One main ideal in medical research is a quick translation from bench to bedside. To achieve this still rare ideal, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) founded the six Centers of Health Research (Deutsche Zentren der Gesundheitsforschung, DZG). These centers serve the purpose of promoting "translation" - transferring research results from the laboratory into clinical practice. The German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) is one of these six centers - bringing together the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg with some of the strongest university hospitals and cancer research institutions at seven partner sites across Germany. One of the partner site is Tübingen, which is composed of the University Hospital Tübingen as well as participating institutes of the Faculty of Science at the University of Tübingen.
One core task of the Consortium is to continuously evaluate how discoveries made in basic research can be used for increasingly individualized prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer diseases. Within DKTK, more than 420 physicians, scientists and their research groups are dedicated to this "translational" approach. To this end, several research programmes have been implemented. Examples include oncogenic pathways, molecular diagnostics, tumor immunology and immunotherapy, radiation therapy and imaging, and prevention. Research and collaboration are crucially supported by research platforms such as the Clinical Communication Platform, Service Units or the School of Oncology.
Within the DKTK, the Tübingen partner site contributes to the development of immunotherapy in particular. For example, scientists such as Professor Hans-Georg Rammensee and his team investigate how the immune system can be triggered to detect tumor cells on its own and then destroy them. In 2014 Professor Helmut Salih was appointed the professorship in translational immunology the first DKTK professor at this partner site. Among other topics, his research deals with molecular mechanisms that influence the interaction between tumors and the immune system and how tumors manage to escape the immune system. The research is strongly supported by the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Center in Tübingen which, in this form, is unique to academic research in Germany. At the center, antibodies, immunopeptides and other substances relevant for research can be produced for clinical research under the highest safety standards. This service is not only beneficial to Tübingen but also benefits the other DKTK partner sites. At the same time, Tübingen can use the partners' resources within DKTK, such as the sequencing units at the DKFZ in Heidelberg. This way, the Consortium not only offers many new opportunities for exciting collaborations but also the opportunity to develop better infrastructures for translational and clinical research at the sites themselves.
Tübingen is a special place for research. Very few locations offer such a wide range of research areas in such close proximity - both physically and figuratively. Not only are all of Tübingen's research institutions just a stone's throw away from each other, they also collaborate closely within the Tübingen Research Campus.
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Life in Tübingen is life in the heart of Europe and in one of Germany's most scenic and economically competitive regions. It's a bustling mediaeval town with a young, international, and vibrant population and a rich cultural and artistic scene. Lectures, concerts, film festivals, and more: life in Tübingen never gets boring.
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The Neurosciences in Tübingen with more than 100 active research groups have the potential to rank among the most successful neuroscientific sites in Europe.
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