Working Groups
Precision Surgical Oncology
Our group studies intra-and intertumoral heterogeneity, especially of the immune microenvironment in pancreatic cancer and how it contributes to immune evasion and tumor development to ultimately improve diagnostic approaches and personalized treatment strategies.
We apply unbiased multi-omics technologies at single cell level, combined with imaging and bioinformatic approaches in a translational research framework. Our research findings are largely obtained from the direct study of patient-derived samples in combination with clinical data. Advanced three-dimensional culture methods of human tumor tissue are developed to assess drug sensitivities and enable timely therapy response prediction. To uncover the molecular mechanisms for tumor initiation and progression in vivo, we utilize genetically engineered mouse models containing alterations in patient relevant genes that generate tumors closely resembling human pancreatic cancer.
Working Group Leader
Team
Technician
Domenic Hartmann
Postdocs
Suhail Yousuf, PhD
Dr. rer. nat. Nikola Smatlik
PhD students
Johannes Hulkkonen, Dipl.-Biol.
Mengjie Qiu, MSc
Clinician scientists
Maximilian Kryschi
Stephanie Böse
MD students
Alexandra-Teodora Negoescu
Mariana Buenrostro Cal y Mayor
Yirong Lin
Philipp Goedecke
Funding
Most relevant publications
Pfister, D., Nunez, N.G., Pinyol, R., Govaere, O., Pinter, M., Szydlowska, M., Gupta, R., Qiu, M., Deczkowska, A., Weiner, A., et al. (2021). NASH limits anti-tumour surveillance in immunotherapy-treated HCC. Nature 592, 450-456.
Roth, S., Bose, P., Alhamdani, M.S.S., Mustafa, S.A., Tjaden, C., Zamzow, K., Hinz, U., Michalski, C.W., Neoptolemos, J.P., Hoheisel, J.D., et al. (2021). Noninvasive Discrimination of Low and High-risk Pancreatic Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms. Ann Surg 273, e273-e275.
Roth, S., Zamzow, K., Gaida, M.M., Heikenwalder, M., Tjaden, C., Hinz, U., Bose, P., Michalski, C.W., and Hackert, T. (2020). Evolution of the immune landscape during progression of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms to invasive cancer. EBioMedicine 54, 102714.