CHEMOTHERAPEUTISCHES FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT GEORG-SPEYER-HAUS STIFTUNG

Their core work

Georg-Speyer-Haus is a biomedical research institute in Frankfurt, Germany, focused on cancer biology, hematological malignancies, and drug target discovery. Their work spans from understanding the molecular mechanisms of blood cancers — particularly myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia — to identifying and validating new druggable targets using chemical biology and single-cell genomics. They contribute both fundamental discoveries about tumor cell plasticity and practical tools like chemical probes and chemogenomic platforms that accelerate drug development.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2015–2020) focused on the bone marrow niche in blood cancers and contributed to a large-scale open-science chemogenomics platform for drug target discovery across multiple disease areas including inflammation, immunology, and neurodegeneration. From 2021 onward, they sharpened their focus toward epigenetic mechanisms, single-cell heterogeneity in pre-leukemic conditions, and cancer cell plasticity in solid tumors. The trajectory shows a clear shift from broad target validation toward mechanistic cancer biology using advanced genomic tools.

Georg-Speyer-Haus is moving toward understanding how epigenetic reprogramming drives cancer progression and treatment resistance — an area with strong translational potential for precision oncology.

How they like to work

They balance leadership and partnership equally, coordinating 2 of their 4 projects — including their largest (PLASTICAN, ERC Advanced Grant). Their consortia range from focused ERC teams to large multi-partner initiatives like EUbOPEN (31 unique partners across 12 countries). This flexibility suggests they can anchor a project as PI or contribute deep specialist expertise within larger collaborative frameworks.

They have collaborated with 31 unique partners across 12 countries, indicating a well-connected European network. Their participation in EUbOPEN — a major public-private partnership — gives them links to both academic and pharmaceutical industry partners across the continent.

What sets them apart

Georg-Speyer-Haus combines deep expertise in blood cancer biology with hands-on experience in open-science chemical biology platforms — a rare intersection that bridges fundamental cancer research and drug discovery infrastructure. Their ability to win both ERC Starting and Advanced Grants signals sustained, high-quality principal investigators at different career stages. For consortium builders, they offer a Frankfurt-based cancer biology anchor with strong ties to the German biomedical ecosystem and pan-European drug discovery networks.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PLASTICAN
  Their largest project (EUR 2.5M ERC Advanced Grant, 2022–2026), focused on metastatic colorectal cancer cell plasticity — signals senior scientific leadership.
• EUbOPEN
  A major multi-partner open-science initiative creating shared chemical biology tools across oncology, immunology, and neurodegeneration — connects them to Europe's drug discovery ecosystem.
• INTERCEPT-MDS
  Applies single-cell sequencing to intercept myelodysplastic syndrome before it transforms to leukemia — a precision medicine approach with clear clinical relevance.