The team.
Hannah Uckelmann, PhD
Dr. Hannah Uckelmann is Max-Eder junior research group leader at University Hospital Goethe Universität Frankfurt. Her research focuses on studying the epigenetic regulation of self-renewal programs during cancer development and the discovery of new therapeutics. During her time as an postdoc and instructor at Harvard Medical School she showed that Menin-MLL inhibitors are highly effective in NPM1 mutant AML mouse and PDX models, paving the way for the ongoing clinical trials using these highly potent targeted epigenetic inhibitors. Hannah continued on to discover an unexpected role of mutant NPM1 on chromatin representing the molecular basis for the effectiveness of Menin-MLL inhibition in NPM1 mutant AML. NPM1c cooperates with other chromatin factors to change the chromatin landscape and enhance transcriptional output at its target sites. She and her team continue investigating NPM1c-driven leukemogenesis with focus on novel therapeutic therapies in NPM1 mutant AML.
Sara Gama
PhD Student
Sara began her scientific career with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Aveiro in Portugal. She then moved to Lisbon to complete a Master’s in Biomedical Research at IMM (Instituto Medicina Molecular), where her thesis focused on studying epigenetics in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Motivated by her interest on the molecular mechanisms of hematologic malignancies, Sara is now investigating the role of wild-type NUP98 in NPM1 acute myeloid leukemia.
Hannah Gonzalez Dammers
PhD Student
Hannah examines the role of the nuclear export factor XPO1 on chromatin in NPM1c-driven acute myeloid leukemia. She studied biology at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and completed her bachelor thesis on epigenetic regulation of a domesticated transposase. Following her bachelor studies, she worked as a research assistant in the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz on epigenetics and genome instability. For her master thesis, she focused on the ciliopathy Bardet-Biedl-Syndrome while investigating nuclear functions of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome proteins in different cell types.
Arezo Javadpoor
PhD Student
Arezo earned her bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science from Tehran Medical University, where she also pursued my master’s degree, focusing on stem cell therapy during her thesis. Subsequently, she obtained a second master’s degree from the University of Turin, Italy, where she investigated the role of Mecp2 in AML. Currently, as a PhD student, Arezo is studying lncRNAs upregulated in NPM1c leukemia as well as screening for novel epigenetic drug dependencies, often uncovering surprising targets that lead to new mechanistic insights.
Viktoria Wingenfeld
Lab Technician
Viktoria is responsible for managing all essential background processes, ensuring the seamless progression of our research. Additionally, she conducts experiments for epigenetic drug screens to uncover new therapeutic opportunities.
Raddur Samaddar
Master Student
Raddur is a master’s student in Cell Biology and Cellular Interactions (PBioC) at Goethe University Frankfurt. Following an Engineering degree in Biotechnology and experience in vaccine formulation research in India, he moved to Germany because of his intent and interest in studying cancer epigenetics. In the lab, he investigates the molecular dynamics of the role of XPO1 (Exportin) on chromatin - combining effects of pharmacologic targeting in different AML subtypes with a focus on NPM1c driven AML.
Marcel Müller
Master Student
After completing his bachelors, studying molecular pathways in Autism using human cerebral organoids, Marcel started his masters in Drug Research at the Goethe University Frankfurt. For his thesis he aims to uncover novel therapeutic targets in mutant NPM1 AML using CRISPR/Cas9 technologies.