Magdalena Kršić
- Post by: fantom
- 16 July 2025
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Introduction
Hi, my name is Magdalena and I come from Zagreb, Croatia. I hold a Master of Science in Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, a program that sparked my interest in diagnostics by emphasizing the role of prognostic and predictive biomarkers and how personalized medicine is shifting the way we approach treatment, moving away from one-size-fits-all strategies toward treating each patient as an individual.
During my studies, I was especially drawn to biomarker discovery, focusing my Master’s thesis on investigating gene polymorphisms to improve cardiovascular drug safety. Alongside this, I contributed to a larger project focused on molecular profiling of colorectal cancer using liquid biopsy techniques, which aimed to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of exosomes, circulating tumor cells, and cell-free tumor DNA as less invasive alternatives to traditional biopsies. These experiences further validate my belief in how powerful diagnostics can be in guiding treatment decisions.
During a six-month internship in a clinical lab, I rotated through several departments, including hematology, which gave me hands-on insight into diagnostic workflows. That experience sparked a lasting interest in blood cancers and showed me how central precise diagnostics are to effective treatment.
This interest has only deepened since joining the Illert group, whose work aligns closely with my own motivation to contribute to personalized oncology. Prof. Illert has helped advance this field in Germany, especially through her involvement in Molecular Tumor Boards that use comprehensive molecular profiling to guide therapies for patients with rare or treatment-resistant cancers, reinforcing the essential role of biomarkers in clinical decision-making.
Building on this foundation, I am excited to contribute to a better understanding of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) by characterizing its microenvironment and defining distinct cell states and niche interactions that drive disease progression and correlate with poor outcomes. Using cutting-edge technologies such as multiplex immunofluorescence and spatial transcriptomics, I analyze patient tissue samples in a way that preserves spatial and cell–cell contact information, while measuring up to 50 proteins and 500 RNA features to elucidate complex microenvironmental processes. My goal is to comprehensively map the ALCL microenvironment, identify patterns of cell states and interactions linked to disease recurrence risk, and ultimately develop biomarkers to help stratify patients for tailored therapies. This deeper insight into the immune microenvironment will also inform the potential use of microenvironment-targeting treatments, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, and may reveal novel mechanisms of tumor progression and immune evasion.