Title: Biobank Resources for Personalized Pediatric Brain Tumor Research: Liquids, Cell Cultures, and Organoids
Speaker: PD Dr. Sibylle Madlener (Medical University of Vienna)
Date and time: Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 2 pm
Abstract: Pediatric brain tumors are the most common solid tumors and the leading cause of cancer related death in children and adolescents. In this talk, PD Dr. Madlener will discuss the current diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, with a particular focus on the molecular heterogeneity of these tumors and the limited access to tumor tissue due to their delicate localization within the brain.
Liquid biopsy has the potential to bridge the gap created by the lack of accessible tumor tissue and can provide crucial information for surgical planning, treatment monitoring, and the detection of residual disease or progress. In the second part of the talk, she will present the generation of brain organoids and discuss how these models can yield valuable insights into treatment efficacy and toxicity, ultimately supporting the development of novel, personalized therapeutic strategies.
Short biography
Sibylle Madlener is head of the Molecular Neuro-Oncology Research Lab at the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical University of Vienna. She graduated in Human Biology at the University of Vienna and finished her PhD studies at the Medical University of Vienna. Recently she got her post-doctoral lecture qualification in Oncological Basic Research and is listed as a member of the SIOPE-BTG Liquid Biopsy Group, the SIPOPE-BTG Rare Tumor Group and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Medical University of Vienna.
The main focus of her research work is the identification of stable biomarkers combined with establishing new methods to isolate and detect cell-free circulating nucleotides (cfRNA/cfDNA/miRNAs) which are released into body fluids (plasma/serum/CSF/cysts liquids). Her research findings will provide novel tools for the early detection and monitoring of severe tumor diseases in the bodily fluids of patients. Madlener is registered as an instructor at the Medical University of Vienna, and during the last few years, she supervised several undergraduate and postgraduate students. Over the past years, she acquired national and international peer-reviewed grants due to her excellent research work and reached a publication score of over 64 peer-reviewed manuscripts.
More Information
The talk takes place in person in the MIBE lecture hall.