Celebrating New Research Insights from ProTarget Master’s Projects

This week, we celebrated an important milestone as Tine Østergaard successfully defended her master’s thesis in Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

Based on research conducted within the ProTarget study, Tine’s thesis investigated multi-omic markers associated with clinical outcomes in patients with BRAF V600E-mutated solid tumours treated with BRAF/MEK inhibitors beyond standard indications. The project was carried out in close collaboration between the Phase 1 Unit at Rigshospitalet, MDxCore, Dept. of Clinical Biochemistry, at Rigshospitalet and the Dutch DRUP trial and included a research stay at Leiden University Medical Center and the Emile Voest Group at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in the Netherlands.

Her work contributes to our growing understanding of molecular predictors of treatment response and highlights the value of international collaboration in advancing precision oncology.

Tine’s thesis defense marks another success story for the many students contributing to research and innovation through ProTarget. Earlier this year, Tina Kringelbach and Isa Neimann Thomasen completed their Master’s degree in Personalized Medicine at University of Copenhagen based on another cohort in ProTarget. This project investigated the efficacy of HER2-targeted treatment with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) beyond its approved label and explored the molecular features underlying the pattern of patient responses in the cohort.

We congratulate Tine, Tina and Isa on their great achievements and thank supervisors, patients, investigators, funders and collaborators who contribute to the realization of the objectives in ProTarget. Based on these efforts, we hope to be able to advance precision medicine and improve equity and treatment opportunities for patients with cancer.