We are pleased to announce that the next Research in Progress meeting will take place on Monday, July 13, 2026, at 4:00 pm in the Main Lecture Hall (Hörsaal), University Hospital Heidelberg, INF 410.
The session will feature presentations by two PhD students of CRC1709 who will share current projects and recent developments from their work.
Speakers
Alexander Wahl—Blank Group (UKHD)
Talk Title:
FLT3 Mutations in AML: Current Status and New Approaches
Bio:
(Niklas) Alexander Wahl studied Biochemistry in the international program at the University of Duesseldorf as well as Michigan State University (3 Semesters). He completed his theses in the Horibata lab of the Precision Health Program (College of Human Medicine, MSU), where he investigated Majusculamide-o, a novel lipopentapeptide, for potential treatment of solid tumors.
In December 2025, he joined the Müller-Tidow lab at UKHD as a PhD student, working with Max Blank on resistance mechanisms in FLT3-mutated AML. His current work uses cell lines, PDX-models and primary samples to investigate and characterize resistance development and progress during treatment.
JieFu Zhu—Kather Group (NCT Heidelberg)
Talk Title:
Deep Learning on Bone-Marrow Smears: Response and Blast Prediction in AML
Bio:
Jiefu Zhu, M.Sc., is a research software engineer and PhD student at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg (NCT Heidelberg). He joined the Kather Lab in 2022 after completing his Master’s degree at the Technical University of Berlin and the University of Rennes, with a focus on Cloud Network Infrastructure.
His work combines software engineering, computer vision, cloud-based systems, and biomedical AI. Within CRC1709, he contributes to Project B01, focusing on AI-based image analysis and single-cell transcriptomics in AML, as well as the INF core project, which supports data management, multimodal data integration, and scalable analysis pipelines.
At NCT Heidelberg, Jiefu helps develop robust computational workflows for AI-powered precision oncology.Julian studied Medicine at the University of Heidelberg, where he received his MD with a thesis on the epigenetic interactions between small, non-coding RNAs and chromatin in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cells, carried out in the group of Carsten Müller-Tidow (“Epigenomics, Epitranscriptomics and Novel Therapy Approaches in AML”). He is a clinician scientist, pursuing his residency in haematology and oncology at Heidelberg University Hospital alongside his research, and also serves as a clinical study coordinator. In 2025, he joined Mirco J. Friedrich’s “Hematology and Immune Engineering” group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where he works at the intersection of artificial intelligence and clinical oncology. His current research is concerned with how AI can support and improve clinical decision-making in haematology and oncology.
Chair:
Lena Schlautmann (Pabst Group, UKHD)
Research in Progress meetings provide an internal platform for scientific exchange within CRC1709 and highlight ongoing work across participating groups.
All CRC1709 members, colleagues, and interested researchers are warmly invited to attend. If you are unable to join in person, participation online is also possible (by invitation only).
