Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is now an integral part of the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Although the therapy options have improved significantly for many of those affected, not all patients benefit from antibody-based immunotherapy and relapse in cancer patients in particular is a problem. Therefore, there is a need to further optimize antibody-based therapy strategies and to develop novel, innovative approaches. The Division of Antibody-Based Immunotherapy is dedicated to the task of better understanding the complex mechanisms of action of these therapies and deriving new immunotherapeutic approaches from an improved understanding. In order to achieve this goal, there are close links within the Department of Internal Medicine II, with various institutes on campus and with national and international academic groups as well as the researching pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
One way to improve immunotherapies is to develop new antibodies/antibody derivatives with tailor-made mechanisms of action. In particular, strategies to improve the recruitment and activation of various immune cell populations such as natural killer (NK) cells, T lymphocytes, granulocytes or macrophages, e.g., through novel multifunctional antibody derivatives or so-called Fc engineering are a central focus of our work. In addition, we try using innovative methods, such as phage display, to identify new surface structures on tumor cells (e.g., multiple myeloma) that are suitable as tumor-specific targets for immunotherapy. In addition to strategies for increased activation of the immune system, we also develop antibody-drug conjugates and immunotoxins for various applications in which we use antibodies or antibody derivatives as vehicles to introduce cytotoxic substances into tumor cells or specifically activate them on the tumor (photoimmunotherapy).
As part of the Department of Internal Medicine II, we mainly deal with immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer, especially hematological neoplasms such as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Multiple Myeloma. We bring our established methods / platforms into a variety of cooperations and try to adapt concepts newly developed by us for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and allergies.
Research Focus
development and optimization of new antibodies/antibody derivatives for the therapy of various tumor entities and autoimmune diseases
improving the recruitment and activation of immune cells by antibodies/antibody derivatives, e.g., by Fc engineering
generation of antibodies for cellular immunotherapy
production and characterization of different antibody formats in order to evaluate the optimal design for the most effective tumor therapy
generation of immunotoxins and antibody-drug conjugates
identification of new target structures on tumor cells by phage display
in vivo mouse models to study the effectiveness of new antibodies/antibody derivatives
Division Head
Group Immunotherapy of Multiple Myeloma
Group Antibody-Engineering
Researchers
Alumni
Research Assistants
Dr. rer. nat. Christian Kellner
Dr. rer. nat. Anna Langner (geb. Otte)
Dr. rer. nat. Pia Glorius
Dr. rer. nat. Sahar Mohseni Nodehi
Dr. rer. nat. Sebastian Lutz
Dr. rer. nat. Ammelie Svea Boje
Medical Doctoral Students
Dr. med. Michael Cieker
Dr. med. Malena Buck
Dr. med. Hauke Wilcken
Dr. med. Amir Karimzadeh-Tabrizi
Dr. med. Katarina Julia Diemer
Dr. med. Lea Sellmer
Dr. med. Hannah Teipel
Dr. med. Lea Ebinger
Dr. med. Anca Albici
Dr. med. Klara Eichholz
Dr. med. Sophia Roßkopf
Dr. med. Tim Wirt
Dr. med. Maren Oßwald
Dr. med. Anne Kahrs
Masterstudents
M. Sc. Dominic Grube
M. Sc. Saskia Sternberg
M. Sc. Maliha Syeda Ahmed
M. Sc. Florian Homann
M. Sc. Janine Dilchert
M. Sc. Ata ul Wakeel Ahmad
M. Sc. Jessica Zimmermann
M. Sc. Yara Burmeister