Our Mission Statement

Two men and one woman in front of laptops talking.

Our Vision

As a leading entrepreneurial university, we are a site of global knowledge exchange, shaping a sustainable future through talent, excellence and responsibility.

Our Mission

We inspire, promote and develop talents in all their diversity to become responsible, broad-minded individuals. We empower them to shape the progress of innovation for people, nature, and society with scientific excellence and technological expertise, with entrepreneurial courage and sensitivity to social and political issues, as well as a lifelong commitment to learning.

Our Core Values

Our core values form the foundation of our relationships with one another and with our cooperation partners:

  • Excellence: We cultivate an environment of curiosity, creativity and unconventional thinking across the disciplines and set the highest standards of performance in research, teaching, and innovation.
  • Entrepreneurial Mindset: We question the consequences of our actions, take on new challenges proactively, and continually enhance our working methods. We commit ourselves to socially reflected innovations and promote their commercial application by founding sustainable technology spin-offs.
  • Integrity: We draw our success from an inclusive community of talents from different backgrounds, cultures, ideas and perspectives. We act with respect for others and transparency in accordance with our shared values.
  • Collegiality: We respect and inspire one another in a vibrant culture of university community. We cultivate the academic, economic and social partnerships that make TUM a site of global knowledge exchange.
  • Sustainability and Resilience: We learn from our diverse experiences and see in persistent change the opportunity for the sustainable development of science, ecology, economy and society – from this we draw inspiration, motivation and resolve.

Our Guiding Principles

Governing Documents

An overview of central codes and regulations by which we shape research and innovation, teaching, and our governance as a top and modern university of international standing.

Governing Documents

Compliance

The TUM Compliance Office ensures the integrity and transparency of research, teaching and innovation based on the TUM Code of Conduct, the TUM Respect Guide, and the Statute on Safeguarding Good Academic Practice.

TUM Compliance Office

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We show who we are, what will drive us in the future and what makes us tick, through exciting research projects, insights into the future organizational structure and with stories of visionaries, founders and pioneers.

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News

  • 7/9/2012

Potential new treatment for metastatic colon cancer

How tumor cells create their own pathways

For 90 percent of all cancer patients, the original tumor is no longer the cause of death. Nowadays, metastases are the major cause for concern. Metastasis occurs when tumor cells “migrate” to other organs through the bloodstream. Scientists have now discovered the trick tumor cells use to invade tissue from the blood vessels: They produce signaling proteins to make the arterial walls permeable – thus clearing their pathway to a different organ. The latest findings are published in the current issue of the journal <i>Cancer Cell</i>.

The picture shows a tumor cell that migrates through the wall of a blood vessel into the neighboring tissue.
A tumor cell at the inner wall of a blood vessel. A magnified image of the marked area is shown on the right. - Image: Marco Prinz/Universität Freiburg

How does a tumor cell set up a signaling pathway in order to metastasize? Scientists at Technische Universität München’s (TUM) Klinikum rechts der Isar and Helmholtz Zentrum München have made a significant discovery in this area by studying colon cancer. They have learned that the tumor cells release certain proteins known as chemokines. In the case of metastatic colon cancer cells, the chemokine concerned is CCL2. The CCL2 chemokine docks on to the cells of the inner blood vessel walls (endothelial cells) and activates the corresponding receptor (CCR2 receptor). This connection makes the endothelial cells permeable – creating a clear path for the tumor cells.

Professor Mathias Heikenwälder of TUM’s Institute of Virology explains that the tumor cells use a clever trick to migrate: “The tumor cells outwit the endothelial cells by emitting a signal used by healthy cells.” To date, research has mainly focused on macrophage cells attracted by the chemokines of the tumors. “By understanding the role of chemokine receptors in relation to endothelial cells we have potentially uncovered a brand new approach to cancer treatment,” says Heikenwälder.

“Measuring the number of chemokines could allow us to draw clear conclusions on the likely spread of a primary tumor to other organs and predict the risk of metastasis in patients,” continues Heikenwälder. “Furthermore, the option of blocking the chemokine receptor CCR2 at the endothelial cells gives healthcare professionals a new way of preventing metastases both before and following an operation.”

For their research, the scientists used colon cancer tissue and colon cancer cell lines from mice and humans. The next steps will involve studying the findings in greater detail and examining how the new concept can be transferred to other types of cancer.

Original publication:
Monika Wolf et al., 2012. Endothelial CCR2 signaling induced by colon carcinoma cells enables extravasation via the JAK2-Stat5 and p38MAPK pathway, Cancer Cell, 07/2012.

Picture: http://mediatum.ub.tum.de/node?id=1110306

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Mathias Heikenwälder
Institute for Virology
Technische Universität München
Tel: +49.89.4140-7440
E-Mail: heikenwaelderspam prevention@virologie.med.tum.de

Technical University of Munich

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