Lena Jassowicz (B04) is the recipient of the EANO Youngsters Award 2026. The award was presented at the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) conference in Rome for her contributions to neuro-oncology research, focussing on the immune microenvironment in breast cancer brain metastases and its implications for personalized treatment options and immunotherapy.
We applaud Aurélie Ernst (A08) on being awarded a DFG Heisenberg Professorship. Her research focuses on chromothripsis, a major form of genomic instability that drives cancer development, with the aim of uncovering how unstable genomes emerge and contribute to tumor growth. Within the next five years, she will investigate the mechanisms underlying chromosomal instability and […]
We are happy to share recent highlights, including a recap of our seminar series, experiences from our travel grant recipients and the latest updates from research. This edition also features a curated overview of selected publications and upcoming UNITE events, alongside short introductions to the newest members of the UNITE staff. We hope you enjoy […]
Research findings related to UNITE work packages B04/C05/C06N Personalized drug screening aims to improve the survival of glioblastoma (GBM) patients by identifying effective patient-individual drugs. Therefore, we conducted an automated high-throughput drug screening (aHTS) on standardized patient-derived glioblastoma tumor organoids (TOs). Robot-assisted aHTS was performed on TOs from 11 GBM patients. TOs fully compacted after […]
We are delighted to announce that Varun Venkataramani (A07) has received an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council. Over the next five years, his project BITE (Brain Tumor Progression via Trogocytosis of the Synaptic Microenvironment) will investigate how glioblastoma cells interact with and exploit neural networks in the brain to promote tumor growth. By […]
Research findings related to UNITE work packages A03/A06/B01/B03/B06N/C02/C06N The clonal glioma driver mutation IDH1R132H gives rise to a major histocompatibility class II-restricted neoepitope. A multicenter, first-in-human phase 1 trial met its prespecified primary endpoints by demonstrating safety and immunogenicity of an IDH1-R132H peptide vaccine (IDH1-vac) integrated into standard of care in 33 participants with newly diagnosed […]
Heidelberg Epignostix GmbH has named its co-founder Felix Sahm (A06) as Chief Medical Advisor, marking an important step in the company’s continued advancement of AI‑enabled DNA‑methylation diagnostics. In this capacity, he will provide strategic medical guidance as Epignostix expands the clinical reach of its tumour‑classifier technologies. The startup, founded in 2022, develops next‑generation precision diagnostics […]
The German Cancer Research Consortium (DKTK) has appointed Stefan Pfister (C01) as its spokesperson for the 2026–2030 funding period. In his new role, he aims to strengthen collaboration across all DKTK partner sites and accelerate the transfer of research findings into clinical application, stating: “The DKTK stands for successful translation of basic research into innovations […]
Carsten Hopf (C04) has been elected as the new Vice President for Research and Transfer at TH Mannheim, starting September 1st, 2026. In his new role, he aims to strengthen partnerships with regional companies, clinics, and research institutions, including Heidelberg University and the Heidelberg‑Mannheim clinical network. Furthermore, he plans to expand key research and transfer […]
Research findings related to UNITE work packages A02/A06/B04/C01/C06 Molecular testing is essential for classifying central nervous system (CNS) tumors, with methylation profiling providing the highest diagnostic granularity. However, this requires more resources and time than conventional hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) histopathology, which is widely available globally. Here we propose Hetairos, an artificial intelligence algorithm that […]