Endowed chair at the German Cancer Research Centre commences work thanks to a one-million Euro donation from CTS EVENTIM
The German Cancer Research Centre (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has created an endowed Chair in Chromatin Networks with the University of Heidelberg. Karsten Rippe, a biophysicist, will take up the Chair and will lead this department of the DKFZ. The new professorship is funded by CTS EVENTIM, one of the world’s leading providers of ticketing services and live entertainment. The company is providing the sum of one million Euro – the highest sum it has ever donated.
Karsten Rippe
© Jutta Jung/DKFZ
Karsten Rippe commented by saying, “I am delighted that the DKFZ and the University Heidelberg have placed their trust in me. My special thanks are extended to the remarkable commitment shown by CTS EVENTIM. This generous support enables us to conduct basic research, the findings of which will hopefully benefit many cancer patients in the form of personalised therapy.”
Rippe and his team want to glean the maximum amount of information from tumour samples, using automated analysis of thousands of cells. Due to the fact that cancer cells differ in many characteristics from one tumour to another, doctors in the future shall be enabled to adapt cancer drugs in such a way that no cancer cell can escape treatment.
Scientists already use sequential analyses to read out the entire DNA of tumours. However, the method has its limitations – every tumour sample contains a mixture of tens of thousands of cells, including different kinds of cancer cells and healthy cells. Important information about the characteristics and differences between different tumour cells are obscured as a result. That is the reason why Karsten Rippe is now focusing on analysing thousands of individual cells from each tumour.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS EVENTIM, who has already been involved for many years in the Advisory Council of the DKFZ, added that “Fighting cancer is still one of the greatest challenges we face, even in this age of the knowledge society. We therefore want to do what we can to support Mr Rippe and his team in this important work. Supporting cutting-edge research in Germany is also close to our heart. With its enormous expertise and many years of experience, the DKFZ is the best possible partner for us in both these endeavours.”
Josef Puchta, Administrative and Commercial Director of the German Cancer Research Centre, thanked CTS EVENTIM by noting, “The more complex the research, the more expensive it becomes. Publicly funded research is therefore dependent more than ever before on support from private-sector donors. The acquisition of funds is not as widespread here in Germany, unfortunately, as it is in the USA, for example. I wish that the wonderful example set by CTS EVENTIM will be emulated by very many others”.
The fight against cancer is one of the key areas of social engagement on the part of
CTS EVENTIM. As recently as yesterday, Saturday, the company donated a further 10,000 Euro to the German Cancer Aid associated at the ZDF Television Charity Gala
“Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel”.
About CTS EVENTIM
CTS EVENTIM is one of the leading international providers of ticketing services and live entertainment. More than 150 million tickets for over 200,000 events are marketed annually using the company’s systems – be it through stationary box offices, online or from mobile devices. Its online portals operate under brands such as eventim.de, oeticket.com, ticketcorner.ch, ticketone.it and entradas.com. The EVENTIM Group also includes many concert, tour and festival promoter companies for events like “Rock am Ring”, “Rock im Park”, “Hurricane” and “Southside”. Some of Europe’s most renowned venues are operated by CTS EVENTIM, for example the LANXESS arena in Cologne, the Waldbühne in Berlin and the EVENTIM Apollo in London. CTS EVENTIM AG & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE 0005470306) has been listed on the stock exchange since 2000 and is currently a member of the MDAX segment. In 2016, its 2,384-strong workforce generated a total of 830 million Euro in revenues in 25 countries.
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.
