Who is ... Silvia von Karstedt
“I became a scientist because I was fascinated by the idea that cancer is, at its core, a disease of failed cellular growth brakes. It struck me as ironic that a cell surviving too well can ultimately become detrimental to the organism as a whole. What I enjoy most about research is uncovering unexpected biological mechanisms and connecting them to clinically meaningful questions. My work focuses on understanding how cell death and immune interactions drive tumor initiation, evolution, and therapy response. I also find mentoring and collaborating across disciplines especially rewarding, because many of the most exciting discoveries emerge from combining different perspectives and technologies.”
Prof. Dr. Silvia von Karstedt is Professor of Dynamics of Cancer and Immune Systems at the University of Cologne and principal investigator at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) and the Cologne Cluster of Excellence for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD). Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of regulated cell death and their role in cancer evolution, tumor immunity, and therapeutic resistance.
After studying biology at the Universities of Hamburg and Heidelberg, Silvia von Karstedt completed her PhD at Imperial College London in 2013. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the UCL Cancer Institute and the Francis Crick Institute in London before joining the University of Cologne in 2017 as a Max Eder Junior Research Group Leader funded by the German Cancer Aid Foundation. In 2021, she was appointed to a W2 Professorship in Dynamics of Cancer and Immune Systems at the Department of Translational Genomics and CECAD.
The von Karstedt laboratory investigates how different forms of regulated cell death - including apoptosis, ferroptosis, and necroptosis - influence tumor evolution, immune evasion, and therapy resistance. A central focus of her work is ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of oxidative cell death that has emerged as a promising therapeutic vulnerability in cancer. Using genetically engineered mouse models, organoid systems, and multi-omics approaches, her group studies lung cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), B-cell lymphoma, and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Her research has identified subtype-specific vulnerabilities in SCLC and uncovered mechanisms by which oncogenic KRAS signaling rewires pathways of regulated cell death including apoptosis, ferroptosis and necroptosis.
Silvia von Karstedt has authored numerous influential publications in leading journals including Cancer Cell,Nature Communications, Cell Death & Differentiation and Oncogene. Her work has substantially advanced the understanding of tumor–immune interactions and cell death signaling in cancer biology, particularly in the context of therapy resistance and tumor plasticity.
Her research excellence has been recognized through competitive funding and participation in major collaborative research initiatives, including projects supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), several Collaborative Research Centers (SFBs), and interdisciplinary cancer research networks. Through these efforts, her work continues to advance the understanding of regulated cell death mechanisms and their therapeutic potential in cancer.
Beyond her research activities, Silvia von Karstedt is actively involved in collaborative and translational research initiatives at CECAD, the CMMC, and the Mildred Scheel School of Oncology Cologne-Bonn, where she contributes to interdisciplinary efforts bridging cancer biology, immunology, and molecular medicine.