[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/11685\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EThe woman who built a biotech business from an EU science contest \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAndrea Stephany Diaz gushes with enthusiasm when talking about how she created her own biotechnology company two years ago at the age of 24 in a bid to revolutionise the detection of lung cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019ve always had a passion for science and human health,\u2019 said Stephany Diaz, who was born in Venezuela and has lived in Europe for the past 13 years. \u2018Even in high school, I was dreaming about being an entrepreneur and setting up my own company one day.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEU inspiration\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea for her biotech startup, called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oncoswab.com\/\u0022\u003EOncoSwab\u003C\/a\u003E, was born in September 2022 at an EU event for talented young researchers. Aptly named EU TalentOn, it was held in the Dutch city of Leiden over five days.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/talenton.eu\/\u0022\u003Eevent\u003C\/a\u003E placed 104 participants from around Europe into teams and challenged them to come up with the best scientific answers to pressing societal challenges including soil pollution, climate change and cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn short, EU TalentOn sought young people who wanted to change the world. Stephany Diaz applied and won an invitation, attending through the final two days on the weekend of 17-18 September.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I had this huge desire to impact patients\u2019 lives,\u2019 she said. \u2018My life changed after that weekend. My life is before EU TalentOn and after EU TalentOn.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERoad to success\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELung cancer is often diagnosed late, helping make it the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, according to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/lung-cancer\u0022\u003EWorld Health Organization\u003C\/a\u003E. Smoking is the main cause.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EI had this huge desire to impact patients\u2019 lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EAndrea Stephany Diaz, OncoSwab\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStephany Diaz\u2019s professional path to fighting cancer is far from direct.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe moved from Venezuela to Madrid, Spain at the age of 12. Following a degree in biochemistry from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she began a Master\u2019s in molecular biotechnology in the city and worked as a research assistant focusing in part on regenerating blood vessels after stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter joining a German biotech company in Hamburg that developed stem cells for medical research, Stephany Diaz began working for herself on science-communication projects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, she regularly jotted down notes on her phone about business ideas and opportunities that caught her attention in daily life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETalent time\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen came EU TalentOn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a vivacious personality and love of talking, Stephany Diaz was chosen at the event to present her team\u2019s idea in the beating-cancer category: what if a Covid-like test for lung cancer could be created? The team won the award for best pitch.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut something else happened: Stephany Diaz met like-minded people and \u2013 most significantly \u2013 Dr Pablo Lara, a cancer scientist from Leiden University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe also encountered others who mentored her.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I was hungry to create something innovative and, after the TalentOn, I literally couldn\u2019t sleep thinking about the problem of lung-cancer diagnosis,\u2019 said Stephany Diaz. \u2018Pablo had the same feeling and we immediately started talking almost every day.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe described Lara as a typical genius scientist who comes up with ideas and experiments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPartnership drive\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe partnership proved invaluable to bring her dream of starting a company closer to reality. Still, getting the business off the ground was a tough effort well into 2023.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It was just me and Pablo,\u2019 said Stephany Diaz. \u2018Those first months were absolutely the worst. We were called crazy. For six to eight months, we kept getting rejected from everywhere.\u2019\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey stuck with it and eventually founded OncoSwab, received funding and began moving their lung-cancer screening idea forward.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, they\u2019re working with lung doctors in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US to detect lung cancer from nasal swabs. This may determine whether a patient requires a more complex computed tomography, or CT, scan.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our goal is to really make lung-cancer detection as widespread as breast-cancer screening,\u2019 Stephany Diaz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe declined to comment on the company\u2019s technique because it is at the pre-commercial stage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow a Spanish citizen, Stephany Diaz feels a sense of both urgency and fulfillment in her current work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I literally feel like I use every corner of my brain in my company and every skillset that I have,\u2019 she said.\u0026nbsp; \u2018I get to be creative if a problem comes up and brainstorm with my team.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStephany Diaz spoke at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu\/en\/events\/upcoming-events\/research-innovation-days\u0022\u003EEuropean Research and Innovation \u2013 R\u0026amp;I \u2013 Days\u003C\/a\u003E on 20-21 March 2024 in the Belgian capital Brussels and said she\u2019s drawn to such occasions. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I love to talk to others, I love to network, I love to meet people and I love to listen to other people\u2019s stories,\u2019 she said. \u2018And it turns out that\u2019s somehow part of my job now.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe views of the interviewee don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-tgmh-f39y4xw6l-ph3emthahgf-rxonkrkjucgrenua\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-TGMH-f39y4Xw6L-Ph3EMThaHgF-RxonkrkjucGRenuA\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]