The German Research Council (DFG) awards the extension CRC 1399 “Mechanisms of drug sensitivity and resistance in small cell lung cancer”

The German Research Council ("Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft") has accepted the application for extension of Collaborative Research Center 1399(CRC1399 or Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) 1399, www.sfb1399.de) for funding of its scientific work.

• CRC1399 was launched in 2019 as the worldwide largest concerted research effort on Small Cell Lung Cancer.
• The additional funding of more than 12 million Euro will enable extending the work of CRC1399 through 2027.

Small Cell Lung Cancer is a highly lethal cancer affecting roughly 300,000 individuals annually. Unfortunately, most treatments lead to an only marginal prolongation of survival of the affected patients. CRC1399 was launched as a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary attack on this cancer type with the goal of discovering novel mechanisms of disease and entry routes for new medicines.

CRC1399 includes more than 100scientists from almost 30laboratories working at 7scientific institutions and covers a wide range of research areas, such as cancer genomics, computational biology, chemical biology, cell death and inflammation, signal transduction, imaging, pathology and clinical medicine. The unique setup of the consortium enables deeply interwoven research, thus affording scientific breakthroughs at the interface of the various disciplines and areas of expertise. In addition to laboratories located at the University of Cologne, the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research and the Universities of Tübingen, Frankfurt, Bonn and Mainz are involved.

“The funding approval and the extension of our CRC 1399 for another funding period is very good news for us. The funding will allow us to continue working towards our goal of deciphering the molecular mechanisms of SCLC and deepening our understanding of the disease. Our interdisciplinary team is cooperating closely to gain new insights and develop innovative therapeutic approaches that may ultimately help improve the survival of SCLC patients. We are grateful for the support and the opportunity to continue our research and thus contribute to precision medicine in the treatment of SCLC2" said Professor Roman Thomas, M.D., speaker of CRC1399 and director of the Department of Translational Genomics at the University of Cologne.

Roman Thomas adds "It is a a testament to the quality of the science that has emerged from the hard work of all the researchers of our CRC. Together with my fellow co-speakers, Julie George, Silvia von Karstedt, Christian Reinhardt and Ugur Sahin, we will continue to strive to enable exciting discoveries, that ultimately, we hope, will aid patients suffering from this terrible disease.”

For more information, please visit www.sfb1399.de or contact Dr. Graziell Bosco (Scientific Coordinator SFB 1399 and DTG) - info[at]sfb1399.de