Group Medova   Tyrosine kinase receptors activate a wide range of different cellular signaling pathways. Physiologically, intact signaling via the MET receptor is indispensable in embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. At the same time, MET dysregulation promotes features clearly associated with tumor growth and progression such as uncontrolled proliferation, angiogenesis, local invasion, and systemic dissemination. Accumulating data suggest that MET signaling may also protect tumor cells from DNA damage, hence relating its aberrant activity to resistance to DNA-damaging agents routinely used in cancer treatment. We have identified a previously unreported phosphorylation site on MET, which can be recognized by DNA damage master kinases and is involved not only in cellular responses towards DNA damage, but also in metastatic processes, cancer cell migration, and anchorage-independent growth. This project aims at dissecting the nature, function, and regulation of this phosphorylation site in oncogenic signaling of the receptor.

Gruppe Reyes  In this project we aim to test the hypothesis that AI-based auto-segmentation technologies can be used for an AI-assisted multi-criteria quality assurance assessment in radiation therapy. The proposed multicriteria evaluation model is expected to provide a more objective review than traditional approaches, while at the same time focussing on clinically relevant radiotherapy aspects. The proposed Automated QUality Assurance in RadioTherapy (AQUA-RT) framework has the potential to increase consistency, improve delineation quality and reduce workload for routinely challenging quality assurance procedures.