Research in Prof. Lisa Sevenich's "Experimental Neuroonco-Immunology" lab is focused on tumor immunology in brain cancer in particular brain metastasis.
You can read more about her research focus below.
Lisa Sevenich's mission is to provide scientific rationale for novel therapeutic strategies against brain metastasis.
Research in my laboratory is focused on tumor immunology in brain cancer in particular brain metastasis. We identified different disease-associated roles of brain metastasis-associated myeloid and lymphoid populations using multiomics and image-based approaches.
Based on this mechanistic insight, we seek to develop novel immune-targeted therapies for preclinical testing in ex vivo and in vivo models. We put a particular emphasis on strategies that overcome inherent or adaptive resistance mechanisms by modulating immune cell activation states and targeting metabolic pathways in brain metastasis. Such approaches comprise strategies for local immune modulation within the brain metastatic microenvironment as well as systemic approaches e.g. by targeted modification of the microbiome for immune stimulation.
Moreover, we seek to gain mechanistic insight into tumor cell characteristics that allow tumor cells to adopt to the unique tissue environment in the central nervous system. A focus is put on the acquisition of neuronal-like characteristics in brain metastatic cells as a core program of metastatic niche cooption with regard to metabolic and immunological processes.
Our mission is to provide scientific rationale for novel therapeutic strategies against brain metastasis.
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Selected publications
Wolfram A, Arnold V, Moskalchuk A, Romero-Nieto C, Sevenich L 3R-Compliant Murine Ex Vivo Platform for Scalable Brain Cancer Modeling and Drug Screening. bioRxiv 2025 2025.03.03.641148: 10.1101/2025.03.03.641148
Rombach A, Geissler M, Xiao L, (6 co-authors), Sevenich L, (8 co-authors) Czabanka M. Impact of preoperative clinical patient parameters on surgically obtained brain metastasis samples for translational research. Mol Cell Probes. 2025 Dec;84:102055. doi: 10.1016/j.mcp.2025.102055.
Haeusser LA, Becker H, Kuhlburger L, (12 co-authors), Sevenich L, (4 co-authors), Tabatabai, G. Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens identify BCL family members as modulators of response to regorafenib in experimental glioma. Neuro Oncol 2025 27, 916-931. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/noae278.
Zahringer, A., Morgado, I., Erny, D., (26 co-authors) Sevenich L, (2 co-authors), Vinnakota, J.M. AhR activation mitigates graft-versus-host disease of the central nervous system by reducing microglial NF-kappaB signaling. Blood Adv. 2025 doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2024015000.
Salamero-Boix A, Schulz M, Anthes J, (22 co-authors), Sevenich L . Modulation of the ATP-adenosine signaling axis combined with radiotherapy facilitates anti-cancer immunity in brain metastasis. bioRxiv 2024.09.30.615883: 10.1101/2024.09.30.615883
Roesler J, Spitzer D, Jia X, (12 co-authors), Sevenich L, (5 co-authors), Harter PN: Disturbance in cerebral blood microcirculation and hypoxic-ischemic microenvironment are associated with the development of brain metastasis. Neuro Oncol 2024 26, 2084-2099. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/noae094.
Strecker MI, Wlotzka K, Strassheimer F, (7 co-authors), Sevenich L, (4 co-authors), Burger MC. AAV-mediated gene transfer of a checkpoint inhibitor in combination with HER2-targeted CAR-NK cells as experimental therapy for glioblastoma.Oncoimmunology. 2022 Oct 11;11(1):2127508.
Klemm F, Mockl A, Salamero-Boix A, (15 co-authors), Sevenich L Compensatory CSF2-driven macrophage activation promotes adaptive resistance to CSF1R inhibition in breast-to-brain metastasis. Nat Cancer 2: 2021 1086-1101: 10.1038/s43018-021-00254-0
Niesel K, Schulz M, Anthes J, (10 co-authors), Sevenich L The immune suppressive microenvironment affects efficacy of radio-immunotherapy in brain metastasis. EMBO Mol Med 2021 13: e13412: 10.15252/emmm.202013412
Schulz M, Michels B, Niesel K, (3 co-authors), Sevenich L Cellular and Molecular Changes of Brain Metastases-Associated Myeloid Cells during Disease Progression and Therapeutic Response. iScience 23 2020 101178: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101178
Beyond scientific exchange within the department, we have established a broad network of local, national, and international collaborators with complementary preclinical and clinical expertise spanning neuroscience, oncology, immunology, and metabolism, as outlined below. The strong collaborative research environment in Tübingen provides an important foundation for the successful implementation of our research program.
In particular, we benefit from close conceptual and technological interactions with investigators at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research working on immune mechanisms in neurological diseases, including neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation, as well as from collaborations with clinician scientists specializing in primary and metastatic cancers. Additional synergies arise through collaborations with researchers at the M3 Research Center focusing on metabolism and microbiome-related research.
The Cluster of Excellence iFIT contributes extensive expertise in the development of targeted and immunotherapeutic strategies and provides access to advanced multiscale imaging technologies. Furthermore, participation in national and international research consortia continuously expands our scientific perspective and enables engagement with emerging research areas, including oncogene-driven immune escape, aging, and cancer biology.
