Our institute focuses on epigenetic mechanisms in diseases. We want to understand the causes and consequences of disrupted epigenomes and find out how to combat them in order to overcome the disease.

Our goal is to understand the epigenetic mechanisms of cancer development, progression and resistance to therapy. We are particularly interested in non-coding genomic regions. It is known that these regions are strongly modified epigenetically during the disease, but it is only marginally known how they contribute to the disease pattern. We want to understand what role they play, how they are activated and how they contribute to stress responses that lead to pathological mechanisms. Based on our findings, we are developing new therapeutic strategies for targeted and easily modulated chemotherapies.