Projects Funding Period 2
In the second funding period from April 2021 to September 2025 13 projects were funded.
Project Cluster 1: Characterization and optimization of apoptosis- and autophagy-modulating natural products and derivatives for the elimination of therapy-resistant tumor cells
- Project 1a: Elimination of chemotherapy-resistant tumors by natural product-induced cell death (Sebastian Wesselborg)
- Project 1b: Characterization of autophagy-modulating natural products and derivatives for the elimination of therapy-resistant tumor cells (Björn Stork)
- Project 1c: Chemoenzymatic synthesis of biaryl-based natural products and their derivatives (Jörg Pietruszka)
Project Cluster 2: Natural product/HDAC inhibitor-mediated modulation of immune responses and cytostatic-induced stress responses for resensitization of therapy-resistant tumors
- Project 2a: Natural product/HDAC inhibitor mediated modulation of cytostatic-induced stress responses (DDR) for resensitization of therapy-resistant tumors (Gerhard Fritz/Matthias Kassack)
- Project 2b: Elucidation of the mechanisms of action of immune-activating HDAC inhibitors and natural products for the development of new therapeutic approaches against chemoresistant tumor cells and bacterial pathogens (Stefanie Scheu)
- Project 2c: Development of histone deacetylase inhibitors with chemosensitizing properties (Thomas Kurz)
- Project 2d: Preclinical development of natural product-based HDAC inhibitors to combat refractory childhood acute leukemia (Sanil Bhatia)
Project Cluster 3: Characterization of the mechanism of action and medicinal chemistry optimization of antimicrobial natural products (chloroflavonin, bisindole and indolo[3,2-a]phenazine)
- Project 3a: Characterization of the mechanism of action of antibiotic natural products against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus (Rainer Kalscheuer)
- Project 3b: Synthesis of meriolin derivatives as apoptosis inducers and bisindoles and indolo[3,2-a]phenazines as novel agents against therapy-resistant infections (Thomas J. J. Müller)
- Project 3c: Identification and characterization of novel agents with antimicrobial activity against apicomplexa and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative rod bacteria (4MRGN) (Klaus Pfeffer)
Project Cluster 4: Nisin as a model system to overcome lantibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens.
- Project 4a: Nisin as a model system to overcome lantibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens and molecular modeling to optimize antitumor and antimicrobial agents (Holger Gohlke)
- Project 4b: The nisin resistance operon from Streptococcus agalactiae as a model system to overcome lantibiotic resistance in bacterial human pathogens (Sander Smits)
- Project 4c: Optimization of antimicrobial lead structures to overcome lantibiotic resistance and labeling of biologically active natural products or natural product derivatives (Holger Stark)