Promising Leukemia Research Funded by José Carreras-GPOH Fellowship
Denis Pinkle, doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Medicine at Kiel University, has been awarded the José Carreras-GPOH doctoral fellowship. This prestigious funding, worth 12,000 euros, supports his investigation into treatment resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with a focus on the role of interleukin-7 (IL-7) niches in shielding cancer cells from therapy.
Jointly hosted by the Department of Pediatrics, led by Professor Gunnar Cario (project leader for P1 in the clinical research unit CATCH ALL), and the Department of Hematology and Oncology, led by Professor Claudia Baldus (speaker of CATCH ALL), Pinkle is working at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Campus Kiel. His project is supervised by Dr. Lennart Lenk and Dr. Dennis Das Gupta. Both are also researchers in the DFG-funded clinical research unit CATCH ALL.
The José Carreras Leukemia Foundation and the Society for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (GPOH) award this fellowship to early-career scientists who contribute to progress in leukemia research and the development of innovative therapies. Pinkle’s project aims to uncover how leukemia cells exploit IL-7-producing environments to resist treatments such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These protected areas in the bone marrow or meninges may help cancer cells survive by maintaining alternative signaling pathways.
Lenk, who leads the Translational ALL Research Group and is a member of the Kiel Oncology Network (KON), highlights the importance of this recognition. “This award reflects the strong scientific quality of Denis’s work and confirms the relevance of our approach.”
Co-supervisor Das Gupta adds, “This project also stands for the effective collaboration across pediatric and adult oncology in Kiel. It emphasizes how progress in leukemia treatment depends on interdisciplinary cooperation.”
The CATCH ALL team warmly congratulates Denis Pinkle on this achievement and wishes him continued success in his research.
Find the original press release here (in German).
