Tumorzentrum Freiburg - CCCF

DKTK Freiburg: Strategic Realignment, New Focus Areas, and Seed Funding Along the Two Pillars

DKTK Partner Site Freiburg is sharpening its translational profile in close alignment with the national DKTK strategy and in strong interaction with the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT). Building on recent successes in translating scientific discoveries into early clinical trials, Freiburg continues to strengthen structures that accelerate the transfer of innovation from preclinical research into patient-centered applications.

At the core of this strategic development are three newly defined focus areas, which bundle Freiburg’s strengths and further enhance its translational impact:

1. Cancer Immunity and Escape
2. Radio-Theranostics and Imaging
3. Translational Epigenetics and Genomics

DKTK Freiburg’s translational strength is anchored in its DKTK divisions, which collectively span the full translational continuum - from mechanistic discovery and molecular characterization to clinical implementation. These divisions form the backbone of the site’s research profile and are led by Freiburg-based DKTK Professors:

• Systems Medicine and Bioinformatics, led by DKTK assoc. Professor and DKTK Freiburg spokesperson Melanie Börries
• Cancer Research in Thoracic Surgery – Functional Genomics, led by DKTK assoc. Professor and EOM overall coordinator Sven Diederichs
• Radiopharmaceutical Development, led by DKTK professor Matthias Eder
• Medical Epigenetics, led by DKTK professor Marc Timmers

Together, they create a strong interface between basic science, computational approaches, and clinical translation, enabling interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in precision oncology. Complementing this structure, the Junior Research Group “Generative Single Cell Immunology” led by Florian Ingelfinger completed recruitment by the end of 2025 and will start in spring 2026, further strengthening Freiburg’s capacity for data-driven, next-generation translational immuno-oncology.

Seed Funding Along the Two DKTK Pillars

To actively implement the DKTK realignment at the local level, DKTK Freiburg has launched a structured seed funding program for strategic projects within the Freiburg network. The initiative is explicitly aligned within the two DKTK pillars:

• Pillar 1: Therapeutic Innovations
• Pillar 2: Diagnostic Innovations and Molecular Prevention

Starting in 2026, Freiburg will fund three projects per pillar through the local DKTK budget, reinforcing its commitment to high-impact translational cancer research. These projects are designed to accelerate the transition from scientific discovery to clinical application. Each selected project demonstrates clear translational strength, with well-defined pathways toward clinical trials, intellectual property generation, and potential spin-off development.

Selected Projects in Pillar 1: Therapeutic Innovations

The projects selected under Therapeutic Innovations address key challenges in precision oncology and translational therapy development:

• KMT9 PROTACs for prostate cancer treatment: Developing first-in-class epigenetic therapies for castration-resistant prostate cancer by targeting KMT9, including small-molecule inhibitors and highly potent PROTAC degraders, with a defined path toward IND-enabling studies and phase I testing in Freiburg in collaboration with NCT sites (E. Metzger).
• hitFGFR: Establishing functional evidence for FGFR variants and rational combination strategies to directly inform Molecular Tumor Boards and enable a multicenter, molecularly stratified basket trial design (S. Diederichs[FK8] ).
• CLEC12A CAR NK for JMML: Advancing CLEC12A-directed CAR-NK-cell immunotherapy for JMML, with a clear route toward GMP translation (C. Flotho).

Selected Projects in Pillar 2: Diagnostic Innovations and Molecular Prevention

Under Diagnostic Innovations and Molecular Prevention, the selected projects focus on advanced diagnostics, early detection, and biomarker-driven clinical decision-making:

• Tumor Profiling for Diagnostic-Guided Liver Cancer Therapy: Translating high-dimensional immune and spatial profiling into routine-ready immune classification and scoring pipelines to guide checkpoint therapy decisions in hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancer (B. Bengsch).
• Guiding treatment by ctDNA monitoring in PCNSL:  Advancing ultrasensitive ctDNA-based MRD monitoring approaches (e.g., PhasEDSeq) toward prospective validation and biomarker-guided strategies in primary central nervous system lymphoma (F. Scherer).
• Upscaling SABRE and Benchtop MRI for Oncology: Scaling SABRE hyperpolarization as a radiation-free metabolic MRI technology toward large-animal studies and first-in-human readiness, including IP generation and transfer into the DKTK/NCT translational environment (A. Schmidt).

Strengthening Translation from Discovery to Patient Benefit

With its new focus areas and a targeted seed funding strategy aligned to the two pillars, DKTK Freiburg is strengthening its role as a key driver of translational cancer research. By systematically supporting projects with clear clinical development pathways, Freiburg contributes to operationalizing the DKTK’s national strategy and reinforces a unified translational continuum—from molecular discovery to measurable benefit for patients.

Leadership in DKTK Working Groups

Beyond its local strategic realignment, DKTK Freiburg plays an active role in shaping the future direction of the consortium through strong engagement in national working groups. The site currently co-chairs five DKTK Working Groups, reflecting Freiburg’s scientific breadth and its commitment to cross-site coordination, platform development, and collaborative project planning across the network. These include:

• AI in Translational Oncology (M. Börries)
• High-Throughput Screening to Overcome Therapy Resistance (S. Diederichs)
• Metabolic Imaging (A. Schmitt)
• Theranostics (M. Eder)
• Translational Epigenetics and Novel Pharmacological Modalities (M. Timmers)

Through these leadership roles, Freiburg contributes to national consensus-building and helps drive the development of shared translational frameworks, ensuring that innovations emerging from basic research can be efficiently integrated into DKTK-wide programs and ultimately translated into clinical impact