Funded Projects
Our research and teaching are supported by external and competitive funding. The projects below reflect our work at the interface of clinical pharmacy, therapeutic drug monitoring, medication safety and pharmaceutical quality.
Research
BOTCAT – Biomarkers to Guide Oral Targeted Cancer Therapies
Funding: Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines (FFQM) · Duration: 2025–2026 (completed) · Role: PI Prof. O. Scherf-Clavel, part of the multicentre ON-TARGET study
A proteomics pilot study nested in the non-interventional ON-TARGET therapeutic drug monitoring study in renal cell carcinoma patients treated with axitinib or cabozantinib. Using longitudinal plasma samples and Olink® proteomics, BOTCAT identified circulating protein signatures linked to high-grade adverse drug reactions – with the chemokine CCL17 emerging as a reversible candidate safety biomarker. The pilot delivers the feasibility data for larger follow-up funding toward closed-loop, personalised dosing.
Individualised cancer therapy with kinase inhibitors using drug monitoring – optimisation by minimally invasive at-home sampling
Funding: Hector Foundation · Duration: 2019–2021 (3-year pilot study) · Partners: Dr. N. Isberner & Prof. H. Klinker and further clinics, University Hospital Würzburg
A three-year pilot study investigating whether serum levels of oral kinase inhibitors correlate with dose reductions or treatment discontinuations caused by adverse effects. LC-MS/MS and HPLC-UV methods for up to ten kinase inhibitors (among them afatinib, nilotinib, dabrafenib, trametinib, ruxolitinib and cabozantinib) were validated to FDA/EMA standards, and a dried-blood capillary micro-sampling assay was established for minimally invasive at-home monitoring – in routine use since 2020. Conducted with several clinics of University Hospital Würzburg.
Integrating at-home sampling into a model-informed therapeutic drug monitoring workflow for nilotinib
Funding: LMU Medical Faculty – FöFoLe programme (doctoral scholarship) · Duration: since 1 May 2026 (doctoral project) · Partners: PI Prof. O. Scherf-Clavel; Dr. N. Isberner, University Hospital Würzburg
Building on a Würzburg pilot study that validated capillary microsampling (VAMS) with LC-MS/MS for nilotinib, this doctoral project develops and validates a model-informed precision dosing workflow for chronic myeloid leukaemia. By combining a few serum and patient-collected capillary samples with PK/PD modelling (Monolix) – including evaluation of an AUC-based response model – it aims to turn patient-friendly at-home sampling into individualised dosing recommendations.
Targeted and untargeted analysis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
Funding: Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines (FFQM) · Duration: completed · Partners: Prof. O. Scherf-Clavel & Prof. U. Holzgrabe, University of Würzburg
Development of untargeted LC-MS/HRMS screening approaches to detect unexpected impurities in finished drug products, using losartan tablets as a model. The work uncovered previously undescribed impurities (e.g. NMP) and showed how combined targeted/untargeted screening strengthens pharmaceutical quality control and patient safety. Results published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis.
Teaching
MyDispense – Integrating a virtual pharmacy into the training of future pharmacists
Funding: LMU Fund for the Promotion of Teaching 2023 (2nd round) · Duration: 2023–2025 · Team: Dr. Y. M. Pudritz, Dr. K. Bartel, Prof. O. Scherf-Clavel
A blended-learning project in clinical pharmacy built around MyDispense, an online pharmacy simulation (originally developed at Monash University). It gives pharmacy students a safe space to develop dispensing and counselling skills throughout their main studies – without the time and capacity limits of the physical practice pharmacy and available for self-study. Embedding the tool into the LMU curriculum responds to the revised licensing regulations, which call for clinical competencies earlier in pharmacist training.
Offizin of Horrors – the Medication Safety Center at LMU Munich
Funding: LMU Fund for the Promotion of Teaching 2024 (3rd round) · Duration: 2024–2026 · Team: Dr. Y. M. Pudritz, PD Dr. K. Bartel, Prof. O. Scherf-Clavel
A “Room of Horrors” adapted to the pharmacy (Offizin): a low-tech, immersive simulation in which students train their situational awareness by spotting staged patient-safety hazards and medication errors in a realistic pharmacy setting. The format sharpens observation, critical thinking and error recognition – skills that are hard to build through theory alone – and establishes a Medication Safety Center at LMU Munich.