Berlin-Boston Research Exchange
The Berlin-Boston research exchange program provides German medical students with the opportunity to conduct research in Prof. Leo L. Cheng’s lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston / USA.
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Goals of the Berlin-Boston Research Exchange
The program was established in 2006 by Prof. Leo L. Cheng, Prof. Matthias Taupitz, Piet Habbel (MD) and Johannes Nowak (MD). Starting as an experimental idea, the exchange has developed into an established program with more than 15 participating students during the past years.
The research aims at measuring NMR (Nuclear magnetic resonance) spectra of intact tissue specimens and correlating tissue cellular metabolic changes with its pathology. The current research projects include NIH funded studies of human brain tumors, prostate, breast and lung cancer. In order to understand the functions and significance of the metabolites with regards tumor development and progression, we engage in molecular tumor biology analyses with the assistance of laser capture microdissection, quantitative real time PCR, etc. On the imaging front, we are investigating the utility of high field (14 Tesla) MRI and MR microscopy e.g. on prostatectomy specimens for identification of cancer foci that may be sampled and evaluated by clinical pathology.
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Dr. med. Johannes Nowak