News

New hope for patients with aggressive brain tumors: Innovative GLORIA trial receives award

10/29/2026 |

A team from six university hospitals receives the 2026 German University Medicine Award for a promising treatment approach for glioblastoma.

Aggressive brain tumors such as glioblastoma are among the greatest challenges in medicine. They rapidly invade healthy tissue, are extremely difficult to remove completely through surgery, and often respond poorly to standard treatments. However, an interdisciplinary research team has found a way to target the tumor by disrupting its blood supply. For this innovative approach, the GLORIA trial, led by Professor Dr. Frank A. Giordano (University Medicine Mannheim and DKFZ Hector Cancer Institute), has been awarded the 2026 German University Medicine Award.

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How blood flow regulates liver function

10/05/2026 |

New findings from basic research with potential implications for the treatment of liver diseases.

The liver is organized into distinct zones, each containing liver cells that perform specific functions. The liver's blood vessels play a key role in this functional organization: The endothelial cells lining these vessels send signals to neighboring liver cells that regulate their activity. But how do endothelial cells know which signals to send? Researchers at the Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered a fundamental mechanism: Blood flow and the resulting biomechanical forces determine which signaling programs endothelial cells activate. Through the Wnt signaling pathway, these cells regulate the function of neighboring liver cells. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

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How blood vessels distinguish between growth and inflammation

10/01/2026 |

Blood vessels must fulfill two seemingly contradictory functions in the body: They need to remain stable to ensure blood flow while also responding to injury, disease, and inflammation. Until now, it was not fully understood how blood vessels distinguish between these different states. Researchers at the Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now identified a mechanism that separates these functions: Cleavage of the vascular receptor Tie1 is required for the pro-inflammatory activity of the angiopoietin–Tie signaling pathway, but not for its role in blood vessel growth and maintenance. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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