No. 69

Double ERC success for DKFZ researchers

With its "Consolidator Grants", the European Research Council (ERC) supports excellent scientists in advancing their independent careers. This year, Ana Banito (Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg/German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ) and Aurélie Ernst (DKFZ) are pleased to receive the prestigious ERC funding. Ana Banito will use the two million euros in funding to find new therapeutic approaches for the better treatment of sarcomas in children. Aurélie Ernst will use the grant to explore how and under what molecular circumstances cancer develops from cells with an unstable genome.

Ana Banito studies sarcomas, an extremely heterogeneous group of tumors of the bone and soft tissue that particularly affect children. Despite decades of clinical studies, there is still a lack of effective treatments for these tumors. A common feature of sarcomas in children is their low mutation load. Instead, they often contain a genetic rearrangement specific for the respective tumor type. This leads to the formation of a fusion protein (onco-fusion), which drives the development of the disease.

The cell of origin of the vast majority of sarcomas is unknown. Ana Banito's lab has recently developed a versatile approach to model various types of pediatric sarcoma subtypes from mouse muscle. Using these models, she aims to identify the identity of the cells of origin of different sarcomas and to find out why they are prone to transformation.

Banito is particularly interested in whether the fusion proteins are also required for the maintenance of the tumor and, if so, to what extent the transformation to tumor cells is reversible. Do the tumor cells retain the memory of their previous normal state and can they possibly be reprogrammed?

Ana Banito studied biology at the University of Lisbon and completed her doctorate in the field of life sciences at Imperial College London in 2011. She then worked as a postdoc at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, among other places. Since 2019, Banito has headed the “Soft Tissue Sarcoma“ junior research group, which is based at the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg and the DKFZ.

Aurélie Ernst studies chromosome instability, a phenomenon that leads to an accumulation of changes in chromosome number and structure. When chromosome segments are missing, duplicated or inserted in the wrong orientation, this can lead to cancer development. Chromosome instability is associated with aggressive tumors and poor prognosis. However, it is not yet known which of the molecular changes actually lead to the development of malignant cells. Her hypothesis is that the onset of chromosome instability is the tipping point that govers the fate of a pre-cancer clone. For her ERC project, she wants to use single-cell and spatially resolved multi-omics methods to analyze the essential steps and factors by which chromosome instability leads to malignant transformation.

Ernst is interested in quantifying the instability rate of the human genome and in understanding how and why cells with chromosome instability are selected and expand. For this project, she is using two tissues that are at the opposite spectrum in the human body in terms of their regenerative capacity, namely the brain and the intestine. In order to find strategies for possible early cancer detection and intervention, Ernst wants to understand the mechanisms and etiologies of chromosome instability.

Aurélie Ernst studied biosciences and biochemistry in France and in the US. She completed her doctorate on brain tumor development at the DKFZ and then did a postdoctoral training on neural stem cells at the Karolinska Institute. Since 2019, she has headed the junior research group “Genome Instability in Tumors“ at the DKFZ.

Photos of the two award-winning researchers are available for download:
Banito_Ana.jpg 
Ernst_Aurelie.jpg 

Note on the use of image material for press releases
Use is free of charge. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) permits use in connection with reporting on the topic of the press release or on the DKFZ in general. Please indicate as picture credits: “Source: Marius Stark/DKFZ“ (Ana Banito) and „Source: Jutta Jung/DKFZ“ (Aurélie Ernst).
The image may only be passed on to third parties after prior consultation with the DKFZ Press Office (Tel. 06221 42 2854, e-mail: presse@dkfz.de). Use for commercial purposes is prohibited.

Dr. Aurélie Ernst

Aurélie Ernst untersucht die Chromosomeninstabilität, ein Phänomen, das zu einer Anhäufung von Veränderungen in der Chromosomenzahl und -struktur führt. Wenn Chromosomenabschnitte fehlen, verdoppelt oder in der falschen Ausrichtung eingefügt werden, kann dies zur Entstehung von Krebs führen. Chromosomeninstabilität wird mit aggressiven Tumoren und einer schlechten Prognose in Verbindung gebracht. Es ist jedoch noch nicht bekannt, welche der molekularen Veränderungen tatsächlich zur Entstehung bösartiger Zellen führen. Ernsts Hypothese ist, dass der Beginn der Chromosomeninstabilität der Wendepunkt ist, der das Schicksal eines Krebs-Vorläufer-Klons bestimmt. Für ihr ERC-Projekt möchte sie Einzelzell- und räumlich aufgelöste Multi-Omik-Methoden verwenden, um die wesentlichen Schritte und Faktoren zu analysieren, durch die Chromosomeninstabilität zur malignen Transformation führt.

Ernst plant, die Instabilitätsrate des menschlichen Genoms zu quantifizieren und will verstehen, wie und warum Zellen mit Chromosomeninstabilität selektiert werden und sich vermehren. Für dieses Projekt verwendet sie zwei Gewebe, die sich im menschlichen Körper hinsichtlich ihrer Regenerationsfähigkeit im entgegengesetzten Spektrum befinden, nämlich das Gehirn und den Darm. Ziel ihres Projekts ist es, die Mechanismen und Ursachen der Chromosomeninstabilität zu verstehen, um daraus Strategien für möglichst frühzeitige Krebsdiagnosen und interventionen abzuleiten.

Aurélie Ernst studierte Biowissenschaften und Biochemie in Frankreich und den USA. Sie promovierte am DKFZ über die Entwicklung von Hirntumoren und absolvierte anschließend eine Postdoc-Ausbildung über neurale Stammzellen am Karolinska-Institut. Seit 2019 leitet sie die Nachwuchsgruppe „Genominstabilität in Tumoren“ am DKFZ.

Bilder der beiden ausgezeichneten Forscherinnen stehen zum Download zur Verfügung:
Banito_Ana.jpg 
Ernst_Aurelie.jpg 

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About DKFZ

With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.

To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:

  • National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT, 6 sites)
  • German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, 8 sites)
  • Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ) Heidelberg
  • Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON Mainz) - A Helmholtz Institute of the DKFZ
  • DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim
  • National Cancer Prevention Center (jointly with German Cancer Aid)

The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.

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