EXC 2180: Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies (iFIT)

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Our Cluster of Excellence teams world-leading expertise in three important areas of cancer research which have so far been largely separated. Their combination promises an unprece-dented level of understanding of tumor biology and the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for tumor diseases. These areas include A) the identification of "functionally instructed molecular therapies" via functional genomics, B) their combination with and further development of advanced immunotherapies and C) the use of multiparametric imaging techniques to guide tumor therapies and to unravel novel classes of therapeutic targets. The iFIT consortium aims to:- functionally identify biological processes in tumors which can be exploited for the development of novel cancer therapies;- explore immunotherapy resistance using functional genomic screening to develop advanced cancer immunotherapies, particularly combinatorial immunotherapies and combinations with molecularly targeted therapies;- advance multiparametric imaging to quantify and temporally resolve key molecular and immunological processes in tumor maintenance, progression and therapy response by using novel methods and biomarkers to unravel novel classes of therapeutic targets;- personalize function-based molecular and immunotherapies and develop combinations there-of through temporally and spatially resolved image guidance.The University of Tübingen provides an ideal environment to conduct the outlined research. As a result of strategic decisions taken in line with the University’s long-term institutional planning, the fields of research involved in iFIT have achieved top positions in international rankings. Besides the recruitment of leading scientists, a unique scientific infrastructure has been established. Our principal investigators have been working closely together within the scope of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Tübingen-Stuttgart, the German Cancer Consortium, several Collaborative Research Center grants (SFBs) and a DFG Research Unit.Building upon scientific excellence and a solid base of proof-of-concept data, our iFIT cluster aims to develop the University of Tübingen into an internationally visible and competitive center for next-generation image-guided and function-based tumor therapies. We will strategically recruit young investigators and professors who will be positioned at the interface of our major research areas, in order to bring interlinked research to an unprecedented level. Thus, iFIT will enable an imaging-based characterization of tumor biology and image-guided therapies to a yet unprecedented level. In the long-term iFIT promises the development of novel and sustainable cancer therapies and, eventually, a significant prognosis improvement for patients with solid tumors.