Stefan M. Pfister

Stefan M. Pfister, MD is Head of the Division of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Director of the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), and Professor at Heidelberg University Hospital. He is one of the world's preeminent pediatric neuro-oncology researchers, having co-led the molecular revolution that transformed the classification of virtually all pediatric and adult brain tumor types through comprehensive genomic and epigenomic characterization. His contributions include foundational work on diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), medulloblastoma subgrouping, and the development of DNA methylation-based brain tumor classification—now used clinically worldwide. Dr. Pfister co-developed the DNA methylation-based classifier for CNS tumors (brain tumor methylation classifier), a machine learning tool trained on thousands of reference samples that provides objective, methylation-based diagnoses for brain tumor histologies that are challenging by conventional pathology alone. This tool, freely available via the DKFZ web portal, has been integrated into neuropathology practice in leading centers globally and was a central component of the WHO 2021 CNS tumor classification. Simultaneously, his group characterized H3K27M mutations in DIPG as defining oncogenic events altering the epigenetic landscape and identified targetable vulnerabilities including EZH2 and HDAC inhibition. Beyond DIPG, Dr. Pfister has co-led comprehensive genomic characterization of pediatric GBM, ependymoma, and other CNS tumors, defining new disease entities and prognostic subgroups. His Heidelberg-based program is among the most productive in the world in pediatric brain tumor biology, and his collaborative networks—including the Children's Oncology Group (COG) and SIOPE—have translated genomic discoveries into risk-adapted clinical trials. He is a recipient of the German Cancer Prize and multiple international honors.