Selection and Characterization of targets for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy
Cancer and many other human diseases arise from gene defects, which are either inherited or occur - as in most cancers – spontaneously in somatic cells. These defects cause aberrant activities of gene products and malfunctioning of molecular and cellular interactions, thereby inducing tumors and accompanying cancer progression.
The central objective of our division is to understand the complex molecular processes of human health and disease. In particular, we are working on tools for improving diagnosis of malfunctioning and prognosis for patients as well as the identification and validation of novel targets for therapies. Main interest of the division is on cellular signaling networks and their roles in cancer drug resistance and metastasis. To this end, we apply high-throughput functional genomics and proteomics technologies, and analyze candidate genes using in vitro and in vivo systems.