Tereza Ormsby

• Mission: To innovate cancer diagnosis and therapy by developing targeted small molecules and antibody mimetics that enhance immune system engagement and improve patient outcomes.
• Vision: To revolutionize cancer treatment through cutting-edge molecular recognition technologies, creating effective and versatile solutions that transform patient care and survival rates.

Molecular recognition of specific tumor antigens on the surface of cancer cells and the engagement of the patient’s immune system for their targeted destruction are crucial for the diagnosis and targeted therapy of tumors. In recent years, numerous immunoreceptors and their ligands that regulate the body’s immune response, such as the PD1/PDL1 system, have been discovered. Blocking these pathways has become a highly successful strategy in cancer immunotherapy.

Our multidisciplinary research team is dedicated to designing and preparing small molecules that target key tumor markers (e.g., FAP, PSMA, CAIX) or proteins involved in cancer. We employ not only the classical structure-activity relationship (SAR) approach but also innovative methods such as phage display and mRNA display. For high-throughput testing of large numbers of compounds, we have developed a highly sensitive DIANA method, which we further optimize for individual target proteins, including their detection in complex biological samples.