Vall d'Hebron Talks by VHIR 'Overcoming therapy resistance and immune evasion with a novel MNK inhibitor'

Speaker: Stefan Hümmer, main researcher Translational Molecular Pathology (VHIR)

Abstract: Therapy resistance remains a main cause of therapeutic failure in cancer treatment. Immunotherapy has opened a new avenue in oncology, but is only effective in a small fraction of patients. Therapy resistance and immune evasion critically rely on the activation of stress response pathways. Those pathways activate the kinases MNK1/2 which uniquely regulate eIF4E. Phosphorylation of eIF4E is associated worse prognosis in several tumors and targeting MNKs has evolved as strategy in oncology. 

CV summary: Stefan Hümmer obtained his PhD in Biology in 1999 from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. During his scientific carrier, he was working at the Max-Planck Institute in Munich (PhD), the Biozentrum in Basel and the PRBB in Barcelona (post-doctoral fellow). After extending his scientific horizon on the work with genetic model organisms, he returned to his longstanding interest in small molecule inhibitors, either as tools to study basic cellular functions, or as potential drug targets. In this regard, his research has resulted in several research publications as first and/or corresponding author and four patent applications. In his function as senior researcher, he is responsible for the research laboratory “Translational Molecular Pathology” of Santiago Ramon y Cajal at VHIR since 2017. He is member of the research network in oncology (CIBER, ICSIII) and is currently hired as postdoctoral researcher for the project MNKImmunoOnco through the research program of “Plan Complementario (IBEC)”.  

Host: Dr. Santiago Ramón y Cajal, head of group Translational Molecular Pathology (VHIR)