Übersicht

Prof. Dr. med. Karsten Spiekermann is a hematologist and oncologist at the Department of Internal Medicine III at the LMU Klinikum in Munich, specializing in myeloid neoplasms including Acute myeloid Leukemia (AML). He serves as the head of the Molecular Genetics Laboratory for Leukemia Diagnostics and of the AML cooperative study group (AML-CG). His additional clinical interests are hemostasis and infectious disease in immunocompromised patiens.

Prof. Spiekermann's research primarily investigates the clonal evolution of high-risk AML. His team aims to understand how genetic mutations accumulate from diagnosis to relapse, contributing to therapy resistance. His laboratory employs next-generation sequencing (NGS) to decode the entire genome or exome of leukemia patients, aiming to identify mutations that inform prognosis and therapy response. 

Moreover, he is working on targeted therapeutic approaches to improve the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia with a focus on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which represent an elegant way to specifically target cancer cells via surface proteins. In addition to developing ADCs that target leukemic stem cells, he works on the targeted modification of ADCs and on mechanisms of resistance that can develop during ADC treatment.

Department of Internal Medicine III | LMU Klinikum