Some cancer drugs specifically affect certain deregulated kinases, which are considered the central molecular switches of a cell. We are studying a collection of kinase inhibitors that are used for the treatment of melanoma, breast cancer and colon cancer. Tragically, kinase inhibitor therapies cause drug resistance. Our team is systematically investigating the influence of different bioactive small molecules on specific kinase functions in selected cancer cell lines. In addition, we decipher their effects on the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell.

We investigate the ON- and OFF-target effects of established as well as novel cancer drugs in the MitoKIN project, which is funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). Our study benefits greatly from a cooperation with the Tyrolean company Oroboros Instruments (Innsbruck), which supports us in the analysis of mitochondrial respiration in cancer cell models.