Home Match for Science: Secret conversations in the tumor

Cancer is one of the most common diseases worldwide, and although medical research has made great progress, for many sufferers it remains a life-threatening diagnosis that changes their lives abruptly. Despite numerous treatment options, many treatments do not lead to the desired success. Pancreatic cancer in particular is one of the most aggressive and deadliest types of cancer, against which only a few therapeutic approaches are currently effective.

A home match for molecular biologist Stefanie Bärthel

At this event in her home town of Hermsdorf in Thuringia, Dr. Stefanie Bärthel gives an insight into cancer research and explains why pancreatic cancer is particularly difficult to treat. She discusses the so-called "tumor microenvironment": a kind of protective shield that the tumor builds up to protect itself from attacks by the body's own immune system. She also presents innovative techniques from her everyday laboratory work that can be used to decode the communication of tumor and immune cells: with the help of single cell RNA sequencing, the "secret conversations" of these cells can be uncovered in order to develop new therapeutic approaches that make the cancer vulnerable.

Stefanie Bärthel grew up in St. Gangloff and went to school in Hermsdorf. After studying pharmacy in Leipzig, she gained research experience at the University of Florida, which inspired her to do her doctorate in molecular biology. During her doctorate at the Technical University of Munich, she focused in particular on pancreatic cancer and research into its treatment options. Today, she continues her research work both at the Technical University of Munich and at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and has been a research group leader at the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg since September 2024.

Admission to the home match is free, drinks and food will be provided.