When cancer patients suffer a relapse, conventional medications often stop working. In its search of new treatment options, the research team led by Prof. Sina Oppermann works with real tumor samples from patients. In the lab, these samples are used to develop specialized cell models – including small, three-dimensional mini-tumors as well as complex co-cultures consisting of cancer and immune cells. These models are then rapidly tested against more than 100 different drugs, enabling the team to identify which substances the tumor is resistant to – and which may still prove effective.
The analysis is conducted using a special image-based method: “On our microscopy-based platform, we can test the effectiveness of different therapies on patient-derived cancer cells in a very short time,” explains Oppermann. “After treatment with the drugs, the tumor cells are stained with various fluorescent dyes. We then take high-resolution, color-coded images and analyze them to identify the most effective therapy for each individual patient. Combined with additional data on the tumor cells, which we obtain in collaboration with clinical groups, we can use this approach to identify new targeted therapies for cancer patients.”
To understand the basic principle behind Prof. Oppermann’s pharmaceutical research, one need only think of a pedestrian traffic light. Her ultimate goal is to destroy cancer cells. “The different fluorescent dyes make it easy to distinguish between living and dead cells: put simply – red indicates living cells, while a green signal indicates dead cells. The more green cells we see, the more effective the drug was,” she says. If mostly red-fluorescent cells are visible under the microscope, this means the cancer cells have survived – the medication hasn’t worked as hoped, and the search must continue.
A Multitude of Characteristics
The process, however, is far more complex than just red versus green. The team examines hundreds of additional features to identify the unique phenotype of the cancer cells. Every drug leaves its own “fingerprint” on the cells. “We compare how different cells respond to various drugs, but we also compare the drug profiles themselves,” Oppermann explains. Acquiring the core instrument – a high-resolution, automated confocal spinning disk microscope capable of measuring a vast number of parameters at high speed – was a multi-million-euro project. Oppermann successfully secured funding for it through the Rolf M. Schwiete Foundation and is now establishing the platform at the Frankfurt location with support from Georg-Speyer-Haus (GSH).
The platform especially benefits patients who have already faced numerous setbacks in their search for an effective cancer therapy: “These are patients for whom all approved therapies have ultimately failed,” Oppermann explains. “The cancer keeps returning, so they’re considered beyond standard treatment.” In addition to genomic analyses, she and her team try to identify experimental therapies for these patients through functional testing – offering a last ray of hope.
Oppermann’s scientific drive stems from a core question: “Why does a certain therapy work for patient A but not for patient B?” She explains: “Even though we now have many new therapies on the market thanks to genomic insights, treatment responses vary greatly between individuals. That calls for new approaches. We must continue improving cancer therapies – for each individual patient.” That’s why her working group uses functional drug testing directly on patients’ tumor cells. “With our high-throughput platform, we can test over 100 drugs – in varying doses – including approved and new substances, directly on the tumor cells. The resulting data allow us to create individual profiles for each patient, helping us predict both responsiveness and resistance.” The team also integrates this functional data with genetic information (e.g. mutations, gene fusions) and protein alterations.
The goal: identify biomarkers for treatment responses and use them in future clinical trials. To analyze the massive data sets, the Oppermann lab is also developing AI-powered tools. “The more we understand what’s happening inside a patient’s cancer cells, the closer we come to disabling them – and finding the best possible therapy for that patient,” she concludes.
A Lifelong Passion: Pharmacy or Medicine
The desire to help develop new treatments and bring hope to cancer patients has driven Oppermann since school: “Biology and chemistry fascinated me. In 9th grade, I did an internship at a pharmacy – and knew afterward that I wanted to pursue either medicine or pharmacy.” She went on to study pharmacy at Goethe University Frankfurt and has remained closely connected to the field ever since, establishing herself as a clinical pharmaceutical scientist. Her PhD in pharmacology and clinical pharmacy at Philipps University Marburg focused on testing active substances – at the time, targeting neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and strokes.
Her turn toward oncology came during her postdoc. She completed a two-year research stay at the prestigious Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) in Toronto, Canada, which connects experimental research with clinical translation. There, she expanded her expertise in drug testing and developed a microscopy-based, multidimensional platform for testing drugs on leukemia patient cells. A research fellowship brought her back to Germany, where she continued her work on leukemia at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) in Heidelberg. She later expanded her approach to pediatric oncology at the KiTZ/DKFZ in Heidelberg, where she led the group for translational pediatric pharmacology for five years. During that time, she co-founded the COMPASS Consortium (ERA PerMed), where she serves as scientific coordinator. This international collaboration with partners in Finland, the Netherlands, France, and Australia aims to standardize functional drug testing for direct clinical application – a “compass” for new therapies in pediatric oncology. In February 2024, Prof. Oppermann returned to her alma mater as Professor of Clinical Pharmacy.
In addition to her professorship in Pharmacy at Goethe University’s Faculty of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Oppermann heads the Functional Precision Oncology Group at Georg-Speyer-Haus and is affiliated with the Frankfurt Cancer Institute (FCI) – underscoring the importance of her translational research at the intersection of pharmacy and medicine. “Through close collaborations and joint projects, we aim to strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation between our faculty, the Faculty of Medicine and GSH, and to further advance translational cancer research in Frankfurt.
Establishing a Teaching Pharmacy
While still in Heidelberg, she occasionally taught Frankfurt students in pharmacology and clinical pharmacy – and her passion for teaching has only grown since. “I feel responsible for preparing our students not just as pharmaceutical scientists, but also as practicing pharmacists,” she says. Oppermann herself also continues to explore new avenues: in addition to establishing a virtual pharmacy tool (MyDispense), she and her team built a pharmaceutical skills lab – a physical training pharmacy for students in semesters 7 and 8. In this realistic setting, future pharmacists can practice analyzing patient cases for medication errors and drug-related problems and strengthen their communication skills with both patients and doctors. “In addition to enabling students to apply their complex knowledge in a realistic setting, inside the lab they also learn how to communicate across disciplines,” Oppermann emphasizes.
Interdisciplinary work, collaboration, and communication are central to both her teaching and research: “Our interdisciplinary and translational work lies at the intersection of pharmacy and medicine. We work closely with medical colleagues, sourcing tumor samples from biobanks and directly from the operating room. Close coordination with physicians is essential for developing new therapies. Together, we decide which drugs to test, how to develop models, and – most importantly – how to transfer our results back to the clinic and to the patients.” Oppermann plans to expand interdisciplinary tumor boards and launch more cross-faculty collaborative projects. “Since many types of cancer are rare by definition, we must collaborate with other groups to achieve statistically significant results. That’s why we’re not only working locally but also nationally in oncology consortia and internationally – for example with Stockholm, Helsinki, Zurich, and Toronto.”
Stefanie Hense
