The Cancer Cell Heterogeneity Lab @ Molecular Tumor Pathology

We are a cancer research lab located at the Institute of Pathology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

Our interest is in oncogenic signaling networks controlling cancer cell states and developmental trajectories. Our studies are designed to understand how paracrine and intrinsic signals in cancer niches shape cancer cell phenotypes and contribute to cell plasticity. The translational aim of our work is to identify resistance mechanisms and vulnerabilities of cancers cells. A focus is on colorectal cancer.

The research employs cell and organoid models and patient-derived tissues to decipher contributions of individual signals and oncogenes to the cancer cell signaling network, including Wnt/β-catenin, MAPK, Hippo/YAP and PI3K-AKT. We use single cell and spatial multi-OMICs methodologies to assess cell heterogeneity on the levels of the signaling network and the transcriptome.