Cancer researcher Dr Alexandra Niedermayer from the Ulm Children’s and Adolescents’ Clinic has been awarded the Franziska Kolb Prize, worth 8,000 euros, by the Ulm University Foundation. The 32-year-old researches aggressive forms of blood cancer and, using modern techniques, has identified an effective, personalised treatment approach.
As a PhD student in the leukaemia research group at the Children’s Hospital, Dr Niedermayer established the specialised method known as ‘drug response profiling’ (DRP). This describes how a person’s individual genetic predisposition and molecular characteristics influence their response to specific medicines. A treatment regimen derived from this, using the drug venetoclax, proved successful in a ten-year-old patient with treatment-refractory acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and resulted in the complete disappearance of the leukaemia cells from the bone marrow. This enabled the patient to undergo a stem cell transplant, and he has since been in sustained remission, i.e. showing no signs of the disease.
“This is an outstanding example of translational research that directly benefits the patient,” states the nomination text for Dr Niedermayer’s award. The Leukaemia Research Group plans to use the DRP it has developed to further develop personalised treatment approaches for leukaemias. “I am delighted to receive this award and would like to donate part of the prize money to the Ulm Association for Children with Cancer and Leukaemia,” said Dr Alexandra Niedermayer.
The award was presented at the end of June at the TTU Teaching Hospital.
Dr Alexandra Niedermayer (born in Ulm in 1993) studied Molecular Medicine at Ulm University and completed her PhD there in 2025 at the International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine Ulm (IGradU). She conducts research into rare diseases of the immune system at the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Ulm University Hospital and at the Ulm site of the German Centre for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ).
About the Franziska Kolb Fund:
The Ulm University Foundation supports leukaemia research through the Franziska Kolb Fund. The Franziska Kolb Foundation was established in 1994 by Professor Dieter Kolb in memory of his late wife and is now managed as a fund under the umbrella of the Ulm University Foundation. To fulfil its funding objectives, the Foundation regularly awards a research prize worth 8,000 euros for outstanding scientific work by young researchers in the field of leukaemia research.
The Foundation offers members of the public, businesses and alumni a wide range of opportunities to help shape the future of research and teaching at Ulm University in the long term. Every donation and endowment contributes to enabling scientific innovation and fostering talent.
Text and media contact: Daniela Stang