Get to know: Dr. Lukas Mager

Lukas Mager is researching the intestinal and intratumoral microbiome together with chronic inflammatory diseases, liver metastasis and colorectal cancer. For instance, one aim is to investigate the cytokine-induced modulation of colorectal cancer. He is investigating how bacteria are modulating immune cells. Importantly, the modulation of the immune response has emerged as a potent therapeutic option to combat cancer [1]. 

In particular, several species of intestinal bacteria have been associated with enhanced efficacy of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, although the mechanisms behind this remain unclear [2]. He sees a lot of advantages within iFIT for collaborations: Stefan Laufer has a whole battery of checkpoint-inhibitors and Lukas Mager praises the good-manufacturing-practice-facility for peptide vaccinations and for individualized vaccines. 

Furthermore, he and his group are involved in a collaboration with Bettina Weigelin for imaging mice with a light-sheet microscope in-vivo for liver metastasis. Lukas Mager would be open to collaborations for germ-defined animal studies. For this we wish him and his group lots of fun within the research conducted in iFIT!

[1] ]  McCoy, KD and Mager, LF Impact of the microbiome on tumor immunity. Current Opinion in Immunology. 2021 April 69:39-46.

[2] Mager LF, Burkhard R, Pett N, Cooke NCA, Brown K, Ramay H, et al. Microbiome-derived inosine modulates response to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. Science. 2020 Sep 18;369(6510):1481-1489. doi: 10.1126/science.abc3421. Epub 2020 Aug 13. PMID: 32792462.