We are delighted that ARMOR has been selected for funding by the “la Caixa” Foundation. Chosen as one of 32 projects from 800 applications in the 2026 Health Research call, ARMOR has received €996,078.82, with €242,000 allocated to IMBB-FORTH.

For the Chamilos Group at IMBB-FORTH, ARMOR is an important translational next step from the recent multidisciplinary study, led by the group and published in Nature. We found that albumin, the major protein in blood, helps protect against mucormycosis by carrying free fatty acids that inhibit fungal growth and pathogenicity. Through ARMOR, we will investigate how albumin and free fatty acids disable the fungus and test whether restoring albumin levels in patients with low albumin could strengthen this natural defence and help prevent or treat mucormycosis.

We are proud to advance this research with our international collaborators at CEU San Pablo University, KU Leuven, the University of Minho and the University of Murcia.