Uni-Tübingen

Start-Up Funding: cGMP signaling in the tumor vasculature (August 2022 to July 2023)

Aims

To decipher the functional role and therapeutic potential of the NO/NO‑GC/cGMP axis in pericytes of the tumor vasculature.

Questions and Methods

cGMP and the tumor vasculature

Career path

Daniel studied biochemistry in Tübingen with a focus on immune response, oncology and cell biology. Among other things, he analyzed the mechanism of neutrophil-mediated pathogen clearance and the molecular mechanism of apoptosis induction. Daniel then moved on to do his PhD in the lab of Robert Feil. Here, his achievements included the establishment of several protocols for the real-time in situ cGMP imaging of various tissues, like the kidney and tumors. In collaboration with other labs, he used his newly-established protocols to analyze how the NO/cGMP pathway can be modulated to improve the renal blood flow, and identified new cell types with functional cGMP signaling in the melanoma tumor microenvironment. Daniel’s postdoc work now aims to resolve the functional relevance of cGMP in these cells of the tumor microenvironment and to identify potential target points for pharmacological intervention. After Daniel's start-up funding ended in summer 2023, he accepted a postdoc position in the lab of Jin Zhang at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).