linkedin Heidelberg, Germany ferdinand.popp@proton.me

Education

Oct 2023 – Apr 2027
International PhD Program, Applied Bioinformatics — Prof. Brors
German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) & Heidelberg University
  • Helmholtz PhD Fellowship
  • Predicting molecular alterations for 2,500+ INFORM cases from the Molecular Tumor Board and Liquid Biopsy cohorts
Oct 2019 – Jan 2023
M.Sc. Molecular Biosciences, Major Cancer Biology — final grade: 1.2
DKFZ & Heidelberg University
  • Thesis (Prof. Brors, Prof. Jäger, Prof. Wiemann): graph machine learning for multi-omics and clinical data integration, grade 1.0
  • Student speaker, Major Cancer Biology program
Oct 2016 – Oct 2019
B.Sc. Biosciences — final grade: 1.4
Heidelberg University
  • Thesis (Prof. Grimm): engineered AAV capsid selection strategies for gene therapy, grade 1.0

Experience

Mar 2022 – Aug 2023
Bioinformatics Research Assistant, Applied Tumor Immunity
Prof. Jäger — National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg
  • Analyzed multi-omics and clinical data from patient cohorts with graph machine learning; built an accessible platform integrating results with biomedical knowledge graphs
Jul 2018 – May 2022
Working Student Software Developer
Gotthardt Healthgroup AG, Heidelberg
  • Developed Python applications for digital health, plus internal reporting tools and websites
Oct – Dec 2021
Research Intern, Pattern Recognition & Digital Medicine
Dr. Hübschmann — HI-STEM, Heidelberg
  • Derived an expression-based prognostic signature for Acute Myeloid Leukemia relapse
Apr – Jul 2021
Inhouse Consulting Intern
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
  • Delivered process and automation solutions across three global Healthcare client projects
Research Intern, Applied Bioinformatics, Prof. Brors, DKFZ (2020–2021) · Digital Accelerator Intern, Qiagen N.V. (2019) · Student Tutor, Molecular Biology, Heidelberg University (2017–2020)

Skills

Programming
Python, R, Bash
Machine Learning
PyTorch, scikit-learn, graph ML, multi-omics modeling
Infrastructure
HPC, Snakemake, Microsoft Office
Domain
Multi-omics analysis, biomedical knowledge graphs

Languages & Interests

English (professional) · German (native)
Beach volleyball · Hackathons