Coordinator Prof. Dr. Christof von Kalle

The Research Program is composed of the Divisions of Translational Oncology and Preventive Oncology, which are both located at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and equipped by the DKFZ. Further components of the Research Program are the Clinical Cooperation Units, which are operated jointly with the Medical Faculties of Heidelberg and Mannheim, and further divisions and working groups of the DKFZ engaged in translational research.

The Research Program has three major goals:

1. Supporting the excellent preclinical research of the DKFZ’s translational research portfolio.
2. Offering centralized services for the effective preparation and realization of investigator initiated trials and basic research projects with patient material.
3. Facilitating, via the Departments of Medical Oncology and Translational Oncology funded jointly with Heidelberg University Hospitals, patient access for systematic clinical implementation of phase I to IV trials.

Great importance is attached to creating solid infrastructure conditions, e.g. by obtaining patient material by systematic tumor and serum banking (biobanking), developing regulatory clinical protocols by trial physicians and validated laboratory investigations accompanying trials as well as biostatistical support and evaluation. The goal is also to speed up implementation in clinical research by overcoming the greatest obstacles arising from the laboratory workbench to the hospital bed.