Prof Dr Dr Sahm, MD, PhD, MBA is a board-certified neuropathologist, Vice-Chair of the Dept. of
Neuropathology and Head of the Div. Molecular Neuropathology at Heidelberg University Hospital,
Heidelberg, Germany.
His record is centred around successful development of biomarkers and assays from discovery to
clinical application, including accreditation, commercialisation and reimbursement. As a result, Dr Sahm
serves as advisor for several pharma companies, guideline and accreditation authorities.d
He is Full Professor of Neuropathology at University of Heidelberg, Faculty of the National Center for
TumorDiseases (NCT) Germany, and co-speaker of the Molecular Diagnostics and Early Detection
branch of the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK).
Prof Sahm earned his MD from Heidelberg University, Germany in 2012; PhD from University of Kent,
UK in 2017; and MBA with specialization in biotech and healthcare from IE Business School, Madrid,
Spain in 2015.
The research group he leads focuses on the identification of novel biomarkers for diagnosis,
prognostication and prediction of response in brain tumors. They typically implement the findings
immediately in routine diagnostics, while challenges in patient care in turn inform the priorities of their
research.
This approach has resulted in a variety of discoveries and assay developments with over 300
publications (first / senior author e.g. in Lancet Oncology, JCO, Nature Cancer, Nature Medicine). These
include the application of DNA methylation for the grading of meningiomas, discovery of a variety of
novel targetable alterations in different brain tumour types, or early development and implementation of
routine next-generation-sequencing on DNA and RNA. Likewise, the findings led to more accurate
delineation of tumor subtypes with clinical relevance. More recently, his group developed methods to
make the diagnostic process much faster, employing novel long-read sequencing technology that allows
intra-operative molecular testing.
Several of these developments resulted in first-of-its-kind reimbursement schemes in Germany,
His studies are based on a large network of outstanding international collaborators, with focus on the
US (UCSF, Harvard, Mayo), France and the UK, and more recently in LMIC via the Molecular
Neuropathology Outreach Consortium, of which he is Chair of the Steering Committee.
Prof Sahm serves in several trials of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer
(EORTC) as reference molecular neuropathologist. He is author of multiple guidelines for the German
Societies of Neurology, Pathology, Neuropathology, or Radiooncology, the European Association of
Neuro-oncology (EANO), the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO). Prof Sahm serves as
member of the working group for the WHO classification, the cIMPACT Steering Committee of the
International Society of Neuropathology, the ITCC-Brain Steering Committee, as chair of the EORTCBTG Translational Research Committee, and formerly as member of the EANO Executive committee.
He is also member of the National Expert Council for Accreditation and auditor for the German
Accreditation Body.
Prof Sahm is co-founder of the academic spin-off Heidelberg Epignostix GmbH, a company founded
2023. Epignostix offers SaaMD-solutions based on their proprietary, patented approach of classifying
tumors more accurately with a DNA methylation-based AI application. This approach has already been
endorsed by the WHO, NCCN and other guidelines and the first product of the company received its
dedicated CPT MAAA code in 2024.
