Modelling Cancer-Microbe Interactions with Organoids and Organs-on-Chips

In the last decade, adult stem cell-derived organoids have become versatile tools in disease modelling and bioengineering. The possibilities to expand healthy human tissue of almost every organ and control its differentiation states makes these 3D tissue models a suitable platform for studies in diverse research areas. Among these are host-microbiome interactions, where numerous clinical associations await functional validation. Here, I highlight our recent advances in modelling cancer-microbiome interactions using organoids and organs-on-chips. I discuss approaches to expose human intestinal organoids to cancer-associated bacteria and the various read-outs which can provide mechanistic insights into their crosstalk. A particular focus is laid on genotoxic bacteria that can induce mutations in cancer genomes and on intracellular bacteria and their roles in colorectal cancer disease progression and metastasis.

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From 24 Jun 2025 11:30
Until 24 Jun 2025 12:30
Location FSVMI building, seminar room

Speaker Jens Puschhof
Affiliation German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg
Host Lars Vereecke

Stream View stream
Stream ID 815 6740 7237
Stream Password 673121

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About the speaker

Dr. Jens Puschhof is a Junior Group Leader at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, heading the Epithelium Microbiome Interaction Laboratory (EMIL). His research focuses on engineering advanced organoid and organ-on-a-chip co-culture models to investigate cancer–microenvironment interactions, with a particular emphasis on the microbiome's role in development and metastasis of gastrointestinal tumors. Dr. Puschhof completed his PhD in the laboratory of Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute, following an MSc by Research at the University of Oxford and research training at Heidelberg University and Harvard Medical School. His work has been featured in leading journals such as Nature, Cell, and Science. He is the recipient of the 2023 German Cancer Prevention Research Prize for his work on genotoxic bacteria and was awarded an ERC Starting Grant in 2024 to advance his work on bacterial influences in colorectal cancer metastases.