Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Center Signaling and Translation

Signaling pathways are ensuring the flow/transmission of information, which is essential for life of all organisms. In SAT, we decode physiological signaling pathways, which decode cell-to-cell and environment-to-cell communication to maintain homeostasis and to allow rapid responses to environmental changes. Focus areas cover molecular pathways for immune activation and cell death. All human diseases are associated with deregulations in cellular signal transduction and we determine which exact perturbation are leading pathological signaling.

Dysregulations of signaling pathways, which cause diseases, open new windows of opportunities for pharmacological intervention. By using state of the art technologies such as specific gene editing, genome-wide transcriptomics and proteomic profiling, we decipher such disease-causing vulnerabilities (‘Achilles heels’), which can serve as starting points for clinical translation.

While the past decades have seen tremendous progress in understanding signaling machineries, translation of these findings into clinical innovations is lacking behind. In SAT, we aim to overcome this gap by directly combining basic biomedical research, target identification, target validation and preclinical drug discovery. We use chemical biology and screening and develop small molecule or biologics for precision therapeutic approaches with the aim to improve treatments for cancer and immune diseases. In addition, we define biomarkers that allow prediction and monitoring of therapeutic responses.