Our research comprises the genome-wide analysis of molecular alterations in various cancer entities with an emphasis on lung and breast tumors. To this end, we apply high-throughput technologies for DNA- and RNA-sequencing in tissues and blood samples („liquid biopsy“) and use the identified molecular markers for individual risk stratification and personalized clinical management of patients based on the tumor heterogeneity in space and time. To understand the roles of these molecular alterations in tumor progression and therapy resistance, we apply cellular 3D-coculture models as well as a variety of cell- and molecular biology methods.
Cancer cells differ from normal cells by their microenvironment, altered (epi)genomes, as well as gene and protein expression. The characterization of such changes in tumors and tumor stages is essential for understanding the mechanisms of tumor progression and the definition of molecular markers for diagnosis and prognosis. Tumor heterogeneity in space and time determines therapy success and patient survival. Therefore, we concentrate on precision medicine approaches in cancer research to address the following key questions:
tumor risk stratification with multimodal biomarkers
mechanisms of tumor progression and therapy failure
therapy response prediction using noninvasive approaches.
