We are delighted to announce that TRON scientist Dr. Luisa Bresadola has won the Bristol-Myers-Squibb Young Scientist award in the field of immune-oncology! Luisa’s work comprises analysis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma next-generation sequencing data, generated by TRON in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, to determine tumor evoluation in this cancer entity. Luisa presented her results in a special workshop by BMS Young Scientists at the German Cancer Congress in Berlin (February 19-22). Congratulations Luisa!!!
Official announcement and further reading (in German): https://www.stiftung-io.org/young-scientists-io/
TRON unterstützt das Anliegen der Landesregierung und tritt gemeinsam mit der Landesregierung für unsere Grundwerte ein. Nur gemeinsam können wir zeigen, dass die Mehrheit für Respekt und gegen Hass steht.
„Rheinland-Pfalz ist ein lebenswertes und weltoffenes Land. Das wollen wir auch in Zukunft sein.
Deshalb finden wir uns nicht damit ab, dass der Umgang auf der Straße und im Netz immer aggressiver wird. Wir widersprechen, wenn Einzelne oder Minderheiten verächtlich gemacht werden und wir stellen uns vor diejenigen, die Verantwortung für das Gemeinwohl übernehmen, wenn sie beleidigt und bedroht werden.
Aus der Geschichte wissen wir, wie kostbar Demokratie und Rechtstaatlichkeit sind. Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit sind ein hohes Gut. Aber niemand kann sich für Hass und Hetze auf das Grundgesetz berufen. Die Würde jedes Menschen ist unantastbar – ganz gleich, woher jemand kommt, welches Geschlecht jemand hat, was jemand glaubt, welches Handicap jemand hat, in welcher sozialen Situation jemand lebt oder wie jemand liebt.
Menschenfeindlichkeit darf nie wieder auf eine Mehrheit treffen, die schweigt.
Zeigen wir gemeinsam: Hass und Hetze haben in Rheinland-Pfalz keinen Platz. Bei aller Verschiedenheit der Meinungen stehen wir für ein Miteinander des Respekts. Bei uns zählen Mitgefühl, Toleranz und Zivilcourage. Wir wollen miteinander gut leben.“
Weiterführende Informationen finden Sie auch unter www.miteinander-gut-leben.rlp.de.
Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells (CAR T-cells) have been shown to be effective against hematological malignancies, evidence of their potential against immune-suppressive solid tumors is missing. Key challenges for this include the selection of tumor-specific targets and the persistence of CAR-T cells upon adoptive transfer. In this study, teams from Biontech and TRON defined and characterized Claudin 6, a tight junction molecule expressed in many solid cancers, as a novel target for CAR T-cells, in a two-component therapeutic approach. First, a liposomal systemic RNA-vaccine - also previously described by joint efforts of TRON and Biontech - was shown to specifically target Claudin 6-encoding RNA to lymphoid organs. Therein, adoptively transferred Claudin 6-specific CAR T-cells were shown to be efficiently and repetitively stimulated by tissue-resident dendritic cells presenting the RNA-encoded native Claudin 6 protein as a target. These expanded CAR T-cells then eradicated established tumors in a target-specific manner, even upon transfer of sub-therapeutic doses. These findings provide proof for the potential of such an approach against solid cancers, paving the way for clinical testing.
Science 24 Jan 2020; Vol. 367, Issue 6476, pp. 446-453; DOI
Mainz, December 9, 2019 – TRON founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci have been named among the Top 20 Translational Researchers (2018) for the 2nd time by Nature Biotechnology. Nature Biotechnology’s ranking is based on the number of total patents (US and European) awarded, the researcher’s top-cited patent over the past 5 years and H-index (calculation of publication impact over time).
Read the original article here.
TRON congratulates its cooperation Partner BioNTech SE on its successful IPO!
After the Healthcare Hackathon at the University Medical Center Mainz, the next round started on September 2nd and 3rd in Berlin. A total of 24 interdisciplinary teams took part in this relaxed competition to develop technology-based solutions for medical applications and care within the scope of their projects.
TRON was also represented by Jonas Ibn-Salem at the Healthcare Hackathon in Berlin. He again worked together with the experts from IBM, Garmin, BioNTech and the University Medical Center Mainz on the project already started at the Healthcare Hackathon in Mainz for the improved pre- and aftercare of patients after a hip or knee operation. Using data from Smart-Watches, motion profiles were created before and after the surgical intervention to make it easier for doctors, therapists and patients themselves to objectively monitor recovery.
The team was awarded a prize for their idea and work at the end of the Healthcare Hackathon in Berlin.
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Welcome to TRON
TRON – Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is a biopharmaceutical research organization that pursues new diagnostics and drugs for the treatment of cancer and other severe diseases with high medical need. A focus of TRON is the development of novel platforms for individualized therapies and biomarkers, translating basic research into drug applications. TRON partners with academic institutions, biotech companies and the pharmaceutical industry, executing research with leading-edge technologies and supporting the development of innovative drugs to promote human health.
