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SFB 1321:  Modelling and Targeting Pancreatic Cancer

Subject Area Medicine
Biology
Term from 2018 to 2023
Website Homepage
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 329628492
 
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the 3rd leading cause of cancer related death in the western world and predicted to become second in due course. An almost universally fatal outcome, lacking advances in therapeutic targeting and rising incidences underline the enormous medical and socioeconomic needs associated with this cancer entity.The CRC1321 set out to devise new avenues for PDAC targeting through advancing our mechanistic understanding of its biology. To address major challenges in the field, we brought together interdisciplinary expertise ranging from cancer biology, immunology, (epi)genomics, metabolomics and proteomics to disease modelling, computational and translational sciences. Through intense collaborations, CRC scientists crossed borders and generated important knowledge. Among others, the discoveries shed light on the molecular mechanisms of cellular plasticity and metastasis, uncovered features of the tumor-suppressive microenvironment, described molecular principles of PDAC related thrombosis and cachexia, and developed new therapeutic strategies that are currently being investigated in clinical studies. We also made major contributions to the field through the development of disease models, technology and methods for PDAC research, which are fueling innovations and discoveries in the CRC, and for which Munich is now internationally recognized as a major European hub for pancreatic cancer research.For the second funding period, we propose to develop the CRC further by recruiting additional expertise that ranges from bioengineering and biophysics to developmental and stem cell biology. We will expand our efforts to interrogate the disease´s unique biological features through a holistic approach, to unravel the molecular, cellular, micro- and macroenvironmental underpinnings of its aggressiveness and therapy resistance. CRC scientists will increasingly study processes using scalable functional genomic approaches, which will be supported through the S projects by cutting-edge genetic tools, screening methods and analytical expertise. The molecular characterization of our PDAC cell atlas, which we initiated in the first funding period, will be expanded by additional molecular and functional layers to map vulnerability landscapes and fuel hypothesis generation and innovation. Whilst mechanistic studies will continue to be at the core of the CRC, a number of projects will also advance to a more translational stage. Technologies, models and experimental platforms for translation, such as drug screening, antibody engineering and advanced PDAC models across three species will facilitate these efforts. PDAC is one of the biggest challenges in cancer care. Yet, only 2% of cancer research funding in the European Union is dedicated to PDAC. CRC1321 is an internationally visible initiative that brings together 30 project leaders to study one disease through a highly integrative research program.
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