Molecular and Cellular Oncology (Fröhling)

The overarching goal of our research is to identify new cancer drug targets through a better understanding of the functional dependencies of hematologic and solid-organ malignancies, and to rapidly translate these insights into clinical application. Current projects in the laboratory focus on four different areas.

1. We are combining functional genomic approaches and disease modeling in the mouse to search for therapeutic targets in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common acute leukemia in adults. Areas of particular interest concern AML subtypes that are driven by therapeutically intractable genetic alterations, such as aberrant CDX2 expression or MLL rearrangements, and the role of distinct patterns of kinase dependency as potential targets for combinatorial treatment approaches.

2. We are using integrative, “next-generation” genomic analyses and large-scale RNA interference screening to identify essential signaling pathways in soft-tissue sarcoma, a heterogenous group of difficult-to-treat mesenchymal malignancies.

3. We are heavily involved in the clinical implementation of prospective cancer genome sequencing within the NCT Precision Oncology Program, and aim to devise strategies for parallel functional annotation of newly discovered, potentially “actionable” genetic lesions.

4. As part of a long-standing collaboration with the group of Dr. Claudia Scholl, we are studying the signaling pathways activated by mutant KRAS, the most common human oncogene, using various in vitro and in vivo experimental systems.