i-Target: Immunotargeting of Cancer (Internationales Doktorandenkolleg - Elitenetzwerk Bayern) at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich

About

Malignant diseases represent an unmet medical challenge with a huge social and economic impact. Early diagnosis and optimised operative, medical and radiotherapeutic treatments often cure early stage cancers. The prognosis for many patients with advanced-stage diseases, however, remains dismal. An important achievement in the last decade is the use of the body's own immune system to treat patients. The potential of immunotherapies has been demonstrated impressively through the use and approval of specific antibodies directed against tumour-associated antigens. Tumour immunotherapy is currently the subject of intense scientific and clinical development. The requirements for well-trained scientists in this research field are increasing rapidly, both in industry and in academia. Currently, no structured training programmes are on offer in Germany for the training of prospective scientists specifically in the field of immunotherapies. To fill this gap, a team of ten Bavarian professors, led by the Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitÃ¤t MÃ¼nchen (speaker: Prof Dr Stefan Endres) have joined forces to investigate innovative immune therapies and to train talented PhD students in this highly competitive research field. The training programme includes weekly seminars, quarterly workshops and annual conferences. Special characteristics of the programme are its intense cooperation with industry, as well as international secondments as an integral part of PhD projects. Three fields of immunotherapy will be investigated: targeted cell-based therapies, targeted antibody therapy, and immunomodulatory therapy (which counteracts tumour-derived immunosuppression). Additional support is offered by the GraduateCenter.