Lisa Becker Accepted into Emmy Noether Programme
Blood Vessels as Gatekeepers Against Skin Cancer
- 05.08.2026
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has accepted Assistant Professor Dr Lisa Becker from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen into its Emmy Noether Programme. Through the programme, Germany’s largest research funding organisation enables outstanding early career researchers to establish an independent junior research group and further develop their academic careers. Becker will receive around €1.4 million for her project from August 2026 to July 2032. The funding will go to her laboratory at the Department of Dermatology at Essen University Hospital.
Assistant Professor Dr Lisa Becker studies malignant melanoma, also known as black skin cancer. Rather than focusing on the tumour cells themselves, her research centres on the blood vessels that supply the tumour. These vessels can be understood as gatekeepers for immune cells. Becker investigates how endothelial cells, which line the walls of blood vessels, communicate with T cells and thereby influence their function within the tumour. T cells are specialised immune cells that can recognise and eliminate cancer cells. If T cells are unable to pass through the blood vessels and infiltrate the tumour, or are not sufficiently activated once inside it, immunotherapy becomes less effective. This is where Becker and her team’s research comes in.
A focus on metabolism
A particular focus of the project is cellular metabolism. The researchers aim to understand how metabolic processes regulate the interactions between tumour cells, endothelial cells and immune cells. They will investigate how endothelial cells influence the function of T cells within tumours. New insights into these processes could help identify previously unknown therapeutic targets and enable the more targeted development of immunotherapies.
The findings could benefit not only people with malignant melanoma. The researchers will also examine whether their results can be transferred to other types of cancer. In addition, the project could contribute to the development of new imaging methods and further therapeutic approaches.
Developing new therapies through interdisciplinary research
The project brings together expertise from several disciplines. Assistant Professor Dr Becker is collaborating with other researchers from Essen University Hospital and the Research Alliance Ruhr. The participating institutions include the Department of Cardiology at Essen University Hospital and the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences – ISAS – e.V. in Dortmund.
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Assistant Professor Dr Lisa Becker is a cancer biologist whose research focuses on the tumour microenvironment, particularly the role of blood vessels and immune cells.
Further information:
Assistant Professor Dr. Lisa Becker, Department of Dermatology, Tumor Microenvironment and Vascular Metabolism Research Group, phone. +49 201 72385367, lisamaria.becker@uk-Essen.de