Translational Lung Cancer Research
Lung carcinomas belong to the leading causes of cancer-related deaths world wide. They can be divided into different subtypes: the three big groups are lung adenocarcinomas, squamous cell lung carcinomas and small cell lung carcinomas. They differ largely in their tumor biology regarding genetic drivers, tumor cell of origin, growth pattern, biomarker expression and aggressiveness. However, they have all together the tendency to metastasize to the lymph nodes, liver, adrenal glands, brain and bones. Therefore, the therapy outcome for lung cancer patients is still poor and needs to be improved. This is where we start to work!
What we focus on
How lung cancer metastasizes
We unravel the molecular mechanisms of metastasis which are a frequent complication in lung cancer. Thereby, we identify novel vulnerable targets for an anti-metastatic treatment.
How cancer cells colonize the lung epithelium
The lungs are frequently affected by metastases of various solid cancers including breast-, colon- and pancreatic cancer. When cancer cells disseminate from their primary site and reach a foreign tissue microenvironment, cancer cell need to adapt, survive and subsequently proliferate to form metastases. Unravelling the mechanisms driving this post-extravasation behaviour is an experimentally challenging problem in cancer research which we aim to address.
How lung cancer hides from the immune system
Deciphering the interaction of lung cancer cells with the different types of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment show us, how we can switch on an anti-tumor immune response and derive novel therapeutic approaches.
What we care about
Good Scientific Practice
Valuable research depends on the lived scientific practice based on integrity, transparency, responsibility, data access and management, established standards, availability of tools, and quality control.
Good Working Atmosphere
"Surround yourself with people that push you to do and be better. No drama or negativity. Just higher goals and higher motivation. Good times and positive energy. No jealousy or hate. Simply bringing out the absolute best in each other." (Warren Buffett)
What we aim for
"The clinical implementation of preclinical findings benefits from profound in vitro- and in vivo-systems for an efficient translation into personalized medicine for lung cancer patients. It is our pleasure to be with our research the bridge from bench-to-bedside and from bedside-to-bench to improve therapy outcome."