The liver performs many key metabolic functions, including the processing and distribution of nutrients. Liver diseases can be caused by infections, such as hepatitis B and C, or by genetic mutations. They can also be triggered by autoimmune reactions or drug toxicity. Increasing rates of obesity in the U.S. have led to a rise in liver disease. Chronic liver failure can be treated by liver transplantation, however, the number of donor organs is limited and more than 1.5 million people worldwide are dying of liver failure each year.
Liver disease is further complicated by the fact that liver cirrhosis represents the most important risk factor for the development of liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is a highly aggressive cancer, which makes it the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
On Tuesday, May 10, 2016, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) in New York, learn about new technology that identifies therapeutic targets for the treatment of liver failure and liver cancer developed by the award-winning Prof. Dr. Lars Zender. The University Hospital Tübingen gastroenterologist and oncologist will discuss the role of academic drug discovery infrastructures for rapidly translating validated therapeutic target structures into clinical applications. He will show an example of a novel and promising drug for the treatment of liver cancer, which entered clinical trials only 13 months after completion of preclinical testing.
Prof. Dr. Zender was the youngest Leibniz Prize recipient in 2014. He has decoded fundamental new mechanisms that enable liver function to be maintained or restored. Prof. Dr. Zender has developed innovative mouse models which allow RNAi-based functional genetic screens to be conducted directly in vivo and has successfully applied this methodology to identify new therapeutic targets to treat liver failure as well as liver cancer. His second main area of research is the role of senescence (cell aging) in the development of cancer.
Prof. Dr. Zender was able to demonstrate that the “activation” of senescence prevents the formation of tumors from premalignant liver cells and thus represents an important protective mechanism. His work in both fields has generated vital contributions to basic research and new possibilities for the development and improvement of treatment methods.
Prof. Dr. Zender began his career working at Hannover Medical School (MHH) in Germany. During his time there, he became involved in research projects on the regulation of cell death in the liver. After completing his doctorate, receiving his license to practice medicine, and working as an assistant physician at MHH, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Scott Lowe at the renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 2004 as a postdoctoral researcher as part of the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) Emmy Noether Programme. After returning to Germany in 2008, he continued his work as a leader of an Emmy Noether and an independent Helmholtz junior research group, turning down several invitations from institutions in Germany and abroad. In 2012, he accepted a call to a full professorship at the University of Tübingen, one of the universities recognized by the German Excellence Initiative.
Prof. Dr. Zender works as a consultant on gastroenterology and gastrointestinal oncology and leads the Research Division of Translational Gastrointestinal Oncology in Tübingen. He has received several awards for his work, most recently the renowned German Cancer Award. Dr. Joann Halpern, Director of the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) in New York, will moderate the discussion.
This Leibniz Lecture will take place on Tuesday, May 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the German Center for Research and Innovation (871 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue, btwn. 48th & 49th Streets).
