For 2 years the Translational Seed Funding Grant 2023 will support the collaborative project between the Schulte lab at Fyfa and the research team of Prof Matthias Löhr at CLINTEC.
In this project we are combining our preclinical and clinical expertise to explore receptor structure-driven development of novel strategies to target WNT/Frizzled signaling in pancreatic cancer. We will combine novel small molecule compounds targeting Frizzled signaling with disease-relevant cellular models to obtain proof of concept for further compound development.
-I am very happy that the Cancer Research KI network is supporting our project and the initiation of this translational collaboration. The grant is generous and catalyzes essential work at the interface of molecular mechanisms of disease, structural biology, medicinal chemistry and oncology with a vision to develop new treatment options in the long run.
The research in the Schulte lab is focusing on molecular mechanisms of WNT and Frizzled signaling, a signaling network of utmost importance in many forms of cancer. The current project is translational and enables the application of the insights that the group has gained over the last 5-10 years in disease-relevant cell models in collaboration with a renowned clinician scientist who is an expert in pancreas cancer, a devastating disease with far too few treatment options.
