Martin Sauer heads the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Hannover Medical School.

Remarkable advances in biotechnology have enabled the widespread clinical application of gene transfer techniques and gene-editing strategies in cell therapy. Key milestones in the gene therapy-based correction of inherited disorders and in targeted cellular therapies for leukemia were initially achieved in children, subsequently serving as a foundation for their broader application in adults.

My research group leverages our clinical expertise in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to reproduce clinical observations in preclinical models. This “bedside-to-bench” approach aims to prevent the premature discontinuation of exceptionally resource-intensive clinical trials and to help anticipate and better understand unexpected biological phenomena, allowing us to develop potential solutions at an early stage.

Within a controlled experimental setting, we seek to harness the immune system as it reconstitutes following stem cell transplantation to target residual tumor cells in the body more effectively. Our research focuses on developing and understanding the immunological mechanisms underlying so-called “off-the-shelf” cell products. Our goal is to make these therapies less complex to manufacture, more straightforward to administer, economically sustainable, and thus accessible to as many patients as possible.

Research Focuses

• Cell-based therapies for acute leukemias
• Genetic modification of lymphoid progenitor cells
• Experimental stem cell transplantation
• Application of innovative cell therapies in children

CONTACT

Prof. Dr. med. Martin Sauer

Clinical Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology

OE 6780

Hannover Medical School

Car-Neuberg Street 1

30625 Hanover

Phone: +49 511 532-6716

Email: sauer.martin@mh-hannover.de