The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Cancer and Equity in Women (CIRCE) brings together researchers across oncology, genomics, epidemiology, psychology, social sciences, public health, health economics, and data science to advance women’s cancer research.
By connecting biological, clinical, and societal perspectives, CIRCE works to improve cancer prevention, risk prediction, early detection, treatment outcomes, survivorship, and equity in cancer care. Through collaboration across Lund University and Skåne University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Centre, CIRCE creates a unique environment for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research focused on the real-world challenges faced by women affected by cancer.
Founded in December 2025, CIRCE is a new research hub at Lund University, supported for up to 10 years by FORTE and Vetenskapsrådet. CIRCE brings together researchers from three Lund University faculties and Skåne University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center (SUHCCC) to advance transdisciplinary research in women’s cancers.
By connecting researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, and societal partners across disciplines and sectors, CIRCE creates a collaborative environment where diverse perspectives drive innovation in prevention, treatment, survivorship, and equity in cancer care.
Patients, survivors, healthcare professionals, and community partners are involved as active contributors to CIRCE’s work through dialogue, collaboration, and co-creation.
CIRCE welcomes collaboration across research, healthcare, industry, patient organizations, and the public sector. Whether you are a researcher, clinician, student, policymaker, or community partner, we invite you to engage with our network through collaborative projects, seminars, training opportunities, and public outreach activities.
Women’s cancers are increasing in incidence and remain a major cause of illness and death worldwide. Yet important questions about cancer risk, prevention, treatment response, survivorship, and health inequalities remain unanswered.
Many women also face unequal access to early diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and support – challenges shaped not only by biology, but also by social and economic factors. CIRCE addresses these challenges by combining expertise across disciplines and integrating genetic, clinical, population, and societal data.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, CIRCE aims to generate knowledge that improves prevention, enables more personalized care, reduces disparities, and ultimately improves outcomes and quality of life for women affected by cancer.
Our Research Areas
CIRCE advances interdisciplinary research across the full spectrum of women’s cancer prevention, care, and survivorship.
Understanding how genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and social factors influence cancer risk and prevention opportunities.
Improving understanding of why treatments work differently between individuals, including side effects and long-term consequences.
Improving mental health, psychosocial support, rehabilitation, and long-term wellbeing for patients and families.
Investigating inequalities in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, participation in clinical trials, and long-term outcomes.
Combining genomic, clinical, imaging, registry, and population data to improve prediction, prevention, and personalized care.
Building cross-disciplinary training, public engagement, and partnerships across academia, healthcare, industry, patient organizations, and society.
CIRCE welcomes collaboration across research, healthcare, industry, patient organizations, and the public sector.
Whether you are a researcher, clinician, student, policymaker, or community partner, we invite you to engage with our network through collaborative projects, seminars, training opportunities, and public outreach activities. Together, we aim to advance knowledge, strengthen collaboration, and improve outcomes for women affected by cancer.
CIRCE's co-director, Sophia Zackrisson, appeared on Swedish television TV4 to discuss how to solve the issue of too few breast radiologists in Sweden. The shortage risks causing delays in mammography screening, diagnostic investigations, and breast cancer diagnoses. Healthcare leaders are seeking temporary staffing solutions, while experts are calling for stronger national coordination and increased training…
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CIRCE Principal Investigator Simon Timpka, researcher at Lund University and physician in obstetrics and gynecology at Skåne University Hospital, has been awarded Bundy Academy’s Major Prize 2026, worth SEK 3 million. The award recognizes his research on how pregnancy complications can reveal a woman’s future risk of cardiovascular disease. The funding will support Timpka’s research…
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CIREC co-director and his team have developed and validated a blood test that can detect tiny amounts of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with early breast cancer. In a study of 136 patients, the test identified patients at high risk of recurrence and detected signs of relapse on average a year before the disease…
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CIRCE brings together researchers, clinicians, educators, and community partners with expertise spanning cancer biology, imaging, genomics, epidemiology, mental health, rehabilitation, public health, and health equity.