We congratulate Tamara Rothenburger on the successful defence of her doctoral thesis!

The Frankfurt Foundation for Children with Cancer is delighted to congratulate Tamara Rothenburger on the successful defence of her doctoral thesis. Her outstanding thesis was written in our foundation’s own Dr. Petra Joh House under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jindrich Cinatl and is dedicated to a highly relevant topic in leukaemia research: the resistance mechanisms in acute leukaemias, in particular the role of the resistance factor SAMHD1.

Acute leukaemias such as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) can be fatal within a few weeks if left untreated. One of the greatest challenges in therapy is the occurrence of chemotherapy resistance, which can either exist at the start of treatment or be acquired during the course of therapy. In her dissertation, Tamara Rothenburger showed in cell cultures and primary patient cells that the enzyme SAMHD1 plays a decisive role in treatment with nucleoside analogues such as nelarabine, sapacitabine and decitabine by inactivating the active substances and thus promoting resistance (to the report: Link).

The translational approach of her research is particularly noteworthy: Tamara Rothenburger identified SAMHD1 not only as an important biomarker for the response of leukaemic cells to certain therapies, but also as a potential therapeutic target. Inhibiting SAMHD1 could significantly increase the efficacy of nucleoside analogue-based treatments – a promising approach for the future of leukaemia therapy.

We are proud that Mrs Rothenburger was able to carry out this scientifically and clinically important work at our hospital and wish her all the best for her future career! Her contribution is an important step in the fight against leukaemia and gives hope for improved treatment options for affected children and adults.

Photo (from left): Prof Dr Jindrich Cinatl, Dr Tamara Rothenburger