Markus Müschen

Dr. Müschen is exploring a protein called LGR5 found in multiple B-cell malignancies such as B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, as a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target. He is planning to test small molecule inhibitors and different immunotherapies in preclinical models.

Over the past 10 years, the Markus Müschen laboratory has developed a multidisciplinary research program to study oncogenic signaling and clonal evolution in B cell malignancies, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most frequent type of cancer in children and young adults.

Müschen’s group has developed a comprehensive research program to predict relapse of ALL and other B cell-derived lymphoid malignancies, including mantle cell lymphoma and B-CLL. Applying forward genetic screens in patient-derviced xenograft (PDX) models, his drug-discovery program will leverage newly discovered vulnerabilities to broaden treatment options and validate a diagnostic test. Müschen’s research is guided through close collaboration with clinician-scientists in the Children’s Oncology Group, a clinical trials group supported by the National Cancer Institute. As principal investigator of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program “preclinical drug-testing” project, he developed a testing platform with clinical, phenotypic and genetic annotation.