Non-invasive and functional characterization of B-cell lymphomas and mantle cell lymphomas in particular
Project leader
Dr. Stefan Alig
Institution
Department of Medicine III
Funding
since 2024
Max-Eder junior research group
The tumor epi-transcriptome as a therapeutically exploitable weak point in malignant childhood gliomas
Projek leader
Dr. Christian Braun
Institution
Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital
Funding
since 2018
Topics
For affected children and their relatives, highly malignant glioblastomas mean the beginning of a martyrdom: intensive chemotherapy, risky operations and radiation of the tumor area with serious long-term consequences. However, this battle is often unsuccessful, as the majority of children suffering from glioblastoma will eventually die from it. The development of so-called “targeted therapies” - i.e. the molecularly targeted inhibition of tumor-essential processes - offers hope for long-lasting remissions or even a cure. The project is concerned with the systematic identification of such processes with a strong focus on regulators of the epi-transcriptome: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), splicing factors and chemical RNA modifiers. It is becoming increasingly clear that this functionally “unchartered territory” in many respects systematically and coordinately controls the expression of numerous tumor-relevant genes. It is precisely this broad influence that makes epi-transcriptome regulators interesting for targeted therapeutics, as switching off a single factor promises to have an effect on numerous subordinate and potentially tumor-sustaining processes.