HI-STEM News

On the occasion of the 50th birthday of the DKFZ, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the DKFZ and the HI-STEM labs.

Read more in the DKFZ Press Release.

In the study, which was led by HI-STEM postdoc Marc Thier, we have succeeded for the first time to directly reprogram human blood cells into a previously unknown type of neural stem cell. These induced stem cells are similar to those that occur during the early embryonic development of the central nervous system. They can be modified and multiplied indefinitely in the culture dish and can represent an important basis for the development of regenerative therapies.

Within the study, the team has succeed for the first time to reprogram mature human cells in such a way that a defined type of induced neural stem cells is produced that can multiply almost indefinitely. The work was a cooperation with stem cell researcher Frank Edenhofer from the University of Innsbruck and neuroscientist Hannah Monyer from DKFZ and appeared in Cell Stem Cell.

Marc Christian Thier, Oliver Hommerding, Jasper Panten, Roberta Pinna, Diego García-González, Thomas Berger, Philipp Wörsdörfer, Yassen Assenov, Roberta Scognamiglio, Adriana Przybylla, Paul Kaschutnig, Lisa Becker, Michael D. Milsom, Anna Jauch, Jochen Utikal, Carl Herrmann, Hannah Monyer, Frank Edenhofer und Andreas Trumpp. Cell Stem Cell (2018), DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.11.015

DKFZ Press Release (English Version / German Version)

The Berlin-Brandenburg Acadamy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) is honoring Marieke Essers pioneering research work on hematopoietic stem cells and their activation during stress conditions such as inflammation. The award is donated by the Monika Kutzner Foundation for the advancement in cancer research and includes a prize money of 10,000 Euros. It is awarded to young researchers annually for outstanding scientific achievements in the area of cancer research. On November, 5, 2018 the prize was presented to Marieke, who has been a group leader at HI-STEM since 2009, in a ceremonial act at the academy.

Further Information:

Andreas Trumpp together with Minister of Science and Education Theresia Bauer

The State Research Prize for Applied Research (Landesforschungspreis) of Baden-Württemberg 2018 is awarded to Andreas Trumpp. The Minister for Science, Research and Art Theresia Bauer presented the award, which includes a prize money of 100.000 Euro, during a ceremonial act on December 10^th, 2018 in Stuttgart. HI-STEM director Trumpp is honored for his remarkable contributions to the research field of stem cells and cancer. For instance he and his team discovered that stem cells of the blood are protected from environmental damage and chemotherapy through the principle of cellular dormancy. This significant body of work has led the way to numerous clinical research projects with the aim to develop better therapies for cancer patients.

The chairman of the DKFZ Michael Baumann said on the occasion of the award: "Andreas Trumpp is worldwide one of the outstanding researchers in the field of cancer stem cells to which he has contributed to significantly." In her remarks, Minister Theresia Bauer emphasized the importance of leading researchers such as Andreas Trumpp for the attractiveness of Baden-Württemberg.

Further Information and Media Coverage (in German)

Image Gallery of the Award Ceremony

Pictures: Jan Potente / MWK

From September 16-19, 2018, HI-STEM, together with the DKFZ and the Heidelberg University Hospital, was hosting the 10^th International Heinrich F.C. Behr-Symposium on Stem Cells and Cancer. The conference featured talks by over 25 invited international speakers, including keynotes by John Dick (Toronto), Elaine Fuchs (New York), Pier Paolo Pandolfi (Boston), Ben Ebert (Boston) and Leonard I. Zon (Boston). On Sunday, September 16, Andreas Trumpp, the chair of the organizing committee of the event, welcomed over 300 participants to the conference. Topics of the talks included latest highlights concerning the malignant transformation of stem cells in the blood and other organs, as well as new findings concerning the epigenetic regulation of healthy and diseased stem cells.