
Dear CMMC Members, dear Colleagues, dear Students
Dear members of the Life Science Community at the UoC
We are delighted to invite you and your group members, along with interested members of the Medical Faculty and Science Faculty, to the CMMC Annual Retreat 2025 at the MTI Lecture Hall Building of the Medical Faculty (Building 44b, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 52, Cologne, Germany).
The CMMC Annual Retreat is scheduled to take place from Wednesday - March 12, 2025, at 10 a.m., to Thursday - March 13, 2025, at around 4 p.m. We are delighted to announce that Prof. Esther von Stebut-Borschitz (Vice Dean - Faculty of Medicine) and Prof. Kopriva (Vice Dean - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) will open the Annual Retreat 2025 with a welcome address.
As in previous years, the program of the CMMC Annual Retreat 2025 will be organized by members of the CMMC Junior Faculty, and we are very grateful to Alessandro Annibaldi, Johannes Brägelmann, Sebastian Brähler, Elisa Motori and Débora Trentini (from left to right) for their great engagement.





“We are honored and excited to organize this year's Annual Retreat. We look forward to your registration. We especially encourage you to sign up for the Flash Talks and Poster Presentations. The top three Flash Talks and Poster Presentations will receive awards”, comment the scientific organizers.
The program will include short talk sessions from principal investigators, flash talk and poster sessions presented by PhD students or PostDocs, and two CMMC Lectures presented by external speakers. The meeting will be accompanied by an Industrial Exhibition from the following companies: ABclonal • Enzo • INTEGRA • Macherey-Nagel • Merck • New England Biolabs • Proteintech.
On the first day (March 12, 2025) we are pleased to invite you to the CMMC Get-Together after the CMMC Lecture in the foyer of the MTI-Lecture Hall Building.
To participate in the Annual Retreat please register here.
We look forward to welcoming you to this year's CMMC Annual Retreat.
With best regards
Thomas Benzing (Chair of the CMMC) and the CMMC Executive Board Members
Registration
Participation in the CMMC Annual Conference 2025 is free of charge, including catering during the meeting.
Please note that registration is a binding commitment and we kindly ask you to bear this in mind when registering.
Deadline for registration is February 25, 2025
Welcome Ilaria Elia - CMMC Lecture I

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Ilaria Elia (Dept. of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - KU Leuven, Leuven, BE) will be our honorary speaker for the CMMC Lecture I scheduled for March 12, 2025. Her talk is titled “Understanding the metabolic cross-talk between cancer and immune cells in metastatic melanoma.”
Ilaria Elia is an assistant professor at KU Leuven, where she has been leading the Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation of Cell Function since 2021. She earned her Ph.D. under the mentorship of Prof. Sarah-Maria Fendt at VIB (KU Leuven), focusing on the metabolic adaptations of metastatic breast cancer cells during lung colonization. Her research identified the critical role of the amino acid proline and pyruvate-derived alpha-ketoglutarate in supporting metastatic establishment in the lung.
Ilaria pursued postdoctoral training in immunometabolism at Harvard Medical School, collaborating with Drs. Marcia Haigis and Arlene Sharpe. There, she developed a co-culture model that mimics the interactions between tumor and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment, uncovering pivotal mechanisms such as the role of pyruvate anaplerosis in succinate signaling and anti-tumor immunity, as well as the enhancement of immunotherapy through one-carbon metabolism.
Her distinctive skills and research perspective have led to the publication of several key manuscripts on cellular metabolism in cellular behavior (Elia et al., Nature, 2019; Elia et al., Nature Communications, 2017) and anti-tumor immunity (Elia et al., Cell Metabolism, 2022; Rowe, Elia* et al., Cancer Discovery, 2023*). Ilaria´s work has been recognized through substantial research funding and prestigious awards, including the FEBS Excellence Award and the Beug Foundation’s Prize for Metastasis Research.
Since August 2021, Ilaria has been leading her own laboratory of Metabolic Regualtion of Cell Function at KU Leuven. She has presented at international conferences, written review articles, established high-profile collaborations, and secured about 2 million euros in research funding. This support is enabling her to expand the field of cancer immunometabolism by investigating the metabolic profiles of immune and cancer cells in immune-resistant primary tumors and metastasis.
Welcome Christoph Kuppe - CMMC Lecture II

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Christoph Kuppe (Department of Nephrology, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, DE) will be our honorary speaker for the CMMC Lecture II scheduled for March 13, 2025. His talk is titled “Patient-level multiomics analysis of human heart and kidney disease”.
Christoph Kuppe is a physician-scientist at the University Clinic of RWTH Aachen, where he serves in the Department of Nephrology. He holds a professorship of quantitative cell dynamics and translational systemsbiology and leads a research group focused on understanding human diseases of the heart and kidney. Christoph's innovative research integrates cutting-edge technologies such as genetic fate tracing, gene editing, single-cell, and spatial omics to redefine the molecular mechanisms underpinning these diseases. His work aims to decode the molecular landscape of patient tissues, gaining insights into the cellular and molecular determinants of disease. He earned his medical degree from the University of Aachen in 2011 and has received numerous accolades for his research achievements. Notably, he was awarded a DFG-funded Emmy Noether group leader position and received an ERC Starting Grant (EU).
March 12, 2025 - Program
9.00 - 10.30 a.m.
Meeting of the CMMC Executive Board
(only for members of the EC Board)
Location: Seminar Room, MTI-Lecture Hall (Venue of the CMMC Annual Retreat)
10.00 - 10.50 a.m.
Reception with Registration
For Poster Presenters: please collect your poster board number and display your poster on the designated board
11.00 - 11.15 a.m.
Welcome Address - CMMC Annual Retreat 2025
Esther von Stebut-Borschitz - Vice Dean of Science - Translation - Transfer, Faculty of Medicine
Stanislav Kopriva - Vice Dean of Research, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Thomas Benzing - Chair of the CMMC
Introduction to the scientific program by the organizers
Alessandro Annibaldi • Johannes Brägelmann • Sebastian Brähler • Elisa Motori • Débora Trentini Schmidt
11.15 - 12.45 p.m.
Short Talk Session I - CMMC Research Area C
Molecular mechanisms and metabolic control of tissue degeneration and regeneration
Chairs: Elisa Motori and Débora Trentini Schmidt
11.15 - 11.30 a.m.
Consequences of age-related G-quadruplex formation for the fidelity of mammalian transcription
Robert Hänsel-Hertsch1andAndreas Beyer2
CMMC1 and CECAD2
11.30 - 11.45 a.m.
Cellular and molecular crosstalk in skin wound resolution
Sabine Eming and Mario Fabri
Dept. of Dermatology and Venereology
11.45 - 12.00 p.m.
Understanding the role of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay in differentiation, development and disease
Niels Gehring
Institute for Genetics, Dept. of Biology
12.00 - 12.15 p.m.
The quality control Ubiquitin ligase CHIP: a key regulator of Insulin signaling, healthy aging & neuroprotection
Thorsten Hoppe
Institute for Genetics and CECAD
12.15 - 12.30 p.m.
Skin insulin-IGF signalling in health and disease
Carien Niessen
Dept. of Cell Biology of the Skin and CECAD
12.30 - 12.45 p.m.
Two are not enough: Extra base pairs in nucleic acids and their application (Research Area A)
Stephanie Kath-Schorr
Institute of Organic Chemistry (MNF)
12.45 - 2.00 p.m.
Lunch Break and Industrial Exhibition
2.00 - 3.15 p.m.
Flash Talk Session I and CMMC Info I
Chairs: Débora Trentini Schmidt and Alessandro Annibaldi
- P 01 - P xx: Flash Talk Presentations of Posters with odd Numbers
- CMMC Info: CMMC New Gene - Empowering CMMC Junior Faculty - GAMMA - CMMC´s Sustainability Approach
3.15 - 5.00 p.m.
Poster Session I and Industrial Exhibition
with Coffee and Cake
5.00 - 5.45 p.m.
CMMC Lecture I
Understanding the metabolic cross-talk between cancer and immune cells in metastatic melanoma
Ilaria Elia, Dept. of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, BE
Chair: Elisa Motori
at 5.45 p.m.
CMMC Get-Together at the venue and Industrial Exhibition
March 13, 2025 - Program
9.00 - 10.45 a.m.
Short Talk Session II - CMMC Research Areas B
Principles of immunity, inflammation and infection
Chairs: Johannes Brägelmann and Christina Ising
9.00 - 9.15 a.m.
The hidden cost of hosting a microbiome
Filipe Cabreiro, Mauro Corrado and Francesca Solagna
CECAD
9.15 - 9.30 a.m.
Cell death and immunity
Hamid Kashkar
Institute for Molecular Immunology
9.30 - 9.45 a.m.
Antibodies and the challenge of viral diversity
Florian Klein
Institute of Virology
9.45 - 10.00 a.m.
Deciphering innate immune responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination
Sebastian Theobald and Jan Rybniker
Dept. I of Internal Medicine
10.00 - 10.15 a.m.
Heme biogenesis flux regulates switch between inflammation and ferroptosis
Aleksandra Trifunovic
Institute for Mitochondrial Diseases and Ageing and CECAD
10.15 - 10.45 a.m.
CMMC Report
incl. announcement “submission of project proposals – 11th CMMC Funding Period” and introduction of Central Core Facilities (MF) presented by Marten Schulte (CCF-Coordinator)
Thomas Benzing - Chair of the CMMC
10.45 - 11.00 a.m.
Coffee Break and Industrial Exhibition
11.00 - 11.45 a.m.
CMMC Lecture II
Patient-level multiomics analysis of human heart and kidney disease
Christoph Kuppe, Department of Nephrology, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, DE
Chair: Sebastian Brähler
11.45 - 12.45 p.m.
Flash Talk Session II and CMMC Info II
Chairs: Alessandro Annibaldi and Débora Trentini Schmidt
- P 02 - P xx: Flash Talks of Poster Presenters with even Numbers
- CMMC Info II: Flow Cytometrie (M. Albert) – CyTOF/Hyperion (P. Hofmann) - CMMC/CECAD-Microscopy (M. Babaki)
12.45 - 1.15 p.m.
Lunch Break and Industrial Exhibition
1.00 - 2.45 p.m.
Poster Session II and Industrial Exhibition
2.45 - 3.45 p.m.
Short Talk Session III - CMMC Research Area A
Mechanisms of tumor development: intrinsic and extrinsic control of cell proliferation and tissue invasion
Chairs: Sebastian Brähler and Roland Ullrich
2.45 - 3.00 p.m.
Role of synaptic hijacking in SCLC brain metastatic growth
ElisaMotori1and Matteo Bergami2
CMMC1 and CECAD2
3.00 - 3.15 p.m.
Ubiquilins expose an actionable target in cancer therapy
Ron Jachimowicz
Dept. I of Internal Medicine and MPI of Ageing
3.15 - 3.30 p.m.
Mechanisms of Hedgehog-Gli signaling in mammalian skin
Catherin Niemann
CMMC and Institute for Biochemistry (MF)
3.30 - 3.45 p.m.
Essential role of macrophage-derived LYN tyrosine kinase in tumor support
Phuong-Hien Nguyen1, Renata Stripecke1 and Alessandro Annibaldi2
Dept. I for Internal Medicine1 and CMMC2
3.45 - 4.00 p.m.
Awarding the Flash Talk and Poster Prizes and Final Discussion
Venue

MTI - Lecture Hall of the Medical Faculty (Biochemistry)
Joseph-Stelzmann Str. 52 (Building 44b)
50937 Cologne