The RCCL Collection is the brainchild of Prof. Dr. Jindrich Cinatl. More than 40 years ago, he and his research group began adapting cancer cells to drugs used in cancer therapy. He now runs the Resistant Cancer Cell Line (RCCL) Collection, the world’s largest collection of drug-adapted cancer cell lines, together with Prof. Dr. Martin Michaelis (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK). Establishing resistant cancer cell lines is a complex and costly process that requires a great deal of expertise. The RCCL Collection currently comprises more than 3,200 therapy-resistant cancer cell lines from different tumour entities, representing acquired resistance to more than 100 different active substances (as of November 2025).
Each of the resistant cell lines in the RCCL Collection has the potential to enable vital research projects. With the help of these cell models, further understanding of the causes of resistance development can be gained. They also offer the opportunity to test active substances against resistant cells in order to develop better alternative therapies for young cancer patients for whom there is currently no effective treatment. In line with the concept of ‘drug repurposing’, drugs that are already used to treat other conditions can also be investigated.
We conduct our own research with these cells, but also make them available to national and international research institutes and companies. Over 120 renowned industrial and research institutions worldwide have worked with our cells to date.
A strategic step for the future of the cell bank
Over the course of 30 years, the Frankfurt Foundation for Children with Cancer has built up, financed and scientifically supported the RCCL Collection. A visionary idea has grown into the world’s largest collection of drug-resistant tumour cell lines – a research tool that sets international standards.
To ensure that the cell bank can be efficiently transferred to the next stage of development, a new chapter is now beginning: the RCCL Collection is getting a new and secure long-term home at the University of Kent. Prof. Martin Michaelis, who has managed the cell bank for many years together with Prof. Cinatl and holds a chair at Kent, will take over as scientific director.
Why this step is important:
Taking responsibility for the future of research
Sometimes responsibility means letting go of something so that it can continue to grow. This is exactly what is happening now with the RCCL Collection – a project that many donors have supported over decades.
This step is emotional – and at the same time the right thing to do. It secures the future of a unique research tool for children with cancer worldwide and enables the foundation to realign its research – closer to the clinic, closer to young patients, closer to the therapies of tomorrow.
We would like to thank everyone who has helped the RCCL Collection grow. You have created a research resource that has yielded important findings for paediatric oncology in over 120 internationally renowned research institutes and in our own research at the IDL. Now the journey continues for the RCCL Collection – and thus also for the foundation.
Stay with us and continue to support our research: always with the aim of enabling a cure without long-term effects for children with cancer.
Professor Jindrich Cinatl
The RCCL Collection is my life’s work, and I am very proud of it. My father Jaroslav Cinatl and I began building it over 30 years ago. Today, the RCCL Collection comprises over 3,300 cell lines, which we have made resistant together with our fantastic team. We have thus developed the world’s largest cell bank of drug-resistant cells, and many important insights have been gained with these tumour models. Now I am retiring. A new phase of life is always accompanied by mixed feelings: I am proud of what I have achieved, and it is difficult to say goodbye to “my” cells, but I am delighted that they are finding a new, strong home with Professor Michaelis in Kent.
Professor Martin Michaelis
Short vitae
Prof. Dr. Jindrich Cinatl received his doctorate after studying biology in Prague in 1985, where he worked as a Research Associate at the Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at Charles University until 1986. From 1985 to 1987 he did research at the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt and then continued his research at the Institute of Medical Virology in Frankfurt. After his habilitation, he headed the research department of the Institute of Medical Virology from 1998 to 2011. In 2001, he was appointed associate professor at the Medical Faculty of Goethe University. Since opening in 2005, Jindrich Cinatl’s working group “Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Paediatric Tumour and Virus Research” has been based in the Dr. Petra Joh House of the Frankfurt Foundation for Children with Cancer and conducts research on the development of new therapy concepts and treatment options for children and young people with cancer. Together with Prof. Dr. Martin Michaelis (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK), Prof. Cinatl heads the Resistant Cancer Cell Line (RCCL) Collection, the world’s largest collection of preclinical models for acquired resistance in cancer.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Jindrich Cinatl
Phone +49 (0)69 678665-72
j.cinatl@kinderkrebsstiftung-frankfurt.de
Prof. Dr. Martin Michaelis studied pharmacy and received his doctorate in pharmaceutical technology from the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. Afterwards, he worked first as a PostDoc and later as deputy head in the research group of Prof. Jindrich Cinatl at the Institute of Medical Virology at Goethe University Frankfurt and at the Dr. Petra Joh House of the Frankfurt Foundation for Children with Cancer. Since 2011, he has been Chair and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Kent in Canterbury in the UK. Together with Jindrich Cinatl, Martin Michaelis heads the Resistant Cancer Cell Line (RCCL) Collection, the world’s largest collection of preclinical models for acquired resistance in cancer, and is the contact person for all enquiries.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Martin Michaelis
Phone 44 01227 827804
m.michaelis@kent.ac.uk
Dr. Florian Rothweiler studied biology at the University of Frankfurt/Main from 1998 to 2003, followed by a doctorate in the working group of Prof. Cinatl. Since 2010, Dr. Rothweiler has been working in the Dr.Petra Joh-Haus of the Frankfurt Foundation for Children with Cancer and is the laboratory manager and deputy of Prof. Cinatl. Dr. Rothweiler is intensively involved in the maintenance, documentation and inventory of the Resistant Cancer Cell Line (RCCL) Collection.
Contact:
Dr. Florian Rothweiler
Phone. +49 (0)69 678665-72
f.rothweiler@kinderkrebsstiftung-frankfurt.de
After studying biology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, Dr. Jens-Uwe Vogel obtained his doctorate in 1996 in the working group of Prof. Jindrich Cinatl at the Institute of Medical Virology. Since the opening of the Dr. Petra Joh-Haus, he has been working as a group leader in the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Paediatric Tumour and Virus Research. Here he is particularly concerned with virological issues in children with oncological diseases.
Contact:
Dr. Jens-Uwe Vogel
Phone +49 (0)69 678665-54
ju.vogel@kinderkrebsstiftung-frankfurt.de
