Christian Issing

Dr. Christian Issing is working at the Farin Lab with head and neck cancer organoids for modelling to investigate subtype-specific therapy responses. Head and neck carcinomas (HNC) represent a highly heterogeneous group of diseases of the upper aerodigestive tract with a poorly predictable and variable therapy outcome. Patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTO) reflect the molecular and phenotypic tumor characteristics providing a major step towards personalized medicine. The established comprehensive biobank of head and neck organoids represents the main clinical subtypes facilitating innovative translational research. Furthermore Prof. Henner Farin and Dr. Christian Issing have established a semi-automated drug screening platform to efficiently and reliably test novel therapeutic approaches. The in vitro responses are correlated with transcriptomic and clinical data to identify specific relevant cancer signatures. To investigate the specific effects of TP53 mutation/ HPV infection in HNC genetically modified organoids are tested using the radio- and chemotherapy screening platform. Issings project provides the basis for a more personalized therapy for head and neck carcinoma, as well as enhancing the basic understanding of specific cancer drivers.

Find out more about the Farin Lab here.