asymptomatic infection is associated with subclinical lung abnormalities detected by tomography in certain individuals. Due to the high risk of silent spread in asymptomatic persons, it was necessary to carry out tests including persons without symptoms only. In 87% test we find out that people who were exposed to vaccination for Covid-19, was in past exposed to other vaccination (eg. flue jab), and different sorts of medications (eg. tablets) where in all or majority vaccinations and medication there was different % of aluminium (in 69% day-to-day vaccinations and medications is at list a trace of aluminium). Aluminium is a cellular receiver and amplifier of high-frequency electromagnetic waves. This radiation destroys the pineal gland in children and destroys the human immune system and blocks the utilization of oxygen at the cellular level. The result, patient in intensive care, gasping for breath, in imminent need of artificial ventilation. This is the deadly face of severe acute respiratory syndrome
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 20 Dec, 2015
(Abstract) The research has shown and it is inevitable that people whose initial cancer was associated with certain environmental factors or lifestyle issues, such as exposure to harmful substances at work or at home (eg. asbestos), smoking, excessive sun exposure, poor diet, or drug abuse, could be at risk for future cancers of the same or different type. In many cases, such risks can be reduced by adopting healthier habits or reducing or eliminating exposure to substances that triggered the first cancer. Examples include quitting smoking and avoiding sunburn. Genetics Age is one of several factors beyond an individual’s control that can influence the risk of a second cancer. One of these is genetics. People who inherit genetic mutations or other abnormalities can be at risk for a variety of different types of cancer. Individuals with a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, for example, have a heightened risk of cancers of the ovaries and fallopian tubes in women, breast, prostate (in men), and pancreas. Such individuals remain at elevated risk for these cancers even if they’ve undergone treatment for one of them. In some cases, patients can take steps to reduce their chances of developing a second cancer. A woman with a BRCA gene mutation who develops breast cancer may have the option of having her breasts and ovaries surgically removed to lower her risk of future breast or ovarian cancer. Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapies as Chemo or Radio used to treat cancer at first cancer can also raise the risk of other malignancies. Chemotherapy of all kinds and Radiotherapy work by damaging DNA in tumour cells, causing them to die. But such damage can occur in normal cells as well, potentially putting them on a path toward cancer. Reduced intensity Regimens As physicians have gained experience with different types of therapy, they’ve often been able to develop reduced-intensity regimens that effectively kill cancer cells but produce fewer long-term risks. This is particularly true in the field of childhood cancer. Screenings For many survivors, especially those whose treatment or genetics may place them at higher risk of a second cancer, physicians may suggest more frequent screenings to detect any such cancers at the earliest, most treatable stages. Patients should talk with their physician about which strategy makes the most sense for them. Zdenko Kos, MSc MEc BScEcon(Hons) MBA
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 01 Dec, 2014
(Abstract) This research showed exactly what science can do against disease. Topics covered in this chapter include formation of the experimental method; the intervention of religion in disease; disease as a basis of pessimistic systems of philosophy; advance of medical science in the war against disease; the revolution in medicine and surgery due to the discoveries of Pasteur; the beneficial results of serum therapy in the war against infectious diseases; failure of science to cure tuberculosis and malignant tumours; protests against the advance of science; opposition of Rousseau, Tolsoi, and Brunetière; proclamation of the fallibility of science; and, return to religion and mysticism. Zdenko Kos, MSc MEc BScEcon(Hons) MBA
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 01 Nov, 2014
(Abstract) Errors in cellular DNA and the evidence through DNA repair 1. Broken or mismatched DNA strands can lead to serious diseases and even death. It is essential that DNA damage is recognized and repaired quickly. 2. A team at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School that found two essential proteins that act like “molecular tailors” that can snip out an error and sew it back up with the correct molecules. 3. These proteins, FANC1 and FANCD2, repair inter-strand cross-links, “one of the most lethal types of DNA damage.” This problem “occurs when the two strands of the double helix are linked together, blocking replication and transcription.” 4. Each of your cells is likely to get 10 alarm calls a day for inter-strand cross-links. 5. The FANC1 and FANCD2 link together and join other members of the repair pathway, and are intimately involved in the excision and insertion steps. 6. One repair operation requires 13 protein parts. 7. “If any one of the 13 proteins in this pathway is damaged, the result is Fanconi anaemia, a blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure and leukaemia, among other cancers, as well as many physiological defects.” “Our results show that multiple steps of the essential S-phase ICL repair mechanism fail when the Fanconi anaemia pathway is compromised.” 8. In the scientific paper and press release nor Darwin nor the possible way of how this tightly-integrated system might have evolved was mentioned. 9. The absolute necessity of FANC1 and FANCD2 are very much obvious from this discovery not only in one species but in all that has DNA. Their crucial role for survival of the species is undismissable. 10. There must have existed as perfectly functional units from the time of appearance of any species on this planet otherwise existence would be not possible. 11. This implies creation what further implies that God necessarily exists. Zdenko Kos, MSc MEc BScEcon(Hons) MBA
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 24 Jun, 2013
(Abstract) Shootings in academic settings are associated with the development of both posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. Traumatic events can challenge an individual’s cognitive framework and contribute to the development of PTS and PTG. Intrusive rumination is thought to increase vulnerability to PTS symptoms, whereas deliberate rumination is likely to be associated with PTG. Literature that serves to distinguish the contextual and intraindividual predictors differentially leading to the development of PTS and PTG symptoms is limited. This cross-sectional study examined the relations between trauma proximity and posttraumatic outcomes as mediated by deliberate and intrusive ruminative responses to a university shooting. We hypothesize that: - physical and emotional proximity would exert distinct effects on posttraumatic outcomes, the effects of proximity on PTS would be mediated by intrusive rumination, and he effects of proximity on PTG would be mediated by deliberate rumination. Method: Six hundred students, and staff who were exposed to a research campus shooting in Zurich (Switzerland) completed a series of questionnaires 120 days after the event. Results: Emotional proximity was associated with PTS and PTG, whereas physical proximity was only associated with PTS. Of our four hypothesized mediation relationships, intrusive rumination mediated the relationship between physical proximity and PTS, and deliberate rumination mediated the relationship between emotional proximity and PTG. Conclusions: These results suggest that physical and emotional proximity to a traumatic event uniquely contribute to the development of posttraumatic outcomes and that intrusive rumination promotes maladaptive outcomes, whereas deliberate rumination may promote adaptive outcomes. Zdenko Kos, MSc MEc BScEcon(Hons) MBA
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 07 Feb, 2012
Majority clinical studies have shown that the androgen receptor (AR) is ubiquitously expressed in breast cancers, and this could provide prognostic implication in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancers
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 09 Sep, 2009
Biomarkers are a "tool" for accurate and timely diagnosis, for effective prognosis and treatment of patients with certain diseases.
By Z KOS MSc MEc BScEcon Hons MBA 21 Apr, 2008
In our study, we found additional mutations in the genome that appear to contribute to tumour growth in 5 to 10 percent of patients who develop cancer..
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