DFG Extends Funding for Clinical Research Unit CATCH ALL

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has announced that it will fund the Clinical Research Unit CATCH ALL – Towards a Cure for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Across All Age Groups for a further four years (2026-2030) with more than 5 million euros.

Led by Professor Claudia Baldus (CAU Kiel/UKSH Kiel) and Professor Matthias Peipp (CAU Kiel/UKSH Kiel), the consortium brings together researchers and clinicians from the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (CAU), University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common childhood cancers, but it also affects adults at any age. Around 90 percent of children now survive the disease, but survival rates in adults are significantly lower. Despite advances, relapse remains a major challenge across all age groups.

“DFG Clinical Research Units are among the German Research Foundation’s important funding programs. They allow us to address pressing scientific questions, establish innovative research directions, and foster direct clinical translation,” says Baldus, board member of the University Cancer Center Schleswig-Holstein (UCCSH). “With this renewed support, we can continue to bridge basic and clinical research and improve treatment perspectives for patients of all ages.”

Currently, the DFG supports 188 Research Units, 10 Clinical Research Units, and 17 Kolleg Research Units across disciplines. Clinical Research Units such as CATCH ALL are distinguished by their particularly close integration of scientific and clinical work, enabling discoveries to translate more directly into patient care.

In its second funding period, CATCH ALL will employ novel technologies to map the interactions between malignant cells and their surrounding microenvironment at spatial resolution. The overarching goal remains unchanged: The clinical research unit will provide a more comprehensive understanding of disease biology and drug resistance, help identify new therapeutic targets, and accelerate the development of innovative immunotherapies for ALL patients of all ages.

The official press release from the DFG can be found here.