Martina Muckenthaler is Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg and group leader of the Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU) at the University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). She conducts research on human iron metabolism and studies what happens at the molecular level in inherited or acquired iron deficiency or iron overload diseases. According to new findings, the accumulation of iron is also associated with a number of chronic lung diseases. At the DZL, Muckenthaler and her team are investigating the molecular mechanisms that lead to the deposition of iron in the lungs and how this affects the development of lung diseases.

For example, she found that patients with non-small cell lung cancer who accumulate iron in the microenvironment of the tumor have a survival advantage over iron-negative patients. Iron could therefore serve as a predictive parameter for the survival of patients with this tumor and be a potential starting point for an anti-cancer therapy. Her research group is also focusing on basic research on how iron affects important lung functions.

With radiation against lung cancer and fibrosis

Professor Uwe Haberkorn is investigating how radioactive molecules can be used to better detect and treat malignant tumors such as lung cancer. He heads the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Heidelberg University Hospital and the Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg. His research group is developing new radiolabeled drugs. To do this, the researchers use rational design, i.e. the targeted design of molecules, and high-throughput methods such as phage and ribosome display with peptide libraries. In addition, Haberkorn's group has been working for years with molecular biological and biotechnological methods to identify chemical substances that bind preferentially to tumors. After successful tests in cell culture and animal models, such ligands can then be brought into clinical application.

Radioactively labeled molecules are used, for example, to visualize activated connective tissue cells in patients with lung tumors using imaging techniques. Based on the findings, the tumor is then assessed and a decision on therapy is made. Haberkorn and his colleagues evaluate the influence of this diagnostic method on the choice of treatment. They are also investigating whether pulmonary fibrosis could be detected and treated at an early stage using this diagnostic method.