Professor Stefan Pfister

Stefan Pfister serves as Director of the Preclinical Research Program of the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg in Germany, a joint venture between the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospital. He is heading the Division Pediatric Neurooncology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and is a Professor at Heidelberg University. Being a pediatrician by training, Pfister received his MD from Tübingen University, and his clinical education at Mannheim and Heidelberg University Hospitals. As a physician-scientist, he completed postdoctoral fellowships with Christopher Rudd at the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School, and with Peter Lichter at the German Cancer Research Center, Division of Molecular Genetics.  

Pfister's research focuses on the genetic and epigenetic characterization of childhood brain tumors by applying next-generation profiling methods, the development of faithful models and functional validation of findings, and the preclinical testing of new treatment options using these models. In all his activities, translating novel findings into a clinical context is of highest priority. 

Stefan Pfister is co-founder of the international ITCC-P4 gGmbH, a non-for-profit preclinical testing platform which offers novel models for the development of more precise drugs specifically for pediatric patients. For his translational neurooncology projects, Pfister received amongst others the German Cancer Award in 2013 and the Leibniz Price in 2023. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and European Academy of Cancer Sciences.