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Welcome to the Mildred Scheel Cancer Career Center Hamburg - MSNZ Hamburg!

Our HaTriCS4 (=Hamburg Translational Research in Cancer: Stimulating, Shaping and Sustaining Scientific Careers) funding programme with its focus on "Dissemination and Metastasis" has set itself the task of strengthening young scientists in oncology. The German Cancer Aid supports our program over a period of 5 years.

Our programme is aimed at clinicians working in the field of science (so-called Clincian Scientists) and scientists working in cancer research (Medical Scientists).

The declared goals are to strengthen interdisciplinary, inter-professional and inter-institutional cooperation and to create and to highlight transparent and attractive career perspectives in translational cancer research for clinicians and medical scientists, both in academic research and in alternative fields and professions. In doing so, we support our fellows in the best possible way with all the means at our disposal.

Specifically, we will implement the following points:

• establishment, support and supervision of interdisciplinary partner laboratories, consisting of a team of one medical and one clinician scientist.

• Consolidation of a multi-level, competitive tenure track system for excellent cancer researchers to create transparent, long-term career paths at the site.

• Expansion of the Clinician Scientist concept to create guaranteed research freedom in the daily routine of physicians.

• Inclusion of the partner network in the Hamburg metropolitan region and other academic university locations (Kiel, Lübeck) in northern Germany.

• Other infrastructural measures:
  • Organisation of an annual career exchange - Cancer Careers Day
  • Expansion of "Core Facilities" in the field of experimental tumour models and bioinformatics to support translational cancer research at the site
  • Development of a structured and innovative oncological / tumor biology teaching and training program to attract young scientists
  • Establishment of interdisciplinary mentoring teams, coaching as a means of strategic career planning and on the way to becoming a leader in the field, and targeted further and advanced training ofoour fellows in individually set focal points

• needs-oriented support for the reconciliation of work and family/occupation and leisure time.

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MSNZ – UCC Hamburg Research Retreat Satellite Meeting

Dear MSNZ Fellows, Alumni, and all research enthusiasts at UKE and beyond,

We warmly invite you to our Satellite Meeting on July 11, 2025, as a prelude to the UCC Hamburg Research Retreat!

This event offers you the perfect opportunity to connect, network, and engage in discussions about key topics relevant to a scientific career—whether you continue your journey at the university or pursue other paths.

Event Highlight:

We are delighted to welcome Ann-Christin Hau and Tanja Buhlmann from MSNZ Frankfurt a.M. Since 2022 and 2023 respectively, they have been successfully leading a junior research group as a tandem in the field of neuro-oncology. In their talk, they will provide fascinating insights into their research and share candid experiences about both the challenges and the support they have encountered along their academic paths. You can find more info about both guest below.

After the keynote, we look forward to engaging with you directly:

Current and former MSNZ Fellows will be available at various round tables to share their individual expertise. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions and benefit from a wealth of experience. You’ll find an up-to-date list of the planned round tables below.

To conclude, Inga will present information about open calls and further plans for 2025 and beyond. Of course, there will be plenty of time for your questions and suggestions! An overview of the program can be found here (Link zum Poster)

Registration:
Please register by July 10, 2025, via email to msnz@uke.de

We look forward to an inspiring exchange with you!

Best regards,

Your Organizing Team
(Inga, Ayham, Katharina, Nina, Joao, Julian, Martin, Wael and Janina)

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Dr. Ann-Christin Hau

Ann-Christin Hau studied molecular biology in Mainz and Vienna and completed her doctorate on epigenetic regulation of neurogenic programs at the Edinger Institute of the Goethe University Frankfurt. She then conducted research at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, where she developed patient-derivedorganoid and xenograft models for the functional characterization of high-grade gliomas. At the Laboratoire National de Santé(LNS) in Luxembourg, her focus was on DNA profiling and nanopore sequencing in neuropathological diagnostics; there she worked closely with Tanja Buhlmann (née Müller) on functional analyses for invasion studies. Since the end of 2022, she has headed the junior research group Translational Neuro-Oncology at the Dr. Senckenberg Institute for Neurooncology and Edinger Institute in Frankfurt. There, the focus is on immunotherapeutic approaches to gliomas, in particular using CAR-NK cells and the targeted modulation of the tumor microenvironment.

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Dr. Tanja Buhlmann

Tanja Buhlmann studied biosciences and interdisciplinary neurosciences at Goethe University Frankfurt and completed her doctorate at the Edinger Institute on transcriptional regulation in the adult brain. As part of her PhD, she also investigated post-translational modulations, in particular calpain-mediated processes, in the context of neurobiological differentiation mechanisms.During her postdoc at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, she specialized in functional CRISPR/Cas9 screening to identify invasion-promoting genes in gliomas. Since 2023, she is co-leader of the junior research group Translational Neuro-Oncology at the Dr.Senckenberg Institute for Neurooncology and Edinger Institute in Frankfurt. Her research focuses on the role of secreted proteins in tumor invasion, which she investigates using GLICO (Glioma Cerebral Organoids) models and functional genomic methods.