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 signals controlling cancer cell states and developmental trajectories. Our studies are designed to understand how paracrine and intrinsic signals shape cancer cell phenotypes and contribute to cell plasticity with the translational aim to identify novel vulnerabilities of cancer signal transduction networks.

Our research employs transgenic mouse and organoid models and patient-derived tissues and organoids to decipher contributions of individual oncogenes to the cancer cell signaling network, with a focus on Wnt/β-catenin, MAPK, Hippo/YAP and PI3K-AKT. We use single cell methodology such as single cell RNA sequencing, fluorescent reporters and CyTOF to assess cell heterogeneity on the levels of the signaling network and the transcriptome, respectively. 

We also run the BIH Bioportal Single Cells, a core unit providing service for single cell analyses of clinical tissues.