Newcastle University

Current Work

During my basic paediatric training in Germany at the University Hospitals of Freiburg and Hannover, I already started focussing on my favourite specialty which is paediatric oncology. After moving to Newcastle with my family, I was appointed to the ACL position in October 2008. I am delighted to have the opportunity to combine academic and clinical work, thereby completing my training as paediatric oncologist and becoming a clinician scientist.
The focus of my research lies in the selection and development of new anti-cancer compounds pre-clinically and their evaluation in early-phase clinical trials. I consider this area of research particularly important, as there are still around 30% of paediatric cancer patients who die of their disease. To further improve the outlook for these patients, it is of great importance to develop novel, more effective and less toxic therapies, since it is unlikely that higher cure rates will be achieved with existing treatment protocols. Currently I am working with a potentially new drug which is inhibiting a DNA-repair pathway, thereby sensitising cancer cells to the DNA-damaging effects of chemotherapeutic drugs.

Osteonecrosis: a treatment related toxicity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)--experiences from trial ALL-BFM 95. Bürger B, Beier R, Zimmermann M, Beck JD, Reiter A, Schrappe M. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2005 Mar;44(3):220-5.

Diagnostic cerebrospinal fluid examination in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: significance of low leukocyte counts with blasts or traumatic lumbar puncture. Bürger B, Zimmermann M, Mann G, Kühl J, Löning L, Riehm H, Reiter A, Schrappe M. J Clin Oncol. 2003 Jan 15;21(2):184-8.

• Vormoor B, Foy KE, Curtin N, Clifford SC. Sensitisation of paediatric solid tumours to DNA-damaging chemotherapy by inhibition of DNA-dependent protein kinase (PRKDC). In: EJC Supplements: 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. 2010, Berlin, Germany: Pergamon.