St. Anna children’s cancer research: Kaan Boztug new scientific Director

Vienna (OTS) – children’s cancer in Europe, with 20,000 new cases diagnosed and 6,000 deaths per year, the deadliest disease in children over one year. That Austria belongs to the European-wide leaders in the treatment of children’s cancer, among other things, the future-oriented thanks to the research work of the St. Anna children’s cancer research. Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Kaan Boztug (41), leading expert for congenital rare diseases of the blood formation and the immune system takes over by 4. March 2019, the agendas of the scientific Director and the scientific responsibility over the committed research projects in the 120-member scientific team of the St. Anna children’s cancer research. His claim: the position of the Institute as one of the world’s leading research centres in the field of children’s cancer to continue to expand, as well as interdisciplinary and international research, to strengthen cooperation in Vienna. Kaan Boztug was chosen in a competitive international tender process as Topkandidat for the position of scientific Director and of a high-profile appeal Committee appointed.

With the St. Anna children’s cancer research, a multi-year success story of the newly appointed scientific Director Kaan Boztug already: As a senior physician in the Paediatric Oncology and head of the immunology at the St. Anna children’s hospital, he sees in the clinic everyday life, the possibilities and limitations in the treatment of children with cancer, which will motivate him to deeper research activities. Since 2016 Kaan Boztug directs the conceived and of the Ludwig Boltzmann society, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases, the St. Anna children’s cancer research Institute as a partner institution are also involved, such as the CeMM research center for Molecular medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna.

The new scientific Director of the St. Anna children’s cancer research is not only a network of national. The key to progress in research and the future of area-wide treatment opportunities for the Expansion of the transnational cooperation for Kaan Boztug. „As well as with other groups of rare diseases, the research of children’s cancer from an interdisciplinary, multi-centre and international co-operation benefits. The Vision of our research team and of the whole Institute will be to help in the near future to those children permanently, which can not be cured with existing treatment options nor sustainable. This claim also characterizes my work and at the same time, the drive for the passionate and consistent further development of our research activity.“

With Expertise and passion for medicine and research: To the Person of Kaan Boztug

With the new Position related tasks are seamlessly integrated in the medical-scientific curriculum vitae of Kaan Boztug:
After studying medicine in Düsseldorf, Freiburg and London, and his doctorate in Iain Campbell, The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla/San Diego in the United States, he completed his clinical training and postdoctoral research work with Christoph Klein at Hannover Medical school. After that, the call was followed by Austria: in 2011, he took over a Position as group leader at the CeMM research center for Molecular medicine of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of child and adolescent medicine of the Medical University of Vienna. In addition, he is the head of the CeRUD Vienna Center for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases and Director of the Jeffrey model expertise centre for congenital immune deficiency diseases in the St. Anna children’s hospital and at the Medical University of Vienna. Since 2016 Kaan Boztug is head of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases. Numerous prizes and international awards confirm the scientific excellence of Kaan Boztug, among them, a FWF START prize and one ERC Starting and recently an ERC Consolidator Grant as well as the Clemens von Pirquet-prize as the least most-cited scientists in the field of child and adolescent medicine in 2018.

On the St. Anna children’s cancer research

The St. Anna kinderkrebsforschung (Children’s Cancer Research Institute – CCRI), founded in 1988, develops and optimizes diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer to children and young people by Connecting basic research with translational and clinical research. The emphasis is placed on the specific features of childhood tumours to be able to the young patients the best possible and most innovative therapies available. Approximately 120 scientists and students are involved in the St. Anna children’s cancer research in ongoing research projects. Currently focused working groups to work together in the areas of tumor genomics and Epigenomics, immunology, molecular biology, cell biology, bioinformatics and clinical research to bring scientific-experimental findings with the clinical needs of the Physicians in line.

Each year, about 250 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer in Austria. Thanks to the interdisciplinary research work at the international level, can be healed of the affected children, 70% to 80%.

Lisa Huto
St. Anna children’s cancer research Institute e. V.
CHILDREN’S CANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE
room-Platz 10, a-1090 Vienna, Austria
Tel.: +43 1 40470-4006
Mobile: +43 664 8476687
Mail: lisa.huto@ccri.at