We proudly present the PhD Student of the Month November 2020, Florian Moik. He is enrolled in the N094 programme „Malignant Diseases“ and works in the research group of Ingrid Pabinger and Cihan Ay at the Division of Hematology and Hemostaseology, Department of Medicine I.
In his thesis project, Florian investigates the role and predictive utility of the blood coagulation system in the progression of cancer. Cancer is a known pro-thrombotic stimulus, and an activated coagulation system is involved in propagating cancer development, growth and its metastatic spread. The overall goal of Florian´s research is to identify biomarkers in the blood that reflect haemostatic activation and hypercoagulability and might be used to predict therapy response and survival in patients with cancer. Furthermore, he aims to define the role of venous thromboembolism as an indicator of cancer progression and treatment failure. Thereby, his research might help refine personalized risk stratification in patients with cancer in order to improve individualized patient care. Florian has already published several articles related to his thesis project in top-ranked scientific journals, including his most recent work on the risk and clinical consequences of thrombotic events in patients with cancer under immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in the journal „Blood“.