Read about what our Clinician Scientists say

We congratulate our Clinician Scientist Fellow Dr. Verena Panitz to be the first to complete her DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship. For the last two years Dr. Panitz was able to devote herself to her research on immunometabolism in glioblastomas in the Junior Group of Dr. Opitz, DKFZ Brain Cancer Metabolism. At the end of June 2021, she became the first graduate of the DKFZ Clinician Scientist Program and draws a very positive conclusion.

"My research group leader Dr. Christiane Opitz enabled me to work on a variety of different exciting projects. This gave me deep insights into the collaborative scientific research endeavor from the beginnings of a project all the way to publication."

Read the full article here.

We congratulate our fellow Dr. Philipp Rößner on receiving the Franziska Kolb Prize for the Promotion of Leukemia Research, which is endowed with 8,000 euros. The prize of the foundation of the same name is awarded by the University of Ulm to promising young scientists. Dr. Philipp Rößner is conducting research at DKFZ on immunobiological mechanisms in blood cancers as part of the Clinician Scientist Program. Our Clinician Scientist Fellowship enables him to concentrate fully on his research on the common chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) for 2 years in addition to his clinical work as a physician. With his research work, Philipp Rößner has made a decisive contribution to clarifying changes in T cells in CLL. The results could also be of importance beyond CLL with regard to innovative forms of therapy such as CAR T cell approaches.

"My research project focusses on the identification of strategies to improve adoptive cell therapies in the brain for the treatment of brain tumors. For me as a clinician scientist with ongoing training in both basic science and medical residency, the Clinician Scientist Fellowship gives me the great opportunity to successfully integrate both disciplines into my career. Therefore, I am highly grateful to have the unique opportunity to address critical clinical questions in a collaborative effort across disciplines at one of the leading and technologically advanced European cancer research centers as part of my professional training."

"Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a severe blood cancer of early myeloid progenitor blood cells. In mammalian cells RNA-Modifications are a strong regulator of gene expression, but their functional role in human diseases is less well understood, especially in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). In this study I aim for identifying the most important RNA modifications and their corresponding enzymes in AML using cutting-edge techniques such as focused CRISPR-Cas9 screenings and mass-spectrometry for quantitative analysis of RNA-modifcations. These experiments will help to decipher the role of RNA modifications in AML and might pave the way for novel therapeutic targets in the future. For this ambitious aim, the DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship will allow me to fully concentrate on my project during a protected research time."

"The clinician scientist program at the DKFZ allows me to combine basic research with my experience from routine patient care and gives me the opportunity to broaden my scientific background which is a key for improving therapy and understanding of cancer. In this project we will analyze samples from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated within a clinical trial by the use of cutting edge scientific methods. This will give insights into AML on a single cell level and will allow us to unravel mechanisms and structures. This bench to bedside approach (reverse translation) is a chance to improve outcome, identify patients who benefit and minimize harm by ineffective treatment in the future."

"My personal aim with the DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship is to expand our knowledge on the function of the transcription factor T-bet in CLL (Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is the most common leukemia in the western world) and to subsequently identify novel treatment options, which could further improve the prognosis for CLL patients. The DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship offers me the opportunity to concentrate on my research to generate and validate novel hypotheses that could improve the outcome of patients."

"In my project, we are developing biological and computational tools to predict response to immunotherapies and adverse events across tumor types and across a range of different immunotherapies. To achieve this goal, we are analyzing the immune cell composition and dynamics under therapy in peripheral blood of cancer patients receiving immunotherapies. For me personally, working at DKFZ within the Clinician Scientist program offers a vibrant interdisciplinary environment to learn and apply the latest biological and computational technologies to improve cancer therapy in patients."

"The DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship offers me the unique opportunity to perform cutting-edge research while still pursuing my residency in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the University Hospital Heidelberg. Clinical work is closely intertwined with both clinical and basic research. The Clinician Scientist Fellowship offers two years of protected research time and I am flexible to intersperse clinical work if needed. It provides an excellent opportunity to pursue my research project with the aim to contribute to the better understanding of pathogenetic mechanisms in acute myeloid leukemia. And my work will hopefully result in the identification of new therapeutic insights that will help us to translate our findings from bench to bedside."

"The DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship directly supports my ambitions to gain international research experience and to build up my personal research network. In the era of precision medicine and rapidly evolving medical science, physicians not only need to have profound experience in clinical practice, but also need a deep understanding of basic research. The fellowship is therefore helping me to further deepen the link between clinical and basic cancer research in a world-class scientific setting. I am convinced that this experience will have a significant impact on my long-term career perspective as a clinician scientist."

"The DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship allows me to link the clinical characteristics of our large patient cohort to molecular biomarkers which are identified by analyzing human tissue and blood samples. Within this translational research approach, I aim to detect biomarkers that might be relevant for screening high-risk patients after work-related asbestos exposure and to predict their response to treatment. By building a bridge from thoracic surgery to basic research, I aim to learn cutting-edge methods and techniques in order to optimize future treatment possibilities for our mesothelioma patients."

"The fellowship provided by the DKFZ Clinician Scientist Program gives me the opportunity to perform state of the art translational research. My goal is to generate scientific results that will have a major impact on future patient outcomes. In the future, I want to combine my expertise in clinical and translational research and develop novel therapeutic strategies to prevent disease progression of Multiple Myeloma. I am confident that this research can contribute to our ultimate goal of finding a cure for this specific cancer entity."

"The concept of a career as a Clinician Scientist fascinates me because it allows the deep integration of clinical and scientific knowledge and experience and hence facilitates the translation from bench to bedside. On the clinical side, I am training as a resident in Neurology at the Department of Neurology at Heidelberg University Hospital. The DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship provides me with the opportunity to conduct research over a timespan of two years. During this protected research time I am able to specifically focus on my research topic immunometabolism in glioblastoma. In the future, I hope that a better understanding of the resistance mechanisms in glioblastoma will help to improve treatment of glioblastoma patients."

"Pursuing my career, I soon realized that it will be more than helpful to integrate the perspective of a basic scientist into my clinician's viewpoint. The DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship therefore represents a unique opportunity for me to combine both worlds. Dedicated mentorship by selected academic and clinical experts help me to further develop my career as a clinician scientist."

Are you interested to explore which cutting-edge research projects our fellows are working on at the DKFZ? Learn more about six of the DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellows and about their motivation to be part of the DKFZ Clinician Scientist Program in our Fellows Brochure.

Click here to open/download a PDF copy of the brochure.