Researcher Database
Dr. med. Anjali Cremer
Medizinische Klinik II/Abteilung für Hämatologie/Onkologie
Theodor-Stern Kai 7
60590 Frankfurt am Main
Programs
Exploitation of Oncogenic Mechanisms (EOM)
Molecularly Targeted Therapy (MTT)
Summary
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is the second most common leukemia mainly occurring in two patient populations, a) in children under the age of 5 years and b) in adults over the age of 50 years. Although the traditional multiagent chemotherapy regimens induce high complete remission (CR) rates, many adult patients experience relapse of their disease. Despite the breakthrough advances of antibody-based therapies, the overall long-term survival rate for patients with relapsed or refractory ALL, as well as for certain genetic subtypes is still dismal emphasizing the need for novel, targeted treatment strategies. We are interested in dissecting the underlying mechanisms that confer resistance to targeted therapies in patients with acute leukemia.
By applying a multi-omics approach, as well as innovative screening strategies and complementing our results with clinical patient samples and data, our goal is to identify new oncogenic transcriptional networks in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that can be therapeutically exploited. This will ultimately lead to new treatment strategies for patients with this disease.
DKTK Junior Group Leader for Cancer Systems Biology
Single-cell approaches have not only revealed a wide variety of cell states, characterized by cells exhibiting striking differences in their transcriptional profile, but have also illuminated the mechanisms underlying state transitions in health and disease. Cellular plasticity and adaptive state changes have recently emerged as a basis for therapeutic resistance in cancer, and a better understanding of how cell state transitions are regulated is critical to develop therapeutic approaches that can overcome therapy resistance.
Our research focuses on understanding the mechanisms driving non-genetic cellular heterogeneity and therapy resistance in malignancy. Using novel single-cell sequencing approaches, we seek to develop new experimental and computational strategies to define altered cell states in both, cancer and immune cells. Our aim is to leverage a data driven strategy combined with single cell genomics and systems biology to address the challenges posed by heterogeneity in cancer, and to develop new strategies to overcome it, with the aim of translating laboratory-based findings into the clinic.