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A donation of nearly 200,000 euros from the Freiburg Association for Children with Cancer has enabled the Freiburg Center for Pediatrics to purchase a piece of laboratory equipment for research into immune processes in cancer

Researching tomorrow’s therapies: The Freiburg Association for Children with Cancer has funded the purchase of a key piece of laboratory equipment at the Center for Pediatrics at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg with a donation of 197,000 euros. The device makes it possible to observe cellular processes in real time. This technology can help us better understand and further develop highly effective immunotherapies such as CAR-T cell therapies and gene-editing approaches. 

“This technology helps us track the reactions of immune cells more precisely and use that information to develop new approaches for treating critically ill children,” says Prof. Dr. Tobias Feuchtinger, Medical Director of the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. “We are very grateful to the Förderverein für krebskranke Kinder e.V. Freiburg for this support.”

Visualizing cellular processes in real time

Immunotherapies harness the body’s own immune system to specifically combat diseases. These include antibody therapies as well as cell and gene therapies. CAR-T cells in particular—in which the body’s own immune cells are modified in the laboratory—are already showing success in treating certain types of cancer that are difficult to treat. To further improve such therapies, researchers must understand the processes within the immune system as precisely as possible.

The new system allows living cells to be observed over extended periods without removing them from their controlled environment. This enables researchers to track how immune cells react to disease-relevant cells and how cell behavior changes under different conditions. The system can be flexibly adapted to address various scientific questions.

Caption: Till Brutzer, Board Member, Förderverein für krebskranke Kinder e.V. Freiburg i.Br. (left), and Prof. Dr. med. Tobias Feuchtinger, Medical Director, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Center for Pediatrics, Medical Center – University of Freiburg (right).
Image rights: Medical Center – University of Freiburg / Britt Schilling