Q-rious event
Q-rious | Episode 5

From biopsies to biomarkers – accelerate your cancer research journey

Curiosity drives science. It's also what pushes you and us to make scientific discoveries and advance research. We’re pleased to bring you an extended episode of Q-rious with more food for thought, enlightening discussions and expert insights.

Episode 5 airs April 24: From biopsies to biomarkers – accelerate your cancer research journey

The path from biopsies to biomarkers can be long and laborious. If you’ve ever wondered how you can simplify and accelerate your cancer research journey, then this episode of Q-rious is for you. From preanalytic considerations to the ever-evolving role of NGS and dPCR technologies in biomarker studies, this informative episode tackles some of the hottest topics in cancer research. Join QIAGEN and external experts as they share their knowledge and insights. Engage in the lively discussions with our panelists and be part of the conversation.

Get ahead of the curve – uncover the latest developments in this impactful area of research in this exciting episode. We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at GGlobalQrious@qiagen.com.



Event Sessions

Dive into a discussion on the significant role of dPCR in the mutational analysis of FFPE tumor samples.

  • Digital PCR-based mutation analysis of clinical tumor samples
    Prof. Kim Tae-jung, Head of Pathology, The Catholic University of Korea, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
  • Panel discussion: Digital PCR applications in cancer research, tips & tricks for FFPE sample preparation and dPCR-based mutational analysis
Prof.Kim Tae-jung and 4 other experts

Explore how NGS-based cfDNA analysis can provide unique insights in cancer research.

  • Keynote lecture: ctDNA to aid clinical decision making – where do we stand?
    Prof. Ellen Heitzer, Head of Research Unit, Diagnostic & Research Institute of Human Genetics, Medical University of Graz, Austria
  • Panel discussion: Tips & tricks for liquid biopsy sample preparation, NGS and bioinformatics
Prof.Ellen Heitzer and 5 other experts

Dive into a discussion on the significant role of dPCR in the mutational analysis of FFPE tumor samples.

  • Digital PCR-based mutation analysis of clinical tumor samples
    Prof. Kim Tae-jung, Catholic University of Korea, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, South Korea
  • Panel discussion: Digital PCR applications in cancer research, tips & tricks for FFPE sample preparation and dPCR-based mutational analysis
Prof.Kim Tae-jung and 4 other experts

Explore how NGS-based cfDNA analysis can provide unique insights in cancer research.

  • Keynote lecture: ctDNA to aid clinical decision making – where do we stand?
    Prof. Ellen Heitzer, Head of Research Unit, Diagnostic & Research Institute of Human Genetics, Medical University of Graz, Austria
  • Panel discussion: Tips & tricks for liquid biopsy sample preparation, NGS and bioinformatics
Prof.Ellen Heitzer and 5 other experts
  • Anita Davla, Global Product Manager, PreAnalytiX
    Anita has a background in Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology from Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands. She is currently a Global Product Manager in the PreAnalytiX team, which is a joint venture between QIAGEN and BD. Prior to that, she worked as an NGS platform product specialist in Dubai and expanded into product management in preanalytical workflows.
    Anita Davla
  • Dr. Ellen Bruske, Global Product Manager, dPCR, QIAGEN
    Ellen completed her PhD in Bern, Switzerland, focussing on the role of thiomodifications in tRNA import into the mitochondria of Trypanosoma brucei. During several years as a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Tuebingen, Germany, she investigated the molecular mechanisms and pathogen-host interactions in the causative organisms of malaria and tuberculosis, and worked in clinical study teams in malaria vaccine trials in Germany and Gabon. Ellen is currently a Global Product Manager for digital PCR at QIAGEN.
    Ellen Bruske
  • Prof. Ellen Heitzer, Head of Research Unit, Diagnostic & Research Institute of Human Genetics, Medical University of Graz, Austria
    Prof. Ellen Heitzer is an EU-registered clinical laboratory geneticist at Diagnostic & Research Institute of Human Genetics, Medical University of Graz, Austria, where she is heading the Research Unit for liquid biopsies for personalized medicine in cancer. Her research group has extensive experience in the analysis of plasma DNA and has established a plethora of plasma DNA-based approaches to study genome-wide copy number alterations and high-sensitivity approaches to detect specific mutations occurring at low allele frequencies. In this highly competitive field, the group is internationally recognized. As a steering committee member of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS), Prof. Heitzer advocates for the standardization and guidelines of LB approaches to enable widespread clinical use.
    Ellen Heitzer
  • Dr. Hélène Bauby, Senior Global Product Manager, Targeted Genomics and Enterprise Genomics Solutions, QIAGEN
    Hélène graduated with her PhD in Molecular Biology in 2005 from Paris University. She has spent 13 years in academic research studying plant development and HIV molecular mechanisms (Institut Cochin, Paris and KCL, London). She joined QIAGEN in 2015 and rapidly moved into a Genomics Sales specialist role covering both LS and MDx segments in France and Belgium. In 2023, she joined the Genomics Product Management team.
    Hélène Bauby
  • Prof. Kim Tae-jung, Head of the Pathology, Catholic University of Korea, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, South Korea
    Prof. Kim Tae-jung is the Head of the Pathology department at Yeouido St. Mary’s hospital in South Korea. He is a member of pathology committee at International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and a vice chairman of Tumor Immunology Multidisciplinary Research group at Korea Association of Lung Cancer (KALC). He organizes many biomarker studies and trials and subsequent platform settings in South Korea and Asia. His major academic interests include cancer genomics, biomarkers, analytic test platforms, target therapy and companion diagnostics and immunotherapy.
    Kim Tae-jung
  • Krishna Amin, Senior Global Product Manager, Targeted & Enterprise Genomics, QIAGEN
    Krishna holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. Since joining QIAGEN in 2011, Krishna has worked on various technology developments, including qPCR and NGS technologies. Currently, she leads the Targeted Genomics portfolio at QIAGEN.
    Krishna Amin
  • Dr. Ronny Kellner, Senior Scientist, QIAGEN
    Ronny received his PhD in the field of molecular plant-pathogen interaction at the MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg and at the Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany). After several international projects in Germany and the UK focusing on microbiology, molecular biology and NGS data analysis, he joined QIAGEN in August 2020. Since then, he has been involved in the development of the digital PCR assay portfolio, including applications for pathogen detection. He is currently a Senior Scientist in Research and Development and works on the development of digital PCR assays at QIAGEN.
    Ronny Kellner
  • Dr. Simon Hertlein, Scientist, QIAGEN
    Simon holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Biochemistry from Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg. He received his PhD in 2020 at the Center for Regenerative Therapies TU Dresden, investigating mammalian neural stem cells and their contribution to recovery from brain injury. Simon joined QIAGEN in November 2020, where he focuses on developing nucleic acid extraction applications from FFPE tissue and plasma using the new EZ2 Connect platform.
    Simon Hertlein
  • Dr. Wolfgang Leibinger, Vice President of Life Science Marketing and Sales, QIAGEN
    After earning a PhD in Phytopathology from the University of Constance, Wolfgang has accumulated over 25 years of experience in the biotech industry. Throughout his career, he has taken on diverse roles in sales and marketing within the life science and diagnostics sectors. Currently, Wolfgang holds the position of VP of Life Science Marketing and Sales at QIAGEN, where he leads strategic initiatives to drive growth and impact in the market.
    Wolfgang Leibinger
  • Dr. Eva Haenssler, Associate Director, Product Development, QIAGEN
    Eva holds a PhD in Microbiology from the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Before joining QIAGEN, Eva worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA, USA. Eva is currently an Associate Director at QIAGEN, where her team is responsible for sample technology product development, including solutions for manual and automated extraction from a wide range of sample materials including FFPE tissue samples. Since joining the QIAGEN R&D team in Hilden in 2012, Eva’s work also included sample preparation for microbiome and liquid biopsy applications.
    Eva Haenssler
  • Anita Davla
    Anita Davla, Global Product Manager, PreAnalytiX
  • Ellen Bruske
    Dr. Ellen Bruske, Global Product Manager, dPCR, QIAGEN
  • Ellen Heitzer
    Prof. Ellen Heitzer, Head of Research Unit, Diagnostic & Research Institute of Human Genetics, Medical University of Graz, Austria
  • Hélène Bauby
    Dr. Hélène Bauby, Senior Global Product Manager, Targeted Genomics and Enterprise Genomics Solutions, QIAGEN
  • Kim Tae-jung
    Prof. Kim Tae-jung, Head of the Pathology, Catholic University of Korea, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, South Korea
  • Krishna Amin
    Krishna Amin, Senior Global Product Manager, Targeted & Enterprise Genomics, QIAGEN
  • Ronny Kellner
    Dr. Ronny Kellner, Senior Scientist, QIAGEN
  • Simon Hertlein
    Dr. Simon Hertlein, Scientist, QIAGEN
  • Wolfgang Leibinger
    Dr. Wolfgang Leibinger, Vice President of Life Science Marketing and Sales, QIAGEN
  • Eva Haenssler
    Dr. Eva Haenssler, Associate Director, Product Development, QIAGEN

What is Q-rious?

"Q-rious" is a QIAGEN hosted infotainment show with brain food for nerds and novices. It's aimed at the inquisitive and the open-minded. In each episode, our presenters take you on a 60-minute ride through burning topics and hot trends in molecular research.

The show features ad-hoc experiments, bite-sized videos, interactive polls and quizzes, and a bearable dose of PowerPoint to prove that learning can be fun.

Have we sparked your curiosity?