Key Profile Area Cancer Ecosystems
The central starting point for research in the ‘Cancer Ecosystems’ key profile area is a finding that has been made in recent years: The emergence and further development of cancer cannot be reduced to the transformed cells themselves, but depends on successful interactions of a mutated cell clone with the surrounding tissue ecosystem. In order to uncover new, therapeutically targetable vulnerabilities in cancers, we must therefore understand the mechanisms of the co-evolution of cancer and its individual ecosystem.
At the KPA, we are therefore working on interdisciplinary teams to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms, with the aim of developing innovative therapies based on the in-depth insights we’ve gained. This will improve future treatments of cancer compared with the currently available therapies.
Contacts
Prof. Dr. Henning Walczak
Spokesperson
Institut für Biochemie I
Prof. Dr. Silvia von Karstedt
Vice Spokesperson
Department of Translational Genetics
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Büttner
Vice Spokesperson
Institut für Allgemeine Pathologie und Pathologische Anatomie
Prof. Dr. Michael Hallek
Vice Spokesperson
Innere Medizin I
Verena Boschert
Administrative Coordinator
Institut für Biochemie I
Participating faculties
Collaborative and third-party funded projects
The Cancer Ecosystems KPA is linked to several collaborative and third-party funded projects:
Transfer
The KPA is very actively engaged in transferring scientific findings into clinical studies and is a leading participant in several clinical networks:
Spin-offs
In recent years, KPA scientists have actively founded several start-ups to further develop their own ideas with the help of venture capital (PearlRiver Bio GmbH, NEO New Oncology, Epiphanes Inc., CDL Therapeutics GmbH).
Transfer
- The CIO Summer Academy gives high school students the opportunity to gain insight into cancer research.
- Research groups from the KPA take part in the MINT-EC-CAMP, which gives school pupils from all over Germany the opportunity to experience modern cancer research first hand and to work in the laboratories at Cologne University Hospital.
Teaching
Support for young scientists in the KPA:
- The Mildred Scheel School of Oncology specifically supports young scientists from the natural sciences and medicine who are working in the field of translational cancer research.
- The Cologne Clinician Scientist Programm (CCSP) aims to provide support to doctors working as key players, both clinically and scientifically, to ensure that research and care are closely interlinked.
Partnerships
The KPA Cancer Ecosystems cooperation network includes both regional and international universities and AUFs.
Regional partnerships
The KPA cooperates via the CANTAR-Netzwerk with the University of Aachen, the University of Bonn, the University of Düsseldorf, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the University of Dortmund, the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund and the German Centre for Neurogenerative Diseases in Bonn (DZNE).
Scientists at the KPA collaborate with the university hospitals in Aachen, Bonn and Düsseldorf via the Centre for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Düsseldorf (CIOABCD).
They also contribute to the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) West, a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University Hospital Cologne, the University of Cologne, the University Hospital of Essen and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). The NCT conducts clinical-translational cancer research. Researchers, doctors and patients are research partners who work on an equal footing to jointly research and develop improved cancer diagnosis methods and provide better treatments.
International partnerships
- Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
- WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research), Melbourne, Australia
Research infrastructures
The scientists at the KPA benefit from various research infrastructures at the University of Cologne and University Hospital Cologne:
- TRIO ("Translational Research for Infectious Diseases and Oncology") – research building for translational research on infectious diseases and oncology
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC)
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Aging and Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD)