1/2010 GERMAN CANCER RESEARCH CENTER IN THE HELMHOLTZ ASSOCIATION

alumniDEUTSCHES KREBSFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM actually born in the Board of the Alumni Association some years ago. Initially, two small working groups discussed possible aims and structures, and submitted a short memorandum to the DKFZ Man- agement Board. Fortunately, the basic idea was taken up and Christof von Kalle has meanwhile developed a professional proposal with a much broader scope than the initial considerations.

Also worth reading are two colourful nar- rations by former guest scientists who apparently always know how to make the best of their lives, two reports on at- tractive excursions with present guest researchers, and finally information on people who have been honored, reflect- ing the ongoing scientific excellence of the DKFZ.

As detailed in Konrad Buschbeck’s record on the General Assembly 2010, I did not Like Yun Niu, Qin run for election again. In my place Diet- Su and Doris rich Keppler has been elected, who will Mayer, many also be responsible for this newsletter participants This Newsletter mainly reviews the The two Polish-German Workshops in the future. I am grateful to all who of the Alumni splendid scientific and social events at briefly described in this issue continued supported and complemented my work meeting took the th the 4 General Alumni Meeting at the a series of bilateral meetings starting in since the foundation of our Association, opportunity for a DKFZ in the middle of June. For the first 2008. Both the text and accompanying pleasant trip on particularly the members of the Board, the solar boat on time, Alumni of the Life figures document that within this short Gerhard van Kaick and Elfriede Mang the river. Science Lab were actively involved in period an almost familiar atmosphere for running the excellent guest research this meeting, which was preceded by has developed by the scientific and program, and Dagmar Anders for care- a Polish-German Workshop. All invited social exchange, alternating between Gli- fully editing and desktop publishing the speakers of the Alumni Meeting were wice and Heidelberg. Newsletter. It has been a pleasure to co- Alumni of the DKFZ or the Life-Science operate with all of them. Lab. The abstracts of their talks are only A detailed report on a visit of the Nobel a pale reflection of their outstanding Laureate Harald zur Hausen, a founding With my best wishes for the future of the presentations which stimulated lively member of our Association, to India, pre- new Board and all members and friends discussions. This also applies to the pared by another prominent Alumnus, of our Association I remain with kind informative contributions by leading Maqsood Siddiqi from Kolkata, shows regards, current DKFZ scientists listed under that zur Hausen’s lectures are scientific “Meet the Experts” and one of the al- highlights all over the world, not to men- most 50 posters that had been selected tion the Alumni Meeting in Heidelberg. for a prize. Several comments have con- firmed my impression that this Alumni An important recent activity of the DKFZ Heidelberg School of Oncology 2 Meeting was a great success, largely ful- and the Heidelberg University Hospital 4th General Alumni Meeting 3 filling our motto “Outstanding Alumni is reviewed by Christof von Kalle: the German-Polish Research Exchange 12 meet the scientific community of the establishment of a Heidelberg School of DKFZ”. Oncology. The idea of such a school was Science and Soccer 14 Regional UICC Office in Asia 15 High-Tech and Ancient Architecture 19 Heidelberg School of Oncology trainingby Christof von Kalle The National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg is announcing the first comprehensive fellowship program for oncology in : The Heidelberg School of Oncology. This pro- gram is aiming to provide extensive education and training for physicians and physician scientists on all aspects of multidisciplinary cancer treatment as well as the design and conduction of clinical trials and translational cancer research projects. This kind of further training, combining interdisciplinary cancer treatment with translational research, is pio- neering education of oncologists in Germany.

In order to improve the quality of pa- The HSO will further provide a program tient treatment and care, to set stand- of continued medical education on all ards for the practice of medical oncology clinical and scientific aspects of oncol- and to promote continued education for ogy, based on the regular Grand Rounds professional excellence, the National in Oncology lecture series, NCT updates Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidel- and courses for clinical trial manage- berg has set up the Heidelberg School of ment. The Grand Rounds in Oncology is Oncology (HSO). laid out as a three-monthly interdisci- plinary lecture series on specific oncol- At the HSO, fellows will be educated ac- ogy issues covering clinical and basic cording to a curriculum considering all research topics related to a given cancer aspects of cancer care in combination entity. NCT updates are regular yearly with the science behind it. The follow- seminar series for oncologists and on- ing goals will be covered by the HSO: cologists in training providing broad coverage of the newest developments in • High quality medical education in all relevant fields in oncology. oncology including all disciplines involved in the diagnosis and treat- To provide for the highest quality of ment of all cancer entities candidates for the HSO, a stringent recruitment policy will be followed. • Enabling physicians in training to The selection procedure aims to identify learn from leading medical, surgi- exceptional candidates with a strong cal and radiation oncologists and to commitment to their oncology educa- gain hands-on experience in multi- tion. A total of 10 three-year HSO fellow- disciplinary treatment approaches ships will be granted.

• Training in the design, conducting The HSO will set new standards for and interpretation of clinical trials comprehensive training in oncology . spanning all aspects of clinical care and • Training in basic and translational science in this rapidly developing field. research for physician scientists to It aims at the development of physi- establish and promote high quality cians who will provide the highest qual- translational laboratory research ity of care to cancer patients and aspire projects to be among the best in science and de- velopment of new therapies. • Creation of an international network of excellence in oncology to foster future collaboration in clinical trials and translational cancer research

• A program for continued medical education for physicians, general and private practitioners

• Creation of a bridge for scientists to clinical oncology and vice versa for physicians to cancer research.

2 1/2010 4th Generalreview Alumni Meeting The General Alumni Meeting was organized for the first time together with active involvement of Alumni of the Heidelberg Life-Science Lab. The convention again provided an opportunity to update professional knowledge on the understanding of neoplastic development as well as translational approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Although it was demonstrated during the meeting in the oral and nearly 50 poster presentations that much progress has been made in the past few years, many open questions remained de- manding much more efforts to combat and, hopefully, eventually conquer this dreadful disease. A continued exchange of ideas of mutual interest with colleagues from all over the world will therefore remain an indispensable prerequisite.

Dr Gerda Bruder and Prof. Raymond Nagle Prof. Dietrich Keppler, new Chairman of the Alumni Board, and Prof. Werner W. Franke

Introduction ated neoplasms as well as in the determination of the origin of metastatic lesions. More recently there has been a significant de- Peter Bannasch (Heidelberg, Germany) velopment of companion diagnostic tests able to detect specific protein targets for predicting therapeutic responses. These predic- It was a great pleasure to welcome many Alumni at the 4th General tive tests not only have been applied to protein detection but have Alumni Meeting, particularly those from abroad, coming from al- been extended to include DNA probes capable of detecting gene most all continents. We are very grateful for the generous support amplification, deletions, and gene rearrangements. Unfortunately of some of these participants by a grant from the German Aca- the use of new anticancer drugs which target single proteins has demic Exchange Service (DAAD) and a donation by Merck-Serono. met with only modest success due to tumor heterogeneity, genetic Fortunately, it has always been an easy task for the Board of our instability, and the existence of multiple alternative survival sig- Association to prepare the scientific sessions of this meeting naling pathways. This has led to the current belief that multiplex due to the large number of prominent Alumni, most of whom assays capable of simultaneous detection of multiple cell compo- immediately accepted our invitations. In this year, we focused nents will provide better information regarding dominant path- the program on three topics to which Alumni of the DKFZ have ways for targeted therapy. One attractive technique for multiplex made internationally outstanding scientific contributions. It goes assay development is the use of Qdot labeled detection reagents without saying that we were particularly pleased that our found- coupled with spectral imaging. Examples of multiplex assays de- ing member and Nobel Laureate Harald zur Hausen agreed to velopment were presented. give the key note lecture on infectious diseases and cancer dur- ing this meeting. As is evident from the following abstracts and complementary information, the list of speakers included many Werner W. Franke (Heidelberg, Germany) additional Alumni who have made eminent contributions to our Cumulative Changes of Differentiation and the Formation of understanding of the biology of cancer cells, the role of infectious Novel Structures in Cancer Cells diseases in cancer development, diagnosis and treatment, and the promotion of public relations and patient information in cancer. In general tumors are diagnostically identified and classified ac- Especially, I would like to mention Werner Franke: With far more cording to morphological criteria and molecular marker patterns than 600 excellent original publications he has probably been the that are characteristic of a certain cell type, level of differentiation most productive scientist hitherto working at the DKFZ. and proliferation activity. One of the major diagnostic aims is therefore the determination of the cell type of origin, which usu- ally is also a basis for prognosis and therapy. We found out that Biology of Cancer Cells the progeny of a given tumor cell clone even under fully defined cell culture conditions is often not homogenous. Instead spontane- Ray B. Nagle (Tucson, Arizona, USA) ous, not genetically fixed, rather rare but stable changes of gene The Application of Biomarkers in the Diagnosis and Manage- expression can occur, albeit mostly at rather low frequencies. In ment of Cancer more than two decades of follow-up of these observations (A. Knapp and W. W. Franke: “Spontaneous losses of control of ... gene The use of tissue based markers in the diagnosis and management expression ...” Cell 59, 67-79, 1989) we have isolated and character- of cancer were discussed. Assays applied to tissue sections have ized cells with cumulative syntheses of proteins and glycoproteins, the great advantage of enabling one to visualize a given marker followed by self-assembly to functional structures. Using for the directly in the contexts of the tissue architecture. The detection of sake of simplicity samples of unicellular haematopoietic tumor cell lineage specific and organ specific proteins in tumor samples cells, including some of the worldwide most intensely studied has become routine practice in the diagnosis of poorly differenti- ones, we show changes to carcinomatoid dysplasia forms grow-

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Melanie Weisser (Zürich, Switzerland) Introduction to the Life-Science Lab and the Alumni Associa- tion of the Life-Science Lab – Why Should and How Can High School Students Work in a Science Lab?

How to effectively promote young researchers and engineers con- tinues to be a widely discussed topic among Germany’s academia and education budgets, as well as syllabuses of secondary and even primary schools, are constantly under debate. Throughout the last 10 years, the Life-Science Lab Heidelberg has put forward a new but very successful approach to offer pupils from grades 8 to 13 a unique possibility to gain insight into aca- demic research during their free time. Talented and interested stu- dents can participate in weekend seminars as well as national and international academies where they get in touch with researchers and academic institutions and are able to deal with current re- from left: Dr. Konrad Buschbeck, Prof. Simone Fulda and Siegfried Herz search issues. Throughout one year or even longer they also have the chance to attend weekly lectures on interdisciplinary topics and to get involved into so called “student workgroups” of various disciplines (e. g. physics, biochemistry, medicine, philosophy etc.) where they are being coached by students, teachers and profes- ing in tissue-like histological structures which often are not eas- sional scientists and are able to approach a scientific topic of their ily distinguished from genuine carcinoma structures. Such cells choice, both, theoretically and practically. Apart from communi- are rich in stoichiometrically correct keratin (8:18+19) filament cating scientific knowledge, the program aims to assist students’ bundles and interconnected by adhering junctions (AJs) contain- soft skills, especially team work, communication skills, project and ing desmosomal glycoproteins and plaque proteins, often together time management. with additional non-desmosomal armadillo proteins. These cells Five years ago, former Life-Science Lab members founded the are mostly also connected to each other by a second category of “Alumni Association of the Heidelberger Life-Science Lab e.V.” to junctions based on clusters of the non-cadherin transmembrane keep networking amongst each other alive and provide also univer- glycoprotein named “epithelial membrane cell adhesion mol- sity students with similarly attractive interdisciplinary activities. ecule” (EpCAM) anchored in a subplasmamembranous dense layer The steadily growing numbers of participants, feedback of students, containing actin filament-binding proteins, including afadin, as well as teachers and parents, but also the great output of prizes α-actinin and vinculin. The occurrence of certain cell type hetero- and interesting projects from Life-Science Lab participants indicate geneities within tumors in situ that might reflect similar changes that the central concept of “self organized learning” practised by the as well as the diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic problems Life-Science Lab and its Alumni is proving to be successful. that could emerge from such “lateral” tumor cell type conversions were discussed. Oliver Hantschel (Vienna, ) Structural, Mechanistic and Functional Analysis of c-Abl/Bcr- Simone Fulda (Frankfurt, Germany) Abl and its Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Targeting Apoptosis Pathways in Cancer Therapy The Abl family of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases is involved in a Evasion of apoptosis is a hallmark of human cancers and contrib- number of chromosomal translocation events that lead to their utes to tumor formation and progression as well as resistance to aberrant activation and ultimately to oncogenic transformation current cancer therapies, which largely rely on intact cell death of hematopoietic cells resulting in different forms of leukemia in pathways in cancer cells. Apoptosis resistance can be caused by humans. Most prominently the Bcr-Abl fusion protein is the cause aberrant expression of antiapoptotic proteins, for example „Inhibi- of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Bcr-Abl has acquired tor of Apoptosis“ (IAP) proteins, which are expressed at high levels paradigmatic status as the first successful case of targeted cancer in many human cancers. Since IAP proteins block apoptosis at the therapy using the small-molecule inhibitor imatinib (Gleevec). The core of the apoptotic machinery by inhibiting effector caspases, occurence of imatinib resistance resulting in patient relapse is still they present promising therapeutic targets. Targeting IAP pro- a major clinical challenge and has boosted the development and teins, e. g. by RNA interference approaches or small molecule in- approval of second generation (dasatinib/Sprycel and nilotinib/ hibitors, presents a novel approach to either directly trigger apop- Tasigna) and several third generation drugs that are active against tosis or to potentiate the efficacy of cytotoxic therapies including imatinib-resistant Bcr-Abl variants. death receptor ligands, chemotherapeutics or irradiation in cancer In my talk, the following questions were discussed: cells. Thus, inhibition of IAP proteins such as XIAP may prove to be 1. What are the biochemical mechanisms and the structural basis a successful strategy to overcome apoptosis resistance of human that keep Abl autoinhibited and why is Bcr-Abl constitutively cancers that warrants further exploitation. active? 2. Can we target additional sites on Bcr-Abl to inhibit its activity and cellular functions and can this be therapeutically exploited?

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Dr Seyed Mohsen Mousavi and Prof. Dariush Fahimi Nobel Laureate Prof. Harald zur Hausen (middle) presented the keynote lecture on “Infectious Agents Causing Human Cancers: State and Perspec- tives”. His talk was greatly appreciated by the audience including Dr Konrad Buschbeck (left) and Prof. Dietrich Keppler from the Alumni Board

3. Can we map the signal transduction and transcriptional net- Infection and Cancer work of Bcr-Abl? 4. How specific are the different Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitors Massimo Tommassino (Lyon, ) and what is their mechanism-of-action? Can We Learn More from HPV Research?

Infectious agents represent a major group of risk factors for cancer Clemens Buß (Rehovot, Israel) development and contribute to about 20 percent of human cancers The Effect of DNA Copy Number on Transcription worldwide. Six viruses and one bacterium, i. e. human papilloma- virus (HPV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus, Human T- This research was carried out at the Weizmann Institute of Science as a lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-1), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi Master Thesis for the Masters programme in Complex Adaptive Systems sarcoma-associated virus (KSHV) and Helicobacter pylori, have at the University of Gothenburg. been clearly associated with human carcinogenesis. The mucosal high-risk (HR) HPV types are the etiological factors In this talk a model was proposed to explain and reproduce the of cervical cancers and a subset of oropharyngeal cancers. In ad- effect of DNA copy number on transcription. DNA transcription dition, ongoing studies concerning a sub-group of HPV types that is the first and most important of the regulatory mechanisms infect the skin suggest their involvement, together with ultraviolet controlling the expression of genes. It is of highest interest with radiation (or solar exposure), in the development of non-melano- change in DNA copy number, which appears under many medical ma skin cancer (NMSC). conditions. Biological studies have demonstrated that the products of two Naively, we might expect a linear relation: doubling the chromo- early genes from the HR HPV types, E6 and E7, play a key role in some goes along with doubled expression. However, in experi- cancer development. Both viral oncoproteins are able to target ments this is not what is observed. We analyzed data from dif- several cellular pathways leading to evasion from immune surveil- ferent cancer conditions and Down’s syndrome and it was found lance and cellular transformation. These studies also substantially that on an average the higher the transcription rate in disomy the contributed to our understanding of key mechanisms involved in higher the change in transcription rate in trisomy. the normal life of the cell. In our theoretical model we consider the cell nucleus as a lattice gas In the last few years, we have performed additional studies on comprising boxes which are off the DNA, boxes which are on the cutaneous and mucosal HPV types and have characterized novel DNA and boxes which are binding sites on the DNA. Furthermore oncogenic viral mechanisms involved in the evasion of the im- there is a certain number of transcription factors inside the volume mune responses and/or in cellular transformation. A few examples of the cell. They bind to each type of a box with a certain probabil- were presented. ity. It is assumed that transcription happens, if a box is occupied by a transcription factor. We make use of statistical physics to calculate Qin Su (Beijing, China) quantities of interest out of this very simple, yet powerful, model. HBV Infection and Liver Cancer in China We compare the model to experimental data in order to see if the quantities derived can explain the data and give further insights There are 662 000 deaths per year from liver cancer most of which into the experimental result and the operational regime in which are due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). China alone accounts a cell operates. for 55 percent of cases of HCC worldwide. About 85 percent of the cases occur in livers with cirrhosis and over 80 percent are etio- logically related to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The

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overall prevalence of HCC in China is 26 to 32 per 100 000 persons. However, in the eastern coastal areas the annual incidence can be as high as to 70 to 80 per 100 000. Prognosis of advanced HCC is very poor, with the 5-year survival rate of the patients below 5 percent. Due to progress in early detection and improved treat- ment over the last 20 years, the prognosis of HCC patients has been improved in China. For the small cancers (≤ 5 cm in diameter), successful resection resulted in a 5-year survival rate of 62 percent. Identification of early HCCs smaller than 2.5 cm in diameter will further improve the clinical outcomes. Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was estimated to be 9.8 percent in the general population of China. The nation- wide vaccination programs provide protection for at least 75 per- cent of children from HBV infection. This has resulted in a decrease of HBsAg-carriage rates to less than 2 percent in most regions and a drop of HCC incidence in children in some areas. Currently, the total number of HBsAg carriers in this country is estimated to be Dr Mohammed Abba (far left) together with Drs Troitze and Ilia Toshkov 130 millions. The carriage status is almost life long, exposing the and Dr Laura Nelson individuals to a markedly increased risk for HCC. Monitoring the HBV carriers and early detection of HCC and its precursors will be a long-term strategy in highly prevalent areas. For this reason, iden- During the Friday afternoon poster session a jury consist- tification of HCC precursors is of great clinical significance. ing of Petra Boukamp, Adelheid Cerwenka, Norbert Fusenig, Large-cell change was considered a premalignant lesion in the Kari Hemminki, Gerhard van Kaick, Annette Kopp-Schnei- eighties, but later proven to be not directly related to HCC. Pre- der and Jean Rommelaere evaluated the presentations of neoplastic nature of foci of altered hepatocytes was established by Bannasch and colleagues using various animal models. These almost 50 posters. This year’s award acknowledges the out- foci have been proven to be the most frequent early precursor standing research findings of: lesions in HBV-infected liver with the potential to progress to HCC through nodular transformation and/or small-cell change. Recent Mohammed Abba, Stephanie Laufs, Bernhard Korn, Axel approaches have revealed that most of the nodular lesions are Benner and Heike Allgayer , Heidelberg, Germany already neoplastic, harboring characteristic genetic alterations and representing hepatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HIN). Further stud- Look Who’s Talking: Two Perspectives of Expression Profiling ies may lead to a more detailed description of genetic alterations in Colorectal Cancer associated with human hepatocarcinogenesis. The accurate interpretation and extrapolation of data arising from the expression profile of any given tissue type hinges Hans-Georg Kräusslich (Heidelberg, Germany) upon the procurement and analysis of pure cell populations HIV and AIDS today from the tissue. To appreciate how cell type and purity can impact upon tissue expression, we compared whole tissue First recognized in 1981, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome dissection and laser capture microdissection (LCM) using (AIDS) has developed into one of the major pandemics of all times genome wide based oligonucleotide arrays on patients with with more than 30 million people infected and 2 million AIDS-relat- different UICC stages of colorectal cancer and analysed the dif- ed deaths per year. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was ferentially regulated genes in the context of compartmental discovered in 1983 and later classified into two types with several expression and active canonical pathways. We observed subtle subgroups and numerous clades and interclade recombinants. It is as well as well as major differences in the deregulated path- now clear that the various types and subgroups are derived from ways with the stroma emerging as the major determinant of independent zoonotic transmissions with HIV-2 being derived from the cancer phenotype. a sooty mangabey virus and the HIV-1 subgroups derived from chimpanzee viruses. These transmissions probably took place in The poster prize was presented by Petra Boukamp during the first quarter of the 20th century. Life cycle, replication and pathogenesis of HIV have been the sub- the Reception of the Management Board on Friday evening. jects of intense research efforts leading to about 25 antiviral drugs belonging to 5 different classes. Triple combination therapy was introduced as a standard therapy in the mid nineties and has been shown to successfully reduce viral load in more than 80 percent of all patients. However, approximately 30 percent of patients need to change therapy during the first year under treatment due to side effects or resistance development. Resistance will arise against any antiviral compound if insufficient control of viral replication occurs. With these developments, HIV/AIDS has been transformed

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Prof. Hans-Georg Kräusslich Daniel Stolte, Prof. Yun Niu and Dr Lore Florin into a managable chronic disease, at least in those situations where Daniel Stolte (Tucson, Arizona, USA) drugs can be afforded and if patients show good compliance and Cacti, Coyotes, Cardiovascular Research – Promoting Science tolerance of the drugs. in the American Southwest Since prophylactic or therapeutic vaccines are not on the horizon, continuous efforts towards improved prevention and tight manage- ment of HIV therapy seem to be the best options at the moment. Fu- A dusty, hostile desert land, dotted with cacti and ranches that ture research is directed against eradicating silently infected cells in turns into a blast furnace in the summer. Few know that Arizona, order to eventually achieve a cure, but this is currently not feasable. traditionally a state of miners, ranchers and cowboys, is a hotbed of scientific innovation. Public Relations and Patient Information in Cancer and Having worked in science communications and public outreach in various capacities for the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson, Cardiovascular Disease I took a personal – and necessarily subjective – perspective in shar- ing my experience promoting research at our university for the Julia Rautenstrauch (Stuttgart,Germany) public, the news media and stakeholders. Journalist Meets Scientist – Public Relations in Science Compared to public universities in Germany and, presumably, most European countries, even a state-funded institution of higher The management of press relations in science has to take into ac- education like the UA resembles a private business venture in count the different perspectives of journalists and scientists. Both many ways. Accordingly, communication efforts, marketing and groups live in different communities and work under very different fund-raising activities are heavily intertwined. Alumni relations circumstances. Usually, scientists are not familiar with the specific specifically, play a critical role in the university’s public relations requirements and challenges of journalism. On the other hand, effort and require a highly strategic approach. most journalists are not able to form a correct opinion of a scientist’s Currently, the media landscape in the United States is experienc- working conditions. Therefore, any contact between scientists and ing the most dramatic change in its history. For us public informa- journalists bears some risk of conflict, which could lead to a hoax. tion officers, some of these changes pose steep challenges; others To minimize this risk, it is important for both groups to develop a present unforeseen opportunities to get our message across. Pro- mutual understanding. Any professional media training can be moting scientific research in a state not commonly known for recommended. More and more institutions offer workshops in me- academic excellence, scientific discoveries and technological inno- dia relationship management for their scientists. These workshops vation poses a challenging experience in and by itself. provide training formats for specific situations, e. g. to give an inter- Most recently, the state of Arizona has found itself in a dramatic view or to reply to a critical question. They also enable scientists to economic downturn, and lack of funds has put a traditionally gain a deeper insight into the purpose and function of the media in weak education system in great peril. The repercussions have general and to understand the latest changes in the media, which begun to threaten the UA’s standing as the Southwest’s premier have a dramatic impact on the working conditions of journalists. research university. Unprecedented budget cuts have called for Before contacting a journalist or answering a journalist’s questions, dramatic changes to our organization and modus operandi. In a scientist should refer to the press office of his or her institution. these dire times, a critical role falls to the university’s communica- The press office will clarify the journalist’s intention in advance tions office, and we have to quickly adapt to radically different and provide a short briefing for the scientist. To avoid further pit- approaches to the way we work. falls, the scientist should consider some general rules for contacts My presentation tried to shed some light on these issues and dis- with journalists, e. g. to react fast, to use a clearly understandable cuss the challenges scientists and science communicators are fac- language and to make short and precise comments. The scientist ing in times of rapidly changing ways of how information is gener- should be aware of typical mistakes and how to handle them. All ated, distributed and consumed. these skills are amenable to training.

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Prof. Andrea Mastro and Dr Karsten Böhnke Prof. Wei Zhang and Prof. Kari Hemminki

Regine Hagmann (Heidelberg, Germany) Meet the Experts The Future of Cancer Information for the Public: Personal Communication or World Wide Web On both days of the Alumni Meeting there were additional sessions with leading investigators offering scientific topics Worldwide, the need for accurate and relevant cancer information continues to grow. Healthcare professionals are the preferred from the different research programs of the DKFZ: source of cancer information but their time is limited and patients often do not know what and how to ask. Michael Boutros (Heidelberg,Germany) Cancer information is now readily available and in much big- Dissection of Signaling Networks by Large-scale Genomic ger quantity than ever before to patients and the general public. Analysis The internet has been changing the way how people learn about health and illness. It is an ever expanding source of knowledge and support for cancer patients and their families. Surveys show that Stefan Herzig (Heidelberg,Germany) cancer survivors are actively seeking information throughout the Cancer and Metabolism: Molecular Connections course of their disease and follow-up. Nearly two-thirds of cancer survivors reported seeking information from any source. Both men and women from all ages are increasingly using the Ana Martin-Villalba (Heidelberg,Germany) internet. Second generation internet users not only consume infor- The Lure of CD95L mation, they are seeking direct communication with health care professionals, information services, as well as with peers, particu- larly using services pertaining to the so-called Web 2.0. Federico Canzian (Heidelberg,Germany) In spite of all this, the internet is still a comparatively young Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer medium, and widespread use is often limited by bandwidth and technical difficulties, particularly in less developed countries. Ger- many ranks in the upper third internet usage with 69 percent of Fabian Kiessling (Aachen,Germany) households reporting internet access in 2008. Molecular Imaging in Oncology Communication via internet, be it a one-way consumption of information, or a two-way question-and-answer exchange, will never be at par with personal interaction, either face to face or by Bruno Kyewski (Heidelberg,Germany) phone. It is not a question of “either-or”, but rather one comple- Self tolerance, Autoimmunity and Cancer ments the other. What is crucial is to understand the needs of the information seekers and to help them applying the often confus- ing and contradicting wealth of information to their personal situ- ation. The Cancer Information Service KID of the German Cancer Research Center presents cancer-related information and research findings in a clear and understandable manner via phone, e-mail and internet. The KID’s telephone line has been the primary con- duit for information seekers and remains the heart of all services offered. A challenge for KID will be to harness and integrate new technologies into the current channels used for dissemination of cancer information.

8 1/2010 Appealing Impressions to Take Home

Dr Konstanze Lenhard and Prof. Claus Hobe Schröder The Ladys’ Vocal Trio (from left): Lara Süß, Ariane Böttinger and Ria Günther

Many scientists who had spent years or only months at the DKFZ the motivations behind their work. The informal atmosphere came to the 4th General Meeting of DKFZ Alumni from all over in these sessions contributed to productive discussions. the world. For Konstanze Lenhard, the Alumni Meeting was the first time to return to the DKFZ after ten years. In the following The poster sessions gave attendees a valuable opportunity to article, the alumna who used to work in the Division of Virus-Host get to know a wide variety of recent achievements in a num- Interaction, recollects her experiences during the scientific event. ber of areas of cancer research. Lively discussions between the participants of the meeting and the scientists presenting their After a warm welcome by the organizers of the meeting, the work developed. For me it was particularly interesting to learn scientific sessions were characterized by an open and relaxed about some aspects of the work done in my former laboratory atmosphere. I myself was delighted not only to see my former at the DKFZ after having left. laboratory supervisor Prof. Claus Hobe Schröder on this occa- sion, but also to meet again with a scientist from China, whom The first day of the meeting was concluded by the Reception I got to know during the time I worked on my diploma thesis. of the Management Board. A musical performance, proffered by two a cappella groups, was incorporated into an elaborate The topics of the talks were diverse and addressed a variety of program including an overview of recent developments at the research issues. Lectures summarizing a lifetime of successful DKFZ and the reconstruction of the main building, not to for- scientific achievements were followed by presentations giving get the presentation of the poster prize. insight into the motivation for research to be developed in the next few years. One of the highlights of the meeting was the As an event of a more official nature, the General Assembly keynote lecture by Nobel Laureate Prof. Harald zur Hausen, who of the Alumni Association, was added to the schedule of the provided an overview of the most prominent questions regard- Meeting. It was interesting to see who is doing all the work ing the relationship between infectious agents and cancer. needed to achieve the successful establishment of the DKFZ Alumni, and to hear about activities planned for the future. But not only strictly scientific issues were covered by the lectures. Interesting aspects regarding the accessibility of In summary, the General Meeting of DKFZ Alumni was very scientific results for the public and the patient were also ex- engaging and diverse. Not only did it provide an opportunity plained. In addition, an overview of the work of the students’ to meet former co-workers and old friends and to make new Life-Science Lab was presented. The thoughtful selection of acquaintances, but also to get information regarding recent topics covered by the lectures was completed by a distinctive work of scientists who are linked to the DKFZ through their presentation by the philosopher Peter McLaughlin, who made scientific background. I am looking forward to the next meet- the attending scientists think twice about why they work the ing in two years. way they work. Konstanze Lenhard

The meeting alternated lectures with “Meet the Experts” ses- sions, which provided an excellent opportunity to get to know the biographies of a number of young leading scientists and

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Encouraginggeneral Signal for Continuity assembly After this year’s General Assembly the Alumni Association Deutsches most probably continue to increase in the future. The Board, Krebsforschungszentrum e.V. faces the future with a newly elected therefore, suggested to take advantage of §12 Section 4 of the Board. Expressing special gratitude to Prof. Peter Bannasch the Association’s Constitution and elect supporting members of Association at the same time welcomed the new Chairman of the the Board, namely Prof. Gerhard van Kaick (Co-ordinator of Board Prof. Dietrich Keppler. the regional Alumni Club and special social activities of the DKFZ for guest researchers for many years) and Prof. Wolfhard The General Assembly of Alumni Deutsches Krebsforschungs- Semmler (particularly experienced in organizing various in- zentrum Heidelberg e.V. convened on June 19, 2010 in connec- ternational affairs of the DKFZ). Both candidates were elected tion with the 4th General Alumni Meeting upon invitation by and accepted their office. Right after the General Assembly, the the Board (Newsletter 2/2009). Under the experienced Chair of members of the newly constituted Board elected Prof. Dietrich Prof. Peter Bannasch, the meeting paved the way for a well or- Keppler as Chairman. ganized future of the Alumni Association. At the end of the General As- As emphasized by the Chairman in the preceding General As- sembly Prof. Otmar Wiestler sembly in 2008, it had been an important objective to render expressed his gratitude to Prof. possible the Board’s timely renewal. Due to intensive searches Peter Bannasch, the leaving during the past two years the Board finally was able to present Chairman, for his dedication – in agreement with the Association’s Advisory Council – Prof. to building-up and running Dietrich Keppler as candidate to replace Prof. Peter Bannasch, the Association since its foun- who did not run for a new term of office. dation. Wiestler recalled that the Association had met some Peter Bannasch introduced Prof. Dietrich Keppler as a long- scepticism in its beginning. standing member of the Alumni Association. As former Head However, thanks to the crea- of the Division of Tumor Biochemistry at the DKFZ and Pro- tion of the informative and Prof. Peter Bannasch fessor of Tumor Biochemistry at the Medical Faculty of the well illustrated Newsletter, University of Heidelberg, Keppler is well acquainted with all and the most efficient organization of numerous international relevant affairs of our Association, of the DKFZ, and of the Uni- and regional events by Peter Bannasch and the other members versity of Heidelberg. Hence, the Chairman considered him to of the Board, the Association has been broadly accepted and be a highly qualified candidate as his successor. Prof. Dietrich highly appreciated in the meantime, Wiestler said. Last, but Keppler was elected unanimously by secret ballot, and he ac- not least, Wiestler referred to the enormous efforts Prof. Peter cepted to be a member of the Board. Bannasch has spent to gain new members: During the last two years the number of inscribed members of the Association has Elfriede Mang (Secretary) and Dr Konrad Buschbeck (Treas- grown from about 250 to more than 350. This laudation was urer) continue their membership in the Board for another four unanimously affirmed by the members of the General Assem- years with the full support of the General Assembly. Together bly with a warm and strong applause. with Prof. Otmar Wiestler, Chairman and Scientific Member of the DKFZ Management Board, as ex-officio member, Prof. The detailed minutes of the General Assembly together with Dietrich Keppler, Dr Konrad Buschbeck and Elfriede Mang now the annexed report on the Board’s Activities in 2008/2009 by constitute the Board. Prof. Peter Bannasch and the report by the Treasurer may be found on the Association’s Homepage: www.dkfz.de/alumni On the basis of his detailed report on activities in 2008/2009 Prof. Peter Bannasch made clear to the assembly that the Konrad Buschbeck Board’s workload has steadily grown in the past years and will

Professor Dietrich Keppler

Dietrich Keppler studied medicine at the Universities of Munich and Freiburg, Germany, before he joined the Biochemistry Department of the Faculty of Medicine in Freiburg. After a research period in the USA and in Freiburg, he became Full Professor of Tumor Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine of Heidelberg University and Head of the Division of Tumor Biochemistry of the DKFZ in 1987.

The scientific work of Prof. Keppler includes discoveries on transport of endogenous compounds and drugs across cellular membranes, the elucidation of the function of several multidrug resistance proteins of the ABCC family, and cloning and characterization of human uptake transporters for organic anions. He has also been a pioneer in the generation of multiple-transfected polarized cells used as model systems for vectorial transport and as tools in drug development. Currently Keppler serves as a member of the International Transporter Consor- tium providing guidelines for the role of membrane transporters in drug development

Prof. Keppler has received numerous awards including the Heinrich Wieland Prize for research on metabolism and analysis of leukotrienes (1987), the Nagai Foundation Tokyo Award for achievements in medical and pharmaceutical sciences (2002), and the Lucie Bolte Award of the German Association for the Study of the Liver for achievements in research on liver diseases (2004).

10

1/2010 Of Solarexcursion Boats, Funicular Railways and Wild Boar Roast The excursions to sites of beauty in and around Heidelberg have become an inher- ent part of the General Meetings of the Alumni Association. Especially for those from abroad it is sort of a “must” to ex- plore the romantic Neckar town and to get a taste of local food and beverages.

Enjoying a pleasant cruise on the Solar Boat Sharing a good time during the walk from the After arrival at the “Alter Kohlhof” a delicious (from left): Dr Lukasz Michalecki, Elfriede Mang Königstuhl to the Alter Kohlhof: Members of the meal of wild boar roast awaited the guests of and Serpil Tanriverdi-Akhisaroglu with her child. Polish group including Prof. Boguslaw Macie- the Alumni Association. jewski (second left) and Prof. Piotr Widlak (left)

The 2010 General Alumni Meeting came and more precisely named Carl Theodor For many of the participants, the highlight to an end with a traditional highlight Bridge). of the afternoon started when wild boar of the social activities: The cruise on a from the grill was served together with lo- solar boat on the Neckar river. A large From there the traditional two-section cal beer. Good conversations continued and group of alumni and friends from many funicular railway brought the group to the plans were discussed for future collabora- countries, among them a strong group hill-site known as Königstuhl with a fan- tions and meetings. from Poland, enjoyed the conversations tastic view of Heidelberg and the Neckar Dietrich Keppler and the views of the old buildings in the valley. Hiking from the Königstuhl to the center of Heidelberg and along the river rural inn “Alter Kohlhof” was a perfect together with the explanations given by means to promote conversation and our special guide Dr Dietrich Bahls. The interaction among alumni and between boat trip ended near the Old Bridge (orig- alumni and present members of the Can- inally constructed in the years 1786 to 88 cer Research Center.

11 In thecooperation Mood for Science and Socializing in Gliwice... Planning scientific collaboration is fre- During the day, most of the time was ing and watching the performance of quently a difficult endeavour and not spent with scientific presentations and a local dancing chorus, for example. always successful. Rather than to define discussions. There was a lot of inter- These occasions formed another basis of areas of common interest top-down, an est in the talks and posters, which also communication and thus deepened per- initiative of researchers from institutes included work of local students. In ad- sonal relations, which is critical for good in Gliwice, Poland, and from DKFZ merely dition, there were scientists who came scientific collaboration, of course. Inci- aimed at bringing scientists in contact, to the workshop from Warsaw and else- dents such as the repeated short-term with the intention to find, define and form where in Poland, highlighting the sci- disappearance of one member of the partnerships that fit their individual scien- entific quality and attractiveness of the DKFZ group, who clearly felt at home in tific interests in a bottom-up approach. program. Apart from the DKFZ and Pol- Gliwice, developed into a running gag, ish researchers, also scientists from oth- first within the DKFZ party and then As a follow-up to a first such get-to- er countries, such as the Ukraine, the UK between all colleagues, improving the gether in Heidelberg in 2008, a group of and the USA, had been invited to pres- overall mood considerably. In short, also DKFZ scientists involved in epidemio- ent their results and views. Altogether the human aspect was well covered dur- logical and functional aspects of cancer this produced an atmosphere that fos- ing the workshop. research travelled to Gliwice in Novem- tered a fruitful exchange of recent find- ber 2009 to participate in a workshop, ings as well as new ideas and hypoth- In consequence of all the above, the par- which was organized as part of a wider eses. Areas of common interest were ticipants were in full agreement that meeting on similar scientific issues. identified during the process, which led the bilateral visits should continue in to one collaborative effort, with another the current alternating format and pos- Gliwice – formerly known as Gleiwitz – now under discussion. sibly be widened in terms of geography is located in the south of Poland. As ex- and the scientific issues covered, for the pected, the delegation was welcomed Next to workshop presentations, there good of Polish-German friendship and and treated with marvellous hospitality was also time for contacts beyond particular scientific exchange and col- and had a good time both scientifically purely scientific issues, particularly in laboration. and personally. the evenings, including some sightsee- Jörg Hoheisel ...as well as in Heidelberg

On June 17, 2010, right before the 4th General The scientific program consisted of two genetics and genomics in the prediction Alumni Meeting, a Polish delegation of sessions prepared and co-chaired by of the outcome the therapy. The work- 26 participants revisited Heidelberg: Here, Aurelio Teleman and Wolfgang Schlegel shop participants greatly appreciated at the DKFZ, the 3rd Polish-German Cancer (both from Heidelberg) as well as Piotr support from the DKFZ, and were in- Workshop took place. Experts mostly from Widlak and Rafal Tarnawski (both from debted to Prof. Peter Bannasch, Elfriede the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Gliwice): The first focused on Cell and Mang and Dr Jana Grünewald for their Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Tumor Biology, the second one reviewed perfect organization of the meeting. Gliwice, who co-organized the workshop, Radiobiology, Radiooncology and Radio- met with their German partners to discuss therapy Physics. 11 talks were presented The next bilateral Workshop, scheduled current issues in cancer research. by Polish participants, with another for November 18, 2011, in Gliwice, will 14 presentations given by the German again focus on two topics: “Genomics The opening remarks by Prof. Otmar hosts. and Proteomics in Discovery and Valida- D. Wiestler, Chairman and Scientific tion of Cancer Markers”, and, secondly, Member of the DKFZ Management The workshop participants were also in- “Functional Cell Imaging”. Board, and Prof. Boguslaw Maciejewski, vited to visit the Heidelberg Ion Therapy Piotr Widlak Director of the Cancer Center in Gliwice, center (HIT). Several possible topics for dealt with the power of molecular and bilateral projects were discussed in de- In addition to the scientific sessions many Polish researchers took the opportunity to visit the cellular biology for translation into can- tail, including molecular imaging and Heavy Ion Therapy center (left) , but they also cer medicine. radiotherapy of brain tumors as well as enjoyed an excursion to the hills of Heidelberg.

12 1/2010

India’s Researchers Welcome Nobel Laureate zur Hausen byvisit Maqsood Siddiqi Having received the Nobel Prize in Medi- cine in 2008, Prof. Harald zur Hausen fol- lowed an invitation of the Cancer Foun- dation of India (CFI), Kolkata. The most awaited visit during December 2-4, 2009, represented a landmark event for the CFI as well as for Indo-German scientific co- operation. At the same time it provided an unprecedented opportunity for his nu- merous admirers and DKFZ alumni in the country to meet the Nobel Laureate.

The official program of Prof. zur Hau- sen’s visit began with an interactive session with school children at the Birla Institute of Science & Technology Mu- seum. The purpose of this meeting was to promote science education among Meeting school children at the Birla Institute of Science & Technology Museum young students and to provide them with the unique opportunity to meet a the opportunity for scientific exchange the participants expressed their views Nobel Laureate face to face. with the Nobel laureate. on the plans and strategies to control cervical cancer in the country. A poster Afterwards, zur Hausen visited the late During his visit, Prof. zur Hausen deliv- competition by young scientists on re- Mother Teresa’s House where he was ered the 1st Foundation Lecture of the cent research on cervical cancer in India welcomed by the Senior Nuns of the Cancer Foundation of India on “The concluded the symposium. Zur Hausen Missionaries of Charity. As a mark of search for infectious agents in human took an active part in the scientific dis- respect he lit a candle at the Mother’s cancers: a continuous challenge” to an cussions and presented his viewpoint Memorial. “A moving experience”, as he audience of nearly 500 invited guests, on cervical cancer control in India. remarked soon afterwards. among them a number of DKFZ alumni and cancer researchers from all over In- On the last day Prof. zur Hausen met At the famous Press Club of Kolkata, dia. Beside different forms of infections the Chief Minister of the state of West Prof. zur Hausen faced questions on crucial to the formation of human can- Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Dr the efficacy of the HPV vaccine in the cers, zur Hausen forecast that many more Heinz Wirth, Counselor Science & Tech- prevention of cervical cancer and af- infectious agents need to be investigated nology of the German Embassy in New fordability of the drug in developing or for their role in human cancers. Delhi, Prof. Maqsood Siddiqi, CFI, and Dr low to medium resource countries. More Surjya Kanta Mishra, Health Minister than hundred journalists from national A one-day National Symposium with of West Bengal, also participated in the and international press and television speakers from science and industry discussions on initiating cervical cancer attended the press conference. focused on Cervical Cancer Control in screening in the state. A dinner in honor India. Prof. zur Hausen delivered the of Prof. zur Hausen hosted by Klaus The tight program also took the virolo- keynote address on “Papilloma viruses Tesch, Deputy Consul General of Ger- gist to the Educational Multimedia Re- in human cancers: from basic research many in Kolkata, concluded the Nobel search Center. There, a TV interview was to preventive vaccines”. Two sessions Laureate’s visit. recorded for a national broadcast for stu- on screening, epidemiology and man- dents in India. Later, at the Bose Institute, agement of cervical cancer and on HPV Prof. Maqsood Siddiqi is Chairman a premier scientific research institute of infection and preventive vaccines were of the Cancer Foundation of India India, students and scientific staff got followed by a panel discussion in which and an alumnus of the DKFZ Maqsood Siddiqi (left) and the Health Minister Lighting a candle at the Mothher Teresa’s House The virologist visiting the Bose institute, a of West Bengal at the Cervical Cancer Symposium was “A moving experience” premier scientific research institute of India

13 Science and Soccer along the Neckar River Banks report by Jean Grisouard When you are a student, you might wish to finish your studies as fast as possible. Later on, you will probably think that this time was too short and should have lasted longer. This is exactly what I ex- perienced in terms of my PhD thesis in a most stimulating research environment at lovely Heidelberg.

Life always runs forward inexorably. not blessed with their writing skills... this “patchwork family” from so many Almost three years have passed since I Its surrounding landscape of renowned nationalities, I felt at home and was able have left Heidelberg after having suc- beauty is worth visits, too: the Oden- to overcome the inevitable doubts and cessfully achieved my PhD degree. Thus, wald hills following the River Neckar frustration, finally reaching my aim. it is a great pleasure to write down upstream passing the picturesque some thoughts about my exciting time villages of Neckarsteinach, Dilsberg, Receiving the PhD degree in Heidelberg at the Reseach Group Hormones and ; turning to the opposite di- represents the ultimate step of my stu- Signal Transduction of the German rection you will come across the cities dent life. Equipped with a sound back- Cancer Research Center. First, I would Schwetzingen and Speyer. If you don’t ground, I am now well-prepared to build like to express my gratitude to all the want to cycle so far, have a look up the up my professional career. Even if these former group members for the nice and hills of Heidelberg like Heiligenberg, three PhD years were over much too inspiring atmosphere in the lab and the Königsstuhl, and Bierhelderhof. More- fast, I will never forget this marvellous unforgettable years we spent together. over, all the gardens in the districts of student life and party time along the With their help, I could demonstrate Handschuhsheim and Rohrbach show Neckar river banks. that glycogen synthase kinase-3 is re- a peaceful rural ambience amidst the quired for estradiol-induced estrogen town. receptor-alpha (ERα) transcriptional activity and that this newly described I really enjoyed Heidelberg life among signalling pathway plays an important all the students and postdocs from the role in the proliferation of ERα positive cancer center and happily spent my breast cancer cell lines. leisure time together with the players of the TSG Rohrbach soccer club. The To a scientist, Heidelberg offers quite a combination of both represented a very stimulating environment: The old town entertaining melting pot and the op- with the historical University consti- timal environment to exchange ideas, tutes the cornerstone for the new home to discuss different points of view, to of biomedical research “Im Neuen- learn about other cultures heimer Feld” and the DKFZ. Along with and thereby enrich my life other prestigious institutes nearby, it and personality. Thanks to provides with new perspectives, keeping both the traditions alive and the future Dr Jean Grisouard is a former member of the Research Group Hormones and bright for this unique location. Signal Transduction. The Frenchman studied Applied Biology at the University Institute of Technology in Dijon, France. Gathering work experience took him to the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Dijon, and In addition, the location of Heidelberg later on to the Oncology-Pharmacology unit of the Swiss company Novartis in City itself is already quite attractive: Basel. After finishing The Nottingham Trent University (TNTU) in England with a very pleasant place to spend a B.Sc. in Physiology and Pharmacology, Jean Grisouard came to Heidelberg for holidays and a historical venue his PhD thesis, conducted under supervision of Prof. Doris Mayer. The “summa that piqued my curiosity. The cum laude” degree in 2007 was a decisive step which gave him the opportunity to take the position of a Research Project Leader of the Metabolism group at the guided tour through Heidelberg Department of Biomedicine of the University Hospital Basel. In his current work organized by the DKFZ Alumni in Switzerland the 28-year old biologist investigates the role of metformin and Association stays a privileged AMPK in inflammation, glucose and lipid metabolism in human adipocytes. moment, enabling me to fur- ther guide my relatives and friends and to share with them my feelings of well- being. This town has been a source of inspiration for many po- ets, and so it was for me – yet, I am

14 1/2010 After the DKFZ the World is Your Oyster farby Malcolm east Moore This report offers not only a history of the act as coordinator and managing edi- The UICC-ARO has offices in Bangkok origins of the Asian Pacific Organization tor only until it got off the ground. That and Tokyo and wherever I happen to be for Cancer Prevention and the Asian proved a little optimistic and it is only at the time. While trying to contribute Regional Office of the UICC, but also can now starting to take wings. However, to the worldwide efforts of the UICC in be regarded as the Asian tale of a guy helping to produce meeting programs awareness and advocacy, I have stressed from North-East England who committed I have had the pleasure of very many provision of training courses in “Use of himself deeply to promotion of cancer pre- enjoyable close face-to-face contacts. Scientific English” and building networks. vention in the Far East. As “publisher of the APJCP”, there have One for cancer registration and epide- been a number of daunting challenges, miological assessment is evidenced by One of the Alumni members who great- but with a lot of help from many friends the recently published Asian Cancer ly enjoyed a number of years working we are still afloat. With no-one else Epidemiology APJCP Supplement, freely with Peter Bannasch in the Division quite foolhardy enough to offer to take downloadable, with all the other pub- Cell Pathology, I met a Japanese profes- over from Kazuo Tajima, our first Chief lications in the journal, from the www. sor during our stay in Heidelberg and Editor, the job landed on my desk. The apocp.org website. glibly accepted an invitation to spend moral of the story – if you are going my next post-doc period in Japan. A life- to realize a dream, get ready for a long It has been a long road since those first changing decision indeed, and what was haul. three years as a post-doc with Peter meant to be a two year visit to the land Bannasch in the DKFZ and I can only of the rising sun soon stretched into a However, the APOCP and APJCP have say that I am very thankful that fortune very much longer-term commitment. indeed been blessed with good fortune pointed me in his direction at the very in support received. The group of Dr beginning of my research career. His Years of active research rolled by until Nobuyuki Ito, who is also an alumnus again fate took a hand and I happened of Peter Bannasch’s Division at DKFZ, to come across the European Journal deserves especial mention, as does Dr of Cancer Prevention during one of my Tomoyuki Kitagawa of the JFCR Cancer visits to the DKFZ. Impressed by its pan Institute, a close personal pathologist European commitment and foolhardy friend of Peter. I have also been lucky as always, I began to wonder whether I in having an essential epidemiology should try to establish the same in Asia. comrade-in-arms in Kazuo Tajima of the Epidemiology, education, toxicological Aichi Cancer Center, always ready for a pathology and screening all rolled into well lubricated discussion. At least, the one – a fit challenge for the 21st century. gods must have been moved, because To cut a very long story short, my career they then again smiled down on our abruptly changed direction and after endeavours in the guise of a change in publication of an “Introduction to Can- the policy of the International Union cer Prevention in Tables and Figures” in Against Cancer (UICC): The reorganiza- 1999, the Asian Pacific Organization for tion stimulated Tomoyuki Kitagawa, Cancer Prevention (APOCP) was born at Chair of the Japanese National UICC the beginning of 2000, together with Committee, to persuade the “powers the first issue of the Asian Pacific Jour- that be” to establish an Asian Regional nal of Cancer Prevention (APJCP). Office (ARO) for the UICC. His tireless ef- friendship and collegial guidance, which forts mean that I am now gainfully em- put me in such good stead for the tasks From the very beginning the idea was ployed as its so-called head (or should I that fate had lined up for me in Asia, for an ever-expanding group of scientists say general dogsbody?). Its main focus continue to be very greatly appreciated. to work together and at the same time has been regular publication of the enjoy exploring Asia. With the founding APJCP as a service to the Asian scien- I also wish to express my thanks for all Conference in Pattaya, Thailand, bi-year- tific community, while also financially of the fruitful efforts that he has invest- ly APOCP General Assembly Conferences supporting participation by delegates ed for the sake of the Alumni Associa- in Nagoya, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing and from across the “region” in meetings. tion of the DKFZ. I hope that his contin- Istanbul, and the next planned for Kuch- Published bimonthly as an all electronic ued involvement will mean that we will ing, in Sarawak, in 2012, this part of the journal, saving on trees with around 50 still be able to regularly meet, far into world certainly gives abundant opportu- papers per issue, the APJCP is cited on the future. nity to get around! Not to mention the PubMed/Medline and Science Citation numerous smaller get-togethers in less Index (Expanded), with an Impact Factor Beside his many activities at the APJCP well known centers outside the capitals. of just over 1.1. Low you might say, but and the UICC-ARO, Malcolm Moore has after all with Asia you need a very posi- also supported the Alumni Association in The original idea was that I, as the only tive editorial policy – hopefully a base to the language editing of this newsletter native English-speaker involved, should build on in the future. since the very first issue.

15 people Appointments Awards to DKFZ Scientists Prof. Heinz Schlemmer, alumnus of the DKFZ, returned to Heidelberg from Tü- bingen to become Head of the Division of Radiology.

After 17 Years at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, USA, Prof. Cornelia Ulrich returned to Germa- ny to become Head of the new Division of Preventive Oncology at DKFZ, where she holds an Excellence Professorship. Together with Prof. Christof von Kalle, Prof. Dirk Jäger, Prof. Jürgen Debus, Prof. Peter Krammer and Prof. Wolfgang Wick she belongs to the Board of Directors of the National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg (NCT). Once again, the Heidelberg team led by prize with their project “spybricks” and Prof. Magnus von Knebel-Doeberitz’s Prof. Roland Eils, Head of the Division of was also awarded for the best internet Research Group “Gene Therapy of Tu- Theoretical Bioinformatics, was success- presentation and the best technical mors” has been promoted to a clinical ful in iGEM (International Competition standards in the competition 2009. The cooperation unit titled “Applied Tumor of Genetically Engineered Machines) team’s work focused on the develop- Biology”. held at the Massachusetts Institute of ment of synthetic mammalian promot- Technology in Boston. Out of 110 appli- ers along with bioinformatical predic- Prof. Bruce Edgar was appointed Head cations, Heidelberg won the second tion models. of the joint Division of Cell Growth and Proliferation of the DKFZ and the Center of Molecular Biology Heidelberg (ZMBH).

Prof. Christof Niehrs, Head of the Divi- sion Molecular Embryology of the DKFZ, was appointed founding director of a new Institute on Molecular Biology in . The Institute is funded for the next ten years by the Boehringer Ingel- heim Foundation. Niehrs will continue his research at DKFZ.

Retirements

Prof. Lutz Edler, Head of the Division Prof. Hermann Brenner, Head of the the Burda Foundation acknowledges a of Biostatistics, retired on February 28, Division of Clinical Epidemiology and project on early detection of colon can- 2010. Aging Research, and two of his group cer during which the prognostic value members, Dr Ulrike Haug and Sabrina of different excrement assays was as- Prof. Bernard Mechler, Head of the Divi- Hundt, are the winners of the Felix sessed. sion of Developmental Genetics, also re- Burda Award in the field of Medical Pre- tired at the end of February 2010. vention. With the prize of 10,000 Euros

16 1/2010 Awardspeople to DKFZ Scientists

Prof. Stefan Hell was awarded the Otto- Philipp Kulozik, Division of Molecular Dr Kerstin Schmidt, Clinical Coopera- Hahn-Prize of 50,000 Euros for the de- Metablic Control, is this year’s winner of tion Unit Nuclear Medicine, was hon- velopment of STED microscopy which al- the Novartis Prize for young researchers ored with the Ruprecht-Karls-Prize 2009 lows the visualization of nano structures in endocrinology. The junior scientist for her outstanding medical PhD thesis with light microscopy. His Research unravelled a mechanism leading to fatty on “Functional and molecular effects of Group at the DKFZ “High Resolution Op- liver in patients with diabetes or obesity. the transfer of anti-angiogenesis genes tical Microscopy” has been promoted to He received the award endowed with in rat hepatoma”. The University of Hei- a Division, titled “Optical Nanoscopy”. 10,000 Euros together with another delberg annually dedicates the prize to Hell is also Director of the Department outstanding research team during the PhD students of five different research of NanoBiophotonics at the Max Planck annual symposium of the German Asso- fields. Each award is endowed with Insititute for Biophysical Chemistry in ciation for Endocrinology. 5,000 Euros. Göttingen.

Dr Sven Diederichs, Head of the Helm- Dr Stefan Herzig, Head of the Division Dr Hendrik Witt, Division of Molecular holtz University Young Investigator’s Molecular Metabolic Control, received a Genetics, received the AACR-Glaxo- Group Molecular RNA Biology and Can- research award of the German Society SmithKline Outstanding Scholar Award. cer, was honored with the Karl-Freu- of Adiposity for his investigations on With this prize of 4,000 US-Dollars the denberg Prize 2010 for his work on the molecular triggers causing diabetes or American Association for Cancer Re- influence of non-coding RNA on tumor adipohepatic syndrome. The prize is en- search acknowledges Witt’s work on bio- biology. The company Freudenberg in dowed with 5,000 Euros. markers enabling targeted therapy of Weinheim supports his excellent re- certain childhood brain tumors. search with 6,000 Euros.

Nico Zinn, Core Facility Molecular Struc- Dr Lena Maier-Hein, Division of Medi- Dominik Sturm, Division of Molecu- ture Analysis, was honored with the cal and Biological Informatics, is one of lar Genetics, received the Award for Applied Biosystems-SCIEX LC/MS Prize the awardees of a prize dedicated bian- “Excellence in Pedriatic Translational of the German Association for Mass nually to outstanding young female Research” of the American Society of Spectrometry. The award of 3,000 Eu- researchers in natural sciences. With the Neurooncology. The prize of 2,000 US- ros acknowledges developments in the distinction of 3,000 Euros the Ingrid-zu- Dollars acknowledges the PhD student’s combination of liquid chromatography Solms-Foundation honors the develop- investigations on molecular mecha- (LC) with mass spectrometry (MS). ment of a computer-based device for the nisms leading to the development of treatment of metastases in the liver. childhood brain tumors.

17 people Awards to Alumni Special Honors

PD Dr Marc-André Weber, former mem- Bärbel Brumme-Bothe, Head of the A special distinction was dedicated to ber of the Division of Radiology at DKFZ Directorate-General Life Sciences – Re- Prof. Ingrid Grummt, Head of the Divi- and now senior physician at the Univer- search for Health at the Federal Ministry sion of Molecular Biology of the Cell II, sity Hospital Heidelberg, was awarded for Education and Research, has become by the European Molecular Biology the Eva Luise Köhler Research Prize on chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Organization (EMBO) and the Federa- Rare Diseases. The distinction which the DKFZ. tion of European Biochemical Sciences he shares with Karin Jurkat-Rott, Uni- (FEBS): Representing a new generation versity Hospital Ulm, is endowed with of sucessful female researchers the 50,000 Euros. It acknowledges improve- expert on gene regulation received the ment of therapy for a hereditary muscle “Women in Science Award 2010” en- disease. dowed with 10,000 Euros.

Dr Jutta Groos, former Member of the Prof. Harald Herrmann-Lerdon, Divi- Prof. Peter Krammer, Head of the Di- Division of Biostatistics and currently sion of Molecular Genetics, has been vision of Immunogenetics, has been working for the company Merck, was elected new president of the German elected member of the Heidelberg awarded the Gustav-Adolf-Lienert-Prize Society for Cell Biology. Academy of Sciences. 2010 of 1,500 Euros by the German Di- vision of the International Society on Biostatistics. She examined mechanisms of development and progression of pre- neoplastic liver lesions. Jutta Groos has been appointed Profes- sor of Mathematics for Engineers in the Department of Basic Sciences at the Uni- versity of Applied Sciences in Esslingen. She will start teaching on September 1, 2010.

18 1/2010 Space Agency, Automobile History and Ancient Settlements excursion by Serpil Tanriverdi-Akhisaroglu A promising day, highlighting technologi- from a wide variety of scientific disci- “civitas ulipa sueborum nicrensium” and cal developments as well as evidence of plines. The ESA operates 11 missions in finally developed into a capital of the Ro- ancient architecture, awaited our group of the field of interplanetary and earth ob- man Province. about 35 scientists from different countries servation, astronomy and physics. Space like Turkey, China, Russia, Romania, Iran crafts for eight further missions are cur- Also situated in is the “Auto- and India, when we started for a trip to rently in preparation. The core activities museum Dr. Carl Benz”, where our and Ladenburg. of ESOC are operating and controlling guides were already waiting for us. Here, space craft including actual flight con- we were taken back to the time when Leaving the DKFZ main building in trol, flight dynamics, telecommanding the construction engineer Benz inven- the morning, our first destination was and data receipt via ground stations. ted the motor car, in 1885. We were the European Space Operations Center surrounded by the flair that Carl Benz (ESOC), which is part of the the European After our visit we were happy to hear probably experienced during these days. Space Agency (ESA). During work we that our lunch had been planned in ad- He built the car in Mannheim but for its are all interested in questions that take vance: Our trip took us to a more than trials he often drove to Ladenburg. Here,

place on earth, therefore we were very 150 years old brewery and res- he had acquired property – excited about the opportunity to have a taurant, the Braustübl – mother today Dr Carl Benz-Platz. He look at what was going on in space. of all restaurants in Darmstadt. founded the family company When we arrived at the ESOC we had There, we had a very delicious, “C. Benz and sons” right at the to be registered with our passports at traditional lunch with some different square where the museum now the entrance and received visitor cards. beers in a relaxing atmosphere. has found its home. Then the guided tour was ready to start. “A tous, de DDO – attention pour Later on we had a bus ride to Ladenburg, To discover Ladenburg we first walked le décompte final!” These words are to a town on the right bank of the Neckar, along most of the length of the wall the European Space Operations Center 10 km east of Mannheim, and 10 km ruins of the old roman town and then what “Lights! Camera! Action!” means northwest of Heidelberg. Its old town is made our way through the heart of the to a filmmaker, we learned from our dominated by architecture from the late old city. Especially on the market place guide. Seconds after separation from the , but the city’s history dates we got an impression of how the mer- launcher – the most exciting moment back to Celtic and Roman ages. The Celts chandisers traded their goods and how of the whole mission – the spacecraft were the first to settle here about 3000 the local people used to live. It was easy is passed into the responsibility of the years BC. In the south-west of the town to see that Ladenburg’s residents were staff and contractors at the ESOC. Our the remnants of a Celtic fortification proud of their beautiful and well kept guide told us a lot more things about (hill fort) were found. It was a sanctuary houses. In the photos we took, we tried the ESOC and its missions. The center as well as a military and civil place. The to capture how picturesque this area is. was inaugurated in Darmstadt in 1967 settlers called it “Lokwodunom”, which Ladenburg turned out to be a stunning to provide satellite control for the ESA, means “castle on the water”. From 200 and beautiful place. that means placing satellites into orbit BC the Celts left the region chased by the for scientific research and applications Suebs, who had migrated from the north We enjoyed the end of the tour at a café such as weather forecasting, telecom- of Germany. When the Romans invaded at the market place, a place perfect for munications, TV and resource manage- the country, they accepted the Suebs as recreation while watching the daily hus- ment. The past decades have proven settlers and made them their auxiliaries tle and bustle in Ladenburg. At the end that many activities in space can only be (milices). From 70 AD the Romans began we had a very special day and therefore achieved through international coopera- the construction of a “castellum” and are very grateful to Prof. Peter Bannasch, tion. The ESA represents 18 nationalities established a military base. In 98 AD Prof. Gerhard van Kaick and Elfriede from Europe and comprises specialists the town was proclaimed center of the Mang for their great organizational job.

19 Imprint

Alumni Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg e.V.

Editor-in-chief: Prof. Peter Bannasch

Chairman of the Board: Prof. Dietrich Keppler ([email protected])

Secretary: Elfriede Mang ([email protected])

Im Neuenheimer Feld 280 D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany Phone: +49 (0) 6221 42-4499 Fax: +49 (0) 6221 42-4498 Internet: www.dkfz.de/alumni

Sparkasse Heidelberg, Everyone tried to catch a view of the “end of the world”, a special wall painting at the rear of an arcade. Account number 1000597810 Bank identification code 67250020 From abroad: Travelling back to Baroque Times IBAN: DE31672500201000597810 BIC/SWIFT: SOLADE S1 HDB For those who have been living in Heidel- den with its geometrical style and the berg for more than six months a visit to English garden in natural design. Among Press and Public Relations German Cancer Research Center Schwetzingen castle and gardens is a the many attractions in the garden with in the Helmholtz Association „must“. Therefore, forty guest scientists its avenues, lakes and fountains the tem- of the DKFZ joined the English guided ple of the Apollo, the mosque and the Editing: tour and got an excellent introduction bathhouse are especially worth being Dagmar Anders, Dr Malcolm Moore into history and culture of baroque times. mentioned. One of the finest works of art Layout/Desktop Publishing: in the garden is a of the great Dagmar Anders The palace, once a “hunting castle” of Pan: Sitting on a Images: the Electors of Palatinate, later became small rocky ledge pp. 1 and 11 (left): Wang Shumei; p.2, the principal summer residence and a the god of shep- top and bottom: University Hospital real cultural center. When the French herds plays on his Heidelberg, Medienzentrum; p. 2, mid- king Louis XIV invaded the Palatinate, pipe made of reed. dle: National Center for Tumor Diseases Schwetzingen and the castle were Looking at this Heidelberg; pp.3, 4, 5 (left), 6, 8 (right), 9 burned to the ground. The Elector Johann sculpture you get (left): Jutta Jung, pp. 7 (left) and 10: Armin Wilhelm rebuilt the castle from 1699 to the feeling that you Kübelbeck; p.8 (left): Dagmar Anders; pp. 1715, making use of older walls in order to can really hear his tempting melody. But 5 (right), 7 (right), 9 (right) and 11 (middle reduce the costs. Therefore, the castle is beware! According to legend Pan raped and right): Elfriede Mang; p.11 (bottom) not pure baroque. In 1743 the Elector Carl the nymphs... and 12 (bottom, right): Piotr Widlak; p. 12 Theodor took over the reigns of govern- (bottom, left): Gruner + Jahr; p. 13: Cancer ment starting the “golden age” of Schwet- After a rest in a typical local restaurant Foundation of India; p. 14 (portrait): pri- zingen. After his death in 1799, the riots the trip to Schwetzingen came to an end vate; p. 14: Wikipedia, cue “Heidelberg”; due to the French Revolution destroyed with all participants being highly satis- p. 15: Central Intelligence Agency’s World the way of life of the ancient regime. In fied. Especially a Chinese couple, parents Factbook, USA; p. 16 (top): DKFZ; p. 16 1803 the Palatinate with its residences of a guest scientist, appreciated the (bottom): Felix Burda Foundation; p. 17 of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Schwetz- Schwetzingen tour as they had visited a (except top middle): DKFZ/private; p. 17 ingen fell to the State of Baden. 1924 the German Castle for the first time. On the (top, middle): German Association for En- castle garden was opened to the public. way back the participants were still im- docrinology; p. 18: Deutsche Telekom AG pressed by the baroque way of life – but p. 19 (left): ESA 2002; p. 19 (middle): www. The palace garden is unique in the history also happy to return to the present. automuseum-ladenburg.de, emblem: of European landscape gardening. There wikimedia commons; p. 19 (right): www. are two parts: the French baroque gar- Gerhard van Kaick wikivoyage.org; p. 20: Gerhard van Kaick.

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