Biography:Jean-Pierre Bourquin

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Jean-Pierre Bourquin
EducationMedicine (MD) (1992)
MD-PhD (1996)
Alma materUniversity of Zurich
Known forFunctional Precision Oncology
Drug Response Profiling (DRP)
Transcriptional and epigenetic dependencies in high-risk leukemia
AwardsWalter and Gertrud Siegenthaler Research Award (2011)
Kind-Philipp-Award (2009)
Scientific career
FieldsPediatric oncology
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Precision medicine
Cancer Research
InstitutionsUniversity Children's Hospital Zurich
University of Zurich
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
ThesisInfection prophylaxis in chronic granulomatous disease: clinical efficacy of co-trimoxazole and recombinant human interferon gamma (1997)
Doctoral advisorReinhard Seger
Other academic advisorsStuart Orkin
Websitehttps://www.kispi.uzh.ch/kinderspital/person/bourquin-md-phd-jean-pierre

Jean-Pierre Bourquin is a Swiss pediatric oncologist. He is a Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the University of Zurich and the Chief Physician (Chefarzt) of the Department of Hematology, Oncology, Immunology and Cellular Therapies at the University Children's Hospital Zurich.[1][2] His research focuses on the oncogenic transcriptional, epigenetic and posttranscriptional mechanisms in childhood leukemia and translation in innovative therapies and precision precision medicine.[2] Since 2026, he is the director of the Swiss National Competence Center for Research "Children & Cancer" funded by the SNFS.[3]

Career

In 1992, Bourquin obtained his Swiss Federal Diploma in Medicine and completed his MD thesis on "Infection prophylaxis in chronic granulomatous disease: clinical efficacy of co-trimoxazole and recombinant human interferon gamma" with Prof. Reinhard Seger at the University of Zurich.[4] He subsequently enrolled in an M.D.-Ph.D. program, earning a doctorate in natural sciences (Dr. sc. nat.) at the University of Zurich in 1996 with a thesis on "Isolation of large serine/arginine-rich proteins that interact with the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II" supervised by Walter Schaffner and Jeffry L. Corden.[5]

Following his residency in pediatrics (1997–2000), he completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School from 2000 to 2004.[6][7] During this time, he conducted postdoctoral research on molecular subtypes of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia in the laboratory of Stuart Orkin at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.[8][9]

He received board certification in Pediatrics in 2002 and in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in 2006.[1] Bourquin completed his Habilitation at the University of Zurich in 2010.[10]

At the University Children's Hospital Zurich, Bourquin served as a Senior Consultant Physician (Oberarzt) from 2004 to 2013 and as a Senior Physician (Leitender Arzt) from 2014 to 2020, where he built an program for hematologic malignancies.[11] On February 1, 2020, he was appointed Head of Oncology (Chefarzt).[12] Concurrently, he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the University of Zurich in 2020, having previously served as an Adjunct Professor (Titularprofessor) since 2017.[13]

Bourquin holds several leadership roles in international research consortia. Since 2019, he has chaired the Resistant Disease Committee of the International BFM Study Group (I-BFM).[14] In 2020, he became the Chair of the Scientific Working Group on Precision Hematology of the European Hematology Association (EHA) and he was EHA board member from 2021-2025.[15]

In 2026, he was appointed director along with Rafaele Renella (as co-director) of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Children & Cancer," a long-term funding instrument by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).[3]

Research

Bourquin's research focuses on the biology of very high-risk and drug-resistant leukemias. His laboratory investigates transcriptional dependencies in leukemia, such as the mechanisms driven by TCF3-HLF fusion proteins, and the role of the leukemia microenvironment in sustaining disease progression.[16]

His group developed "Drug Response Profiling" (DRP), a functional precision medicine platform. This method involves the ex vivo screening of primary patient leukemia cells against libraries of therapeutic agents to identify individual drug sensitivities.[17] The platform utilizes automated high-content microscopy to assess cell viability in co-cultures with mesenchymal stromal cells, aiming to replicate the bone marrow microenvironment.[18] This approach has been incorporated into international clinical programs for refractory and drug-resistant leukemia. His research group established an international Federated Acute Leukemia Board and a DRP registry to harmonize clinical data and guide precision medicine strategies. These initiatives are supported by funding from Horizon Europe's IntReALL program.[19] The DRP platform serves multiple clinical trials including the Platform-based trial HemiSmart.[20][21]

Public reporting on his clinical work has included coverage of complex pediatric leukemia cases and the development of new therapies in Swiss national media.[22][23][24] In a guest commentary in the Swiss daily newspaper NZZ, he elaborates on the importance of pediatric cancer research.[25]

Distinctions

  • 2011: Walter and Gertrud Siegenthaler Research Award[26]
  • 2009: Kind-Philipp-Award (shared with Laura Bonapace and Beat Bornhauser) for research on overcoming glucocorticoid resistance in leukemia.[27]

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bourquin, MD-PhD Jean-Pierre | Kinderspital Zürich" (in de). https://www.kispi.uzh.ch/kinderspital/person/bourquin-md-phd-jean-pierre. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bourquin Jean-Pierre" (in de). https://www.med.uzh.ch/de/fakultaet/fakultaetsmitglieder/bourquinJeanPierre.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Swiss State Secretariat of Education, Research and Innovation SERI. "National Centre of Competence in Research “Children & Cancer”". https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/dam/en/sd-web/43zZ7bjPJwTJ/NFS_Children%26Cancer_EN.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Bourquin, J.-P. (1992). Infektprophylaxe bei septischer Granulomatose : klinische Wirksamkeit von Co-Trimoxazol und rekombinantem humanem Gamma-Interferon.. Diss. med. Univ. Zürich. https://toc.library.ethz.ch/objects/pdf03/UMBC_001213055_01.pdf.. 
  5. ↑ "Isolation of large serine/arginine-rich proteins that interact with the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II" (in en). https://uzb.swisscovery.ch/discovery/fulldisplay?&context=L&vid=41SLSP_UZB:UZB&search_scope=MyInstitution&tab=LibraryCatalog&docid=alma990017770380205508. 
  6. ↑ "Jean-Pierre Bourquin". University Children's Hospital Zurich. https://www.kispi.uzh.ch/sites/default/files/d3-documents/kd00418674.pdf. 
  7. ↑ "Prof. Jean-Pierre Bourquin, MD, PhD" (in en-GB). 2021-11-26. https://www.thekaiyafoundation.org/scientific-board-of-advisory/professor-jean-pierre-bourquin. 
  8. ↑ "Prof. Dr. med. Dr. sc. nat. Jean-Pierre Bourquin". University Children's Hospital Zurich. https://www.kispi.uzh.ch/kinderspital/person/bourquin-md-phd-jean-pierre. 
  9. ↑ Bourquin, Jean-Pierre; Subramanian, Aravind; Langebrake, Claudia; Reinhardt, Dirk; Bernard, Olivier; Ballerini, Paola; Baruchel, André; Cavé, Hélène et al. (2006-02-28). "Identification of distinct molecular phenotypes in acute megakaryoblastic leukemia by gene expression profiling". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103 (9): 3339–3344. doi:10.1073/pnas.0511150103. PMID 16492768. PMC 1413912. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0511150103. 
  10. ↑ Bourquin, Jean-Pierre (2009). "Improved Models for Preclinical Evaluation of New Therapeutic Agents for Pediatric Hematologic Malignancies" (in en). https://eth.swisscovery.slsp.ch/discovery/fulldisplay?&context=L&vid=41SLSP_ETH:ETH&search_scope=DiscoveryNetwork&tab=discovery_network&docid=alma991143443879705501. 
  11. ↑ Bourquin, Jean-Pierre (2017-12-01). "A precision medicine approach to haematological malignancies". The Lancet Haematology 4 (12): e567–e568. doi:10.1016/s2352-3026(17)30213-2. ISSN 2352-3026. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352302617302132. 
  12. ↑ "Stärkung der patientennahen Forschung: GL und Schwerpunkt erweitert". University Children's Hospital Zurich. https://www.kispi.uzh.ch/kinderspital/news/staerkung-der-patientennahen-forschung-gl-und-schwerpunkt-erweitert. 
  13. ↑ "Ernennungen vom 16. Dezember 2019" (in de). 2019-12-17. https://www.news.uzh.ch/de/articles/2019/ernennungen-dezember-2019.html. 
  14. ↑ "Executive Board & Advisory Group". International BFM Study Group. https://www.i-bfm.com/structure/executive-board-advisory-group/. 
  15. ↑ "Chairs and Members: Precision Hematology". European Hematology Association. https://ehaweb.org/research-innovation/specialized-working-groups/specialized-working-group-on-precision-hematology/chairs-and-members-precision. 
  16. ↑ Fischer, U. et al. (2015). "Genomics and drug profiling of fatal TCF3-HLF−positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia identifies recurrent mutation patterns and therapeutic options". Nature Genetics 47 (9): 1020–1029. doi:10.1038/ng.3362. 
  17. ↑ Steffen, Fabio D.; Lissat, Andrej; Alten, Julia; Eckert, Cornelia; Bodmer, Nicole; Thorhauge Als-Nielsen, Bodil E.; Balduzzi, Adriana; Buldini, Barbara et al. (2023-11-02). "Drug Response Profiling Informs Personalized Bridging to Cell Therapy for Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia" (in en). Blood 142 (Supplement 1): 4350–4350. doi:10.1182/blood-2023-179306. ISSN 0006-4971. https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/142/Supplement%201/4350/504113/Drug-Response-Profiling-Informs-Personalized. 
  18. ↑ Huang, Yun; Drakul, Aneta; Sidhu, Jasmeet; Rauwolf, Kerstin K.; Kim, James; Bornhauser, Beat; Bourquin, Jean-Pierre (2023-10-01). "MSC.sensor: Capturing cancer cell interactions with stroma for functional profiling" (in en). SLAS Discovery 28 (7): 350–354. doi:10.1016/j.slasd.2023.08.003. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2472555223000618. 
  19. ↑ "Partners - IntReALL". https://intreall2020.eu/project/partners. 
  20. ↑ Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology (2025-09-09). International Proof of Concept Therapeutic Stratification Trial of Molecular Anomalies in Relapsed or Refractory HEMatological Malignancies in Children, Subprotocol D: Trametinib + Dexamethasone + Cyclophosphamide and Cytarabine in Pediatric Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Hematological Malignancies (Report). clinicaltrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05658640. 
  21. ↑ University Children's Hospital, Zurich (2024-08-12). Drug Response Profiling (DRP) Registry Zurich for Hematological Malignancies (Report). clinicaltrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06550102. 
  22. ↑ "Die unglaubliche Heilung des Peter Rohr" (in de). 2019-07-28. https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/die-unglaubliche-heilung-des-peter-rohr-504535317646. 
  23. ↑ Kinder-Leukämie – Kann Liam geholfen werden? - Puls - Play SRF. Retrieved 2026-02-13 – via www.srf.ch.
  24. ↑ Schnydrig, Stephanie (2026-02-04). "Kinderkrebs ist selten und komplex – wie Ärztinnen und Ärzte den Überblick behalten wollen". https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/leben/kinderkrebs-ki-soll-beim-ueberblick-helfen-ld.4108627. 
  25. ↑ Bourquin, Jean-Pierre (2025-05-23). "Kinderkrebsmedizin: warum die Schweiz den Anschluss verliert" (in de). https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/diagnose-krebs-lassen-wir-unsere-kinder-nicht-im-stich-ld.1882854. 
  26. ↑ "Ehrendoktortitel für zehn ausgezeichnete Persönlichkeiten" (in de). 2011-04-30. https://www.news.uzh.ch/de/articles/2011/ehrendoktortitel-fuer-zehn-ausgezeichnete-persoenlichkeiten.html. 
  27. ↑ "Kind-Philipp-Preis für Leukämieforscher aus Zürich". Informationsdienst Wissenschaft. 2010-06-03. https://idw-online.de/en/news371519. 



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