2020 Elected member of the DKTK faculty board partner site Berlin
2019 Invited Advisory Board Member, Roche iPODD Cancer Immunotherapy Advisory Board
2019 Elected member of the Steering Committee “humanized mouse models and cell engineering”, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin
2018 Elected member of the Clinician-Scientist Program Board, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin
2017 Secondo Loco Position “W1 Adoptive T cell therapy” at the Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2016 Best oral presentation, German Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (GPOH) winter school (topic: targeted therapy)
2015 Scholarship from the William Guy Forbeck Foundation
2015 Best oral presentation, German Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (GPOH) winter school (topic: translational research)
2012 2-year DFG fellowship for position at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, USA
2011 Poster award, Annual Meeting of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th to 30th October
2009 Selected as a participant in the MediMent career development program, Medical Faculty of the University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

a) Articles published by outlets with scientific quality assurance, book publications and works accepted for publication, but not yet published

1. Toews K, Grunewald L, Schwiebert S, Klaus A, Winkler A, Ali S, Zirngibl F, Astrahantseff K, Wagner DL, Henssen AG, Deubzer HE, Schulte JH, Ochsenreither S, Eggert A, Künkele A. Central memory phenotype drives success of checkpoint inhibition in combination with CAR T cells. Mol Carcinog 2020; 59:724-735.

2. Ali S, Toews K, Schwiebert S, Klaus A, Winkler A, Grunewald L, Oevermann L, Deubzer HE, Tüns A, Jensen MC, Henssen AG, Eggert A, Schulte JH, Schwich E, Rebmann V, Schramm A, Künkele A. Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles impair CD171-specific CD4+ CAR T cell efficacy. Front Immunol 2020; 11:531.

3. Koche RP, Rodriguez-Fos E, Helmsauer K, Burkert M, MacArthur IC, Maag J, Chamorro R, Munoz-Perez N, Puiggròs M, Dorado Garcia H, Bei Y, Röefzaad C, Bardinet V, Szymansky A, Winkler A, Thole T, Timme N, Kasack K, Fuchs S, Klironomos F, Thiessen N, Blanc E, Schmelz K, Künkele A, Hundsdörfer P, Rosswog C, Theissen J, Beule D, Deubzer H, Sauer S, Toedling J, Fischer M, Hertwig F, Schwarz RF, Eggert A, Torrents D, Schulte JH, Henssen AG. Extrachromosomal circular DNA drives oncogenic genome remodeling in neuroblastoma. Nat Genet 2020; 52(1):29-34.

4. Andersch L, Radke J, Klaus A, Schwiebert S, Winkler A, Schumann E, Grunewald L, Zirngibl F, Flemmig C, Jensen MC, Rossig C, Joussen A, Henssen AG, Eggert A, Schulte JH, Künkele A. CD171- and GD2-specific CAR T cells potently target retinoblastoma cells in preclinical in vitro testing. BMC Cancer 2019; 19(1):895.

5. Künkele A, Brown C, Beebe A, Mgebroff S, Johnson AJ, Taraseviciute A, Rolczynski LS, Chang CA, Finney O, Park JR, Jensen MC. Manufacture of chimeric antigen receptor T cells from mobilized cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cell units depends on monocyte depletion. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2019; 25:223-232.

6. Künkele A, Taraseviciute A, Finn LS, Johnson AJ, Berger C, Finney O, Chang CA, Rolczynski LS, Brown C, Mgebroff S, Berger M, Park JR, Jensen MC. Preclinical assessment of CD171-directed CAR T cell adoptive therapy for childhood neuroblastoma: CE7 epitope target safety and product manufacturing feasibility. Clin Cancer Res 2017; 23:466-477.

7. Künkele A, Johnson AJ, Rolczynski LS, Chang CA, Hoglund V, Kelly-Spratt KS, Jensen MC. Functional tuning of CARs reveals signaling threshold above which CD8+ CTL antitumor potency is attenuated due to cell Fas-FasL dependent AICD. Cancer Immunol Res 2015; 3:368-379.

8. Schulte JH, Lindner S, Bohrer A, Maurer J, De Preter K, Lefever S, Heukamp L, Schulte S, Molenaar J, Versteeg R, Thor T, Künkele A, Vandesompele J, Speleman F, Schorle H, Eggert A, Schramm A. MYCN and ALKF1174L are sufficient to drive neuroblastoma development from neural crest progenitor cells. Oncogene 2013; 32:1059-1065.

9. Heukamp LC, Thor T, Schramm A, De Preter K, Kumps C, De Wilde B, Odersky A, Peifer M, Lindner S, Spruessel A, Pattyn F, Mestdagh P, Menten B, Kuhfittig-Kulle S, Künkele A, König K, Meder L, Chatterjee S, Ullrich RT, Schulte S, Vandesompele J, Speleman F, Büttner R, Eggert A, Schulte JH. Targeted expression of mutated ALK induces neuroblastoma in transgenic mice. Sci Transl Med 2012; 4:141ra91.

10. Künkele A, De Preter K, Heukamp L, Thor T, Pajtler KW, Hartmann W, Mittelbronn M, Grotzer MA, Deubzer HE, Speleman F, Schramm A, Eggert A, Schulte JH. Pharmacological activation of the p53 pathway by nutlin-3 exerts anti-tumoral effects in medulloblastomas. Neuro Oncology 2012; 14:859-869.