Dr. Laura Hinze is a German physician-scientist and a leading young cancer researcher based at Hannover Medical School (MHH). Born in 1997 in Minden, she began her medical degree at the age of 16 and completed her MD thesis in 2020 under Martin Stanulla at MHH, focusing on pediatric hematology-oncology.
Her research centers on understanding molecular mechanisms of treatment resistance in leukemia and colorectal cancer. A key discovery from her lab, published in Molecular Cell in 2022, revealed a novel amino acid reutilization mechanism: drug-resistant cancer cells assemble GSK3α–proteasome bodies to survive asparagine starvation. This insight opens new strategies to sensitize tumors, potentially improving responses to therapies like asparaginase-based chemotherapy.
Dr. Hinze has received numerous prestigious awards, including the German Cancer Aid Max Eder Junior Research Group grant (~€743,000 in 2021), the Paul Ehrlich & Ludwig Darmstaedter Young Investigator Prize (2022), and the Fritz Behrens Science Prize (2023). At just 24, she became one of the youngest female physicians in Germany to habilitate and now leads her own research group at MHH’s Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
Her work combines cutting-edge CRISPR–Cas9 screening, organoid and mouse models, proteomics, and signaling studies to uncover vulnerabilities in cancer cell metabolism and signal transduction. Dr Hinze’s dedication to translating fundamental discoveries into therapeutic innovations marks her as a rising star in precision oncology.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Laura Hinze
Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hannover Medical School, MHH, Germany.
Phone: +49 511 532‑7880
Email: hinze.laura@mh-hannover.de