Cancer, as the second most common leading cause of death, imposes a significant socio-economic burden, underscoring the urgency for novel therapeutic approaches. The intestinal microbiota not only plays a pivotal role for human well-being but also impacts on various diseases such as cancer as well as efficacy of anti-cancer therapy. For instance, the intra-tumoral microbiome affects tumor development, progression and therapy response. Thus, our focus at The M3 Research Center is to incorporate the microbiome into cancer research and clinical practice, particularly in understanding key aspects such as (1) tumor initiation and progression, (2) metastasis and (3) therapy response or resistance. With our cutting-edge technologies, appropriate mouse models under specified pathogen free (spf) and germ free (gf) conditions and access to clinical cohorts and specimen we are at the forefront of studying the intricate role of the microbiome in cancer research, aiming to advance patient care and improve outcomes in the fight against cancer.
Malignom and Microbiome
Research groups
Immune signatures of chronic inflammatory human diseases driving cancer
Prof. Dr. Mathias Heikenwälder
Head of the research group
The laboratory of Mathias Heikenwälder aims at understanding the different immune signatures of chronic inflammatory human diseases driving cancer - with the final aim to generate appropriate mouse models used for pre-clinical research and translation into the clinic.
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Lifestyle Interventions in Metabolic Diseases and Cancer
Dr. Suchira Gallage
Head of the research group
Our group focuses on uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing complex metabolic diseases and cancer with an emphasis on lifestyle interventions and/or combinatorial drug treatments.
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Microbiome-immune interactions
Dr. Lukas Mager
Head of the research group
Our research aims at studying the impact of microbiome-immune interactions on the development, progression, and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC).
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Translationale Microbiome Sciences
Prof. Dr.med. Christoph Stein-Thoeringer
Head of the research group
The Stein-Thoeringer laboratory studies interactions between pathogenic and beneficial bacteria within the gut microbiome and their mammalian hosts.
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Tumor immune microenvironment
Dr. med. Benjamin Ruf
Head of the research group
In our lab, we aim to expand our knowledge of the composition, phenotype, and organization of the tumor immune microenvironment (TiME) in gastrointestinal cancers with the goal to ultimately improve patient care.
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Mechanisms involved in cancer development
Prof. Dr. Nisar Peter Malek
Head of the research group
Our group investigates mechanisms involved in cancer development including cell cycle control, DNA damage and repair, and ER stress.
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