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Obituary - Dr. Sabine Cerny-Reiterer

The Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology mourns his colleague, Dr. Sabine Cerny-Reiterer, who died unexpectedly and suddenly in late November. Dr. Sabine Cerny-Reiterer has worked as a senior scientist at the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology at the Medical University of Vienna since 2011. Sabine Cerny-Reiterer was not only an outstanding and engaged above-average scientist, who was active in the field of leukemia and stem cell research, but also a popular, well-known and appreciated personality for her many positive character traits.

The Special Research Area (Spezialforschungsbereich SFB) on myeloproliferative neoplasia

The Scientific Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology (LBC ONC) and his team has succeeded in establishing a special research area (SFB), on myeloproliferative neoplasia at the Medical University of Vienna, funded by the National Research Fund FWF. In addition to other renowned institutions, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research (LBI-CR) also participates in the SFB and, together with Prof. Richard Moriggl, who is the vice speaker at the SFB. The new SFB, which started in March 2013, significantly and sustainably strengthens the scientific environment and the cooperation landscape around LBC ONC and the LBI-CR.

The end of ‘immortality’? The LBC ONC team finds new target structures in leukemic stem cells

The team of the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology, in collaboration with an international group, succeeded in discovering a new target structure called BRD4, found on cells with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The inactivation of this molecule can trigger the end of immortality of various leukemic stem cells. First results of this study have been published in Nature (Zuber et al., Nature 2011; 478:524ff).

To encircle the ovarian cancer

In a work published online 2011 in ‘Molecular Cancer Research’, one can read, what the team of professor Grunt discovered within the scope of the ‘Signaling Network Program’ in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology about the interconnection of two signaling pathways important for cancer therapy and more specifically about the target structures in ovarian cancer cells.

Presentation of the latest research results

The Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster contributes to the classification of neoplastic stem cells

How does cancer develop and how do cancer stem cells evolve? These questions have been asked for some time without finding satisfactory answers. In general, the cancerous process is thought to be a lengthy, step-by-step process controlled by many factors. The cancer stem cells are regarded as the primary evil and root of the malignant process. The definition of the cancer stem cells and their precursors, which gradually develop through more and more generations from normal stem cells into initially premalignant and finally completely malignant stem cells (true cancer stem cells), is a far-reaching topic. In Vienna too, various research groups are involved in the evolution of cancer stem cells. The Vienna Cancer Stem Cell Club (VCSCC) and the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology around Professor Dr. Peter Valent (Medical University of Vienna, Department of Medicine I) have dealt with this topic for many years.

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