Major Cancer Biology Students 2024

University Education
2020-2024 - The University of Edinburgh - BSc Hons Biological Sciences (Immunology)

Highest Degree: BSc Hons
Title of Bachelor's Thesis: Can phosphatases reduce Plasmodium falciparum host-parasite adhesion in severe malaria?

Internships/Work Experience
(2023.05-2023.11) The University of Edinburgh, Member of iGEM 2023 team
Genetically engineering cyanobacteria (Synechocystis spp) for increased extracellular electron transfer and nutrient production with potential application in biophotovoltaic pollinator-friendly solar panels. In a team of 12 students, I led the biosafety sub-project which involved building a nuclease-based genetic kill switch in cyanobacteria to control the spread of GMOs in the environment.
(05.2022-07.2022) The University of Edinburgh, Research Intern at Philip Research Group
Working on the intracellular cyclic nucleotide signalling important during transmission stages of Plasmodium parasite. I successfully cloned and expressed predicted cyclic nucleotide-binding domains of the EPAC protein in E. coli. These proteins were later used for further functional analyses to determine their affinity to cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP.
(06.2018-07.2018) Intern at Northway Biotechpharma, Vilnius, Lithuania
While still in high school, I did an internship in a biotechnological company, where I was introduced to biotechnological processes, including harvesting, protein purification at different scales using various chromatography techniques, and refolding process development. I got acquainted with cloning and sequencing of targeted genes and genetic engineering methods for development of expression systems in various cell cultures.

Scientific Interests/Future Plans
During my BSc degree in Biological Sciences (Immunology) at the University of Edinburgh, I became increasingly fascinated by the complexity of the immune system and its crucial role in a variety of diseases, including cancer. My particular interests lie at the interplay of the immune response and cancer development and treatment. Specifically, I am interested how tumours avoid/suppress immune responses and how current immunotherapies (e.g., CAR-T cells, checkpoint inhibitors) can be improved and novel immunotherapies developed for better cancer treatment. My other interests include infection biology, especially malaria parasite trasmission and adhesion to human cells. I am motivated to pursue a career in research with a focus on cancer immunology and contribute towards tackling some of the outstanding challenges. This aligns well with my general academic goal of contributing towards improving people's health and reducing suffering.

Contact: edvardas.eigminas (at) dkfz.de
LinkedIn profile

University Education
10/2024 – Present: M.Sc. Molecular Biosciences – Major Cancer Biology, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany
10/2021 – 09/2024: B.Sc. Biology, LMU Munich, Germany
10/2016 – 03/2021: B.Sc. Computer Science, Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany

Highest Degrees
Bachelor of Science in Biology
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Title of Bachelor's Theses
Elucidating epigenetic regulation of immunosuppressive PDAC subtype secretomes via Perturb-seq
Reducing Anti-Patterns for Delivering and Deploying Software Continuously in an Open Source Project

Internships/Work Experience
03/2024 – 09/2024: Research Internship and Bachelor's Thesis (Saur Lab), Rechts der Isar Hospital of the Technical University of Munich at TranslaTUM's Institute of Translational Cancer Research and Experimental Cancer Therapy, Germany
07/2022 – 03/2024: Academic Tutor, LMU Munich, Germany
04/2022 – 07/2023: Student Research Assistant (Osman Lab), LMU Munich, Germany
11/2019 – 03/2022: Junior Software Engineer, Telespazio Germany GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany

Scientific Interests & Future Plans
I am a former computer science graduate who found his true passion in biology and graduated from LMU with a Bachelor's degree in biology as the top performing student. I did my Bachelor's thesis at TranslaTUM emplyoying the Perturb-seq method to unveil transcriptional networks controlling the immunosuppressive secretome of pancreatic cancer subtypes. Personally, I find it very interesting to understand chemotherapy-resistant and immune-evading cancer cells and to find new methods to attack and destroy them.
Ironically, I recently have been diagnosed with cancer myself (Hodgkin's lymphoma) and am now fighting this terrible but fascinating disease as both a researcher and a patient, hoping to win on both fronts.

Contact. nima.esmaeelpour (at) dkfz.de
LinkedIn profile

University Education
10/2024 – present: M.Sc. in Molecular Biosciences – Major Cancer Biology, Ruprecht-Karls University and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
09/2020 – 12/2023: B.Sc. in Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

Highest Degree: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Biochemistry

Internships/Work Experience
01/2024 – 09/2024: Biomed X Institute, Heidelberg, Germany. Oncological research team EDC: Extrachromosomal DNA in Cancer with Dr. Büşra Yağabasan and Dr. Alexandros Drainas.
06/2022-08/2022: Alkermes, Waltham MA. Protein therapeutics group in the Drug Discovery department.
03/2021 – 06/2022: Imaizumi lab, University of Washington Biology Department: Exploring seasonal flowering mechanisms at the molecular level.

Scientific Interests & Future Plans
Growing up I have always gravitated towards science because of its definitive answers. My curiosity drives me towards understanding life at the molecular level, where so much is still unknown. Modern cancer research requires the most cutting-edge techniques to understand the complex biology behind it. Doing cancer research, therefore, offers a deep dive into many molecular mechanisms in life while simultaneously being applicable to the big picture of improving human health. This is why I am excited and grateful to be here at DFKZ, and to be able to take part in cancer research in the future. I aim to help gain insights on the genomic alterations that occur as cancer progresses and evolves, and to leverage these insights to help combat treatment resistance in patients.

Contact: oskar.haeberlein (at) dkfz.de
LinkedIn profile

University Education
10/2024 - present: M.Sc. in Molecular Biosciences – Major Cancer Biology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Germany
10/2021 - 07/2024: B. Sc. in Biochemistry, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Germany

Highest Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
Title of Bachelor's Thesis: Synthetic hepatitis E virus chimera

Internships/Work Experience
03/2024 – present: Student assistant (HiWi) in Prof. Dr. Michael Knop's laboratory, Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Heidelberg, Germany
04/2024 – 06/2024: Bachelor's Thesis in Prof. Dr. Michael Knop's laboratory, Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) & Dr. Dao Thi's laboratory, Center of Integrative Infectious Disease Research (CIID), Heidelberg, Germany

Scientific Interests & Future Plans
The evolution of life from simple molecules to complex organisms is a process that spans billions of years. Over time, basic chemical reactions have evolved into increasingly complex systems where the smallest disruption can lead to diseases such as cancer. I find it fascinating how small molecular changes can affect health and would like to understand this better in the future. My Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry has strengthened my interest in cancer research and provided me with a solid foundation. As part of the Major Cancer Biology program at the DKFZ, I would like to gain deeper insights into different areas of research and aquire practical experience. My ultimate goal is to contribute to the development of innovative cancer therapies.

Contact: lunakristina.schoerken (at) dkfz.de
LinkedIn profile

University Education
10/2024 – Present: M.Sc. Molecular Biosciences – Major Cancer Biology, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany.
09/2021 – 06/2024: B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany

Highest Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Title of Bachelor's Thesis: An enzyme for NAD+-dependent methanol oxidation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Internships/Work Experience
10/2023 – 05/2024: Research Assistant in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Elke Nevoigt, aiming to genetically engineer S. cerevisiae strains in order to produce succinic acid by channelling C1 substrates (methanol) into the central carbon metabolism.
09/2022 – 05/2024: Teaching Assistant at Jacobs University Bremen for the General and Inorganic Chemistry course (Fall Semester 2022, 2023), Introduction to Biotechnology: Microbiology and Genetics course and lab (Spring Semester 2023, 2024), Advanced Biotechnology lab (January 2024) and Immunology course (Spring Semester 2024).
08/2023 – 09/2023: Intern in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University, Denmark. Part of the research group of Prof. Lotte Bjergbæk, focusing on utilizing the Flp-Nick system to study topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage and the function of various gene products on the DNA repair pathways of different S. cerevisiae strains.

Scientific Interests/Future Plans
In the future, I intend to focus on advancing the field of immunology, particularly in leveraging the body's natural defence mechanisms to combat diseases such as cancer. My goal is to contribute to the development of innovative immunotherapies that harness the immune system's ability to selectively target and eliminate cancer cells. Additionally, I am highly interested in personalized medicine, where treatments are tailored based on an individual's genetic and immunological profile. By integrating these approaches, I aim to contribute to the development of more precise and effective therapeutic strategies that improve patient outcomes and advance the field of precision oncology.

Contact: rebeka.sharko (at) dkfz.de
LinkedIn profile

University Education
10.2024 – present: M.Sc. in Molecular Biosciences – Major Cancer Biology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Germany
10.2020 – 05.2024: B.Sc. Biology, RWTH Aachen University

Highest Degree: B.Sc. Biology
Title of Thesis: Establishing interaction analysis for new, potential binders as diagnostic reagents - mainly using biosensor-technologies or orthogonal methodologies

Internships/Work Experience
04-09.2023: Internship in the Biomolecular interaction analysis team at Roche Diagnostics (Penzberg, Bavaria), characterizing binding interactions between antibodies and targeted antigens using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) methods.

Scientific Interests & Future Plans
Having gained experience in both knowledge-focused research at university and patient-focused research in the pharmaceutical industry, I wish to combine these focuses by studying cancer biology at the DKFZ. Cancer is an indisputably relevant disease that is deeply intertwined with some of the most fundamental processes of multicellular life. Cancer research therefore unites two motivations that drive me in pursuing a career as a research scientist: understanding how life works in the most fundamental ways and using this knowledge to help people to live longer and better lives. As a student in the major Cancer Biology at the DKFZ I strive to explore the diverse field of cancer research and to find a focus to dive into, both during the research internships and in my master thesis.

Contact: nathalie.zehetner (at) dkfz.de
LinkedIn profile