Important steps of the last 35 years
1988 – The foundation year
After several considerations, St.Anna Kinderkrebsforschung (St.Anna CCRI) was founded as an association to establish a research institute for pediatric cancer, the first of its kind in Europe. The research work started with the development of five research groups.
1990/91 – Steady growth
The number of working groups rose to seven, with more than fifty employees. The main research focus was on genetics. The equipment was expanded to include tools for computer-aided chromosome analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for DNA amplification. Flow cytometry analysis was introduced.
1993 – Expanding research horizons
Research activities gradually extended to other forms of pediatric cancer, as well as to the fields of virology and immunology. During the course of the decade, the number of employees steadily increased to about seventy.
2001 – Heinrich Kovar becomes Scientific Director
Having led the Molecular Biology of Solid Tumors group at St. Anna CCRI since 1988, Heinrich Kovar took over as Scientific Director from 2001 to 2017. His leadership played a pivotal role in shaping the institute’s scientific direction and strengthening its focus on translational pediatric cancer research.
2004/05 – New Cooperations
St. Anna CCRI entered cooperations with the Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP) and the Medical University of Vienna and participated in the development of a cancer research institute of the Ludwig Boltzmann Society. Its purpose, among other things, was to perform research in animal models for new therapeutic approaches.
2006 – Labdia founded
Labordiagnostik für krebskranke Kinder GmbH (Labdia) was founded as a subsidiary of the St. Anna CCRI to integrate pediatric diagnostics in a single structure.
2006–2008 – Clinical Trials Unit founded
The Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) was founded to help clinical studies comply with increasingly strict, internationally standardized rules and manage the continuous growth of data.
2009/10 – New research building
A completely new research building was erected directly next to St. Anna Children’s Hospital, increasing St. Anna CCRI’s working area to approximately 3,400 m2.
2012 – Helmut Gadner retires
Helmut Gadner, founder, initiator, and mastermind of the St. Anna CCRI, retired. His functions, including the medical directorship of St. Anna Children’s Hospital, were taken over by Wolfgang Holter.
2014 – Innovative Cancer Models Department established
Adding to the existing working groups, the Department of Innovative Cancer Models was established. Its research focuses on investigating central mechanisms of cancer development and testing new drugs using zebrafish larvae models.
2016 – Launch of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases
Together with the Medical University of Vienna and the Research Centre for Molecular Medicine (CeMM), St. Anna CCRI became a partner in the new Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases.
2017 – Foundation of the Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) Biology group
The group, headed by Caroline Hutter, became the 13th lab at the St. Anna CCRI.
2017 – National Expertise Centre for Rare Diseases
St. Anna Children’s Hospital and St. Anna CCRI received the designation as National Expertise Centre for Rare Diseases and assume the function of coordinator of a European Reference Network against Paediatric Cancer (ERN-PaedCan).
2019 – Kaan Boztug takes over as Scientific Director
Under Boztug’s leadership from 2019 to 2025, St. Anna CCRI’s research groups worked together in the fields of tumor genomics and epigenomics, immunology, molecular biology, cell biology, bioinformatics and clinical research to align scientific-experimental findings with the clinical needs of physicians and to apply advances in biomedical research for the benefit of patients.
2020 – Christian Doppler Laboratory launched
St. Anna CCRI established a new Christian Doppler Laboratory, led by Manfred Lehner, where scientists develop next-generation CAR T cell therapies for high-risk childhood tumors.
2020 – The institute is transferred into the structure of a company with limited liability.
2023 – St. Anna CCRI celebrated its 35th anniversary!
2025 – Sabine Taschner-Mandl and Eleni Tomazou appointed as Scientific and Managing Directors. Caroline Hutter takes over as Head of Institute.
St. Anna CCRI’s new leadership focuses on a bed-to-benchside-and-back approach, aiming to bring clinical practice and research closer and establish even more connections between the research institute and the St. Anna Children’s Hospital.