ICCVS is aiming at advancing a novel approach for immunotherapy against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCL). Collaboration with Technical University Dresden (TUD) constitutes an important step on this way.  During 2023 three milestones have been reached. First, a letter of intent for strategic collaboration has been signed with TUD authorities in summer 2023.  Secondly, applications for funding with TUD as strategic partner have been submitted to the International Research Agendas Programme (ERDF) and to the Teaming for Excellence call (Horizon Europe).  Furthermore,  a ICCVS representatives visited TUD in order to expand the contacts. The staff mobility allowed for a deep exchange on current and future research goals and insights on the operation of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) laboratories as well as set a foundation for collaboration between staff responsible for research management and administration, including the area of talent acquisition,  grant preparation, and technology transfer. Moreover, cooperation opportunities were also discussed at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Partner Site Dresden University Cancer Center as well the Biobank Dresden (BBD) at the (NCT/UCC) that is jointly supported by the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

In addition to discussions between the research groups, inspiring meetings took place with the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB), dresden-exists that supports the commercialisation process of inventions by TUD’s scientists as well as the SaxoCell Cluster that aims to develop new areas of application and production methods for personalized gene and cell therapeutics. Since collaboration between the research groups of prof. Natalia Marek-Trzonkowska from ICCVS and prof. Anke Fuchs can look back at many years of collaboration initiated in the past during a COST Action, the visit gave the other ICCVS  participants an opportunity to explore areas for cooperation and contributed a lot to designing future joint actions.