About

Tumor-microenvironment interactions drive therapy resistance and metastasis (de Visser & Joyce, 2023). Using an expanded biobank of paired primary and metastatic tissues, advanced 3D organoids, slice cultures and microfluidic models, we will study the niche-specific interaction between the stroma and immune system to identify targetable biomarkers. Novel therapies, including oncolytic viruses, kinase inhibitors and immunomodulators, will be tested in human preclinical systems. Integrated, multi-or-gan, metastasis-on-chip platforms and -omics analyses will support precision oncology, translating patient-specific findings into early clinical trials.

Heads

Dr. Thomas Mürdter
Deputy Head; Head Microphysiological Tissue Models of Solid Cancer & Microenvironment; Head Chem.Anal.&Synth.
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Dr. Meng Dong
Research Group Leader Microphysiological Tissue Models of Solid Cancer and Microenvironment
Tel+49-711-8101 2070
meng.dong@ikp-stuttgart.de
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Prof. Marc H. Dahlke
Research Group Leader Microphysiological Tissue Models of Solid Cancer and Microenvironment
Tel+49-711-8101 3416
marc.dahlke@rbk.de
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Team Members

Dr. Jana Koch
Scientist
Tel+49-711-8101 5644
jana.koch@ikp-stuttgart.de
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Dr. Dina Mönch
Scientist
Tel+49-711-8101 5759
dina.moench@ikp-stuttgart.de
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Dr. Nicole Janssen
Scientist
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Julia Thiel
PhD Student
Tel+49-711-8101 5765
julia.thiel@ikp-stuttgart.de
Jan Schlegel
PhD Student
Tel+49 711 8101‐5813
jan.schlegel@ikp-stuttgart.de
Rebekka Schier
Master student
Kerstin Willecke
Technical Assistant
Tel+49-711-8101 5700
kerstin.willecke@ikp-stuttgart.de
Annika Maaß
Technical Assistant
Tel+49-711-8101 2774
Annika.Maass@ikp-stuttgart.de
Nicole Klimt
Technical Assistant
Tel+49-711-8101 2055
Nicole.Klimt@ikp-stuttgart.de
Anna Kechter
Technical Assistant
Tel+49-711-8101 5771
Anna.Kechter@ikp-stuttgart.de

Selected publications of the Research Group

  • Asmanidou S, Thiel J, Ekstrom TL, Schueler J, Oswald E, Metzger P, Blaumeiser AC, Boerries M, Wiebl L-M, Schiffler R, Tamas R, Essmann F, Dong M, Johnsen SA, Kontermann RE, Olayioye MA. BCL-xL as a therapeutic target in cetuximab-refractory colorectal cancer. Cell Death Dis. 1(17):187, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41419-026-08434-5.
  • Ekstrom TL, Dai Z, Thiel J, Kanakan A, Saha BJ, Manjunath M, Schacherer N, Bousounis P, Siegler EL, Abdelrahman AM, Souto Y, Essmann F, Najafova Z, Beyes S, Truty MJ, Dong M, Johnsen SA. KLF5 controls subtype-independent highly interactive enhancers in pancreatic cancer to regulate cell survival. Sci Adv. 12(12):eaea2106, 2026. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aea2106.
  • Ekstrom TL, Rosok RM, Abdelrahman AM, Parassiadis C, Manjunath M, Dittrich MY, Wang X, Kutschat AP, Kanakan A, Rajput A, Schacherer N, Lukic T, Carlson DM, Thiel J, Kopp W, Stroebel P, Ellenrieder V, Gaedcke J, Dong M, Najafova Z, Truty MJ, Hessmann E, Johnsen SA. Glucocorticoid receptor suppresses GATA6-mediated RNA polymerase II pause release to modulate classical subtype identity in pancreatic cancer. Gut. 7(74):1112–1124, 2025. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2024-334374.
  • Mönch D, Thiel J, Dong M, Maaß A, Wegner E, Binner A, Staiger AM, Kurz KS, Ott G, Renner P, Leibold T, Schmees C, Mürdter TE, Schwab M, Dahlke M-H, Koch J. Feasibility of Patient-Derived 3D Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour Models as Alternatives for In Vivo Mouse Models. Int J Mol Sci. 23(26, 2025. doi: 10.3390/ijms262311456.
  • Rudalska R, Harbig J, Forster M, Woelffing P, Esposito A, Kudolo M, Botezatu A, Haller V, Janssen N, Holzmayer S, Nahidino P, Trompak O, Pantsar T, Kronenberger T, Yurttas C, Rist E, Weber ANR, Dahlke MH, Ott G, Koenigsrainer A, Rothbauer U, Maerklin M, Muerdter T, Schwab M, Singer S, Zender L, Laufer S, Dauch D. First-in-class ultralong-target-residence-time p38α inhibitors as a mitosis-targeted therapy for colorectal cancer. Nat Cancer. 2(6):259–277, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s43018-024-00899-7.
  • Böpple K, Oren Y, Henry WS, Dong M, Weller S, Thiel J, Kleih M, Gaißler A, Zipperer D, Kopp H-G, Aylon Y, Oren M, Essmann F, Liang C, Aulitzky WE. ATF3 characterizes aggressive drug-tolerant persister cells in HGSOC. Cell Death Dis. 4(15):290, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41419-024-06674-x.
  • Dong M, Böpple K, Thiel J, Winkler B, Liang C, Schueler J, Davies EJ, Barry ST, Metsalu T, Mürdter TE, Sauer G, Ott G, Schwab M, Aulitzky WE. Perfusion Air Culture of Precision-Cut Tumor Slices: An Ex Vivo System to Evaluate Individual Drug Response under Controlled Culture Conditions. Cells. 5(12, 2023. doi: 10.3390/cells12050807.
  • Koch J, Beil J, Berchtold S, Mönch D, Maaß A, Smirnow I, Schenk A, Carter ME, Kloker LD, Leibold T, Renner P, Dahlke M-H, Lauer UM. Establishing a New Platform to Investigate the Efficacy of Oncolytic Virotherapy in a Human Ex Vivo Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Model. Viruses. 2(15, 2023. doi: 10.3390/v15020363.
  • Aylon Y, Furth N, Mallel G, Friedlander G, Nataraj NB, Dong M, Hassin O, Zoabi R, Cohen B, Drendel V, Salame TM, Mukherjee S, Harpaz N, Johnson R, Aulitzky WE, Yarden Y, Shema E, Oren M. Breast cancer plasticity is restricted by a LATS1-NCOR1 repressive axis. Nat Commun. 1(13):7199, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34863-9.
  • Koch J, Mönch D, Maaß A, Mangold A, Gužvić M, Mürdter T, Leibold T, Dahlke M-H, Renner P. Pharmacologic Targeting of MMP2/9 Decreases Peritoneal Metastasis Formation of Colorectal Cancer in a Human Ex Vivo Peritoneum Culture Model. Cancers (Basel). 15(14, 2022. doi: 10.3390/cancers14153760.
  • Koch J, Schober SJ, Hindupur SV, Schöning C, Klein FG, Mantwill K, Ehrenfeld M, Schillinger U, Hohnecker T, Qi P, Steiger K, Aichler M, Gschwend JE, Nawroth R, Holm PS. Targeting the Retinoblastoma/E2F repressive complex by CDK4/6 inhibitors amplifies oncolytic potency of an oncolytic adenovirus. Nat Commun. 1(13):4689, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-32087-5.