The working groups of the research laboratory focus on:

- Inflammation and pancreatic carcinogenesis (in vitro; in vivo transgenic mouse models)

- Pancreatic regeneration and epithelial dedifferentiation

- Molecular subtyping of pancreatic carcinoma

- Organoid models of pancreatic and colorectal carcinoma, in co-operation with the Section for Interdisciplinary Pancreatology of the Department of Internal Medicine 1 and the Institute of Pathology

The working groups in the research laboratory focus in particular on analysing the early dedifferentiation of pancreatic epithelial cells into precursor lesions of pancreatic carcinoma. For this purpose, transgenic mouse models are used in which oncogenes are specifically expressed in the pancreas at certain times. We also use models of pancreatitis induction to induce carcinogenesis. In addition to classical molecular biology and immunohistology, we also use RNA sequencing, lineage tracing (with corresponding in vivo markers), epigenetic analyses, transcriptome analyses and, as an important link, bioinformatic analyses and mathematical modelling. We have also developed various in vitro primary cell culture methods, in particular to better analyse the transdifferentiation from the acinar to a more ductal phenotype as one of the first steps in pancreatic carcinogenesis and also to map it outside the complex and lengthy mouse models