i-Target: Immunotargeting of Cancer
Elite Network of Bavaria: International Doctoral Program
The international doctoral program i-Target focusses on the investigation of innovative immune therapies. Under the lead of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a team of ten Bavarian professors have joined forces to set up a program training talented doctoral candidates in this highly competitive research field. Malignant diseases represent an unmet medical challenge with a huge social and economic impact. Early diagnosis and optimized operative, medical and radiotherapeutic treatments often cure early stage cancers. The prognosis for many patients with advanced-stage diseases, however, remains dismal. An important achievement of the last decade is the use of the body's own immune system to treat patients. The potential of immunotherapies has been demonstrated impressively through the use and approval of specific antibodies directed against tumor-associated antigens.
Tumor immunotherapy is currently subject of intense scientific and clinical development. The requirements of well-trained scientists in this research field are rapidly increasing, both in industry and academy. The training program includes weekly seminars, quarterly workshops and annual conferences. A special character of the program is the intense cooperation with the industry and international secondments as an integral part of the doctoral projects.