Nadine Wolgast successfully defends doctoral thesis on molecular heterogeneity in acute leukemias

The CATCH ALL Clinical Research Unit congratulates INF PhD student Dr. Nadine Wolgast on the successful defense of her doctoral thesis, “An integrative bioinformatics approach to characterize molecular landscapes and clinical outcomes in acute leukemias.”

In her dissertation, Nadine Wolgast combined epidemiological analyses, bioinformatics, and molecular diagnostics to improve the understanding of the biological diversity of acute leukemias. A central part of her work was the development of IntegrateALL, published in Haemasphere, a comprehensive RNA sequencing pipeline that integrates gene expression, fusion detection, genetic variants, and RNA-based karyotyping to enable transparent and reproducible molecular classification of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Her research also explored how transcriptome-derived developmental states relate to immunogenetic features, thereby providing new insights into leukemia biology and disease classification.

Together, these findings can contribute to more precise molecular diagnostics and aim to support the development of improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for patients with acute leukemia.

We also congratulate Eric Amelunxen and Jonathan Jebens on the successful defense of their doctoral theses within the topics of CATCH ALL.

We wish Nadine, Eric, and Jonathan every success in the next stage of their scientific careers.