Federal Office for Radiation Protection

8th International Workshop on the Causes of Childhood Leukemia



08–10 July 2026 | Kolpinghaus Munich

From 8–10 July 2026, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) will host the 8th International Workshop on the Causes of Childhood Leukemia in Munich.
 
The event is part of a workshop series that aims to advance understanding of the disease’s primary drivers by bringing together international experts to review evidence, share new data, and define priority research directions.
 
The upcoming 8th workshop will focus on examining the role of infections in the development of the disease, methodologies for measuring the exposome, and insights from recent animal experimental studies regarding the effects of magnetic field exposure. Additionally, new and ongoing international collaborations will be presented.

The workshop will take place on-site at Kolpinghaus Munich and will be complemented by online participation options to enable broad international involvement.


Program

This is a preliminary program. Titles and times of the talks may be subject to change.

1st day, Wednesday, 8th July 2026

From 12:00 p.m. Registration | Welcome Coffee
Session 1 | Opening
1:00–1:15 p.m. Welcome BfS
1:15–1:30 p.m. Setting the scene J. Schüz
Session 2 | European perspectives
1:30–1:50 p.m. Green and blue spaces R. Ramis
1:50–2:10 p.m. Indoor radon and childhood leukemia - integration of evidence A. Auvinen
2:10–2:30 p.m. GEOCAP program S. Goujon
2:30–3:00 p.m. Coffee break
Session 3 | National and international collaborations
3:00–3:20 p.m. EDI-4-ALL U. Fischer
3:20–3:40 p.m. Natural background radiation and childhood leukemia and brain tumors: a multi-national joint analysis (RadoNorm) B. Spycher
3:40–4:00 p.m. Uncovering New insights from the COVID-19 pandemic FOR Childhood Cancer prevention and care (UNI-4-CC): Rationale and Overview of the Projec F. Erdmann
4:00–4:45 p.m. EU project "environmental risk factors and childhood ALL" TBC
Proffered Papers I
4:45–5:00 p.m. Establishing environmental causes of childhood cancer: a view from the IARC Monographs E. Pasqual
5:00–5:15 p.m. EPI-CT Study: A European Study on the Assessment of Malignant Hematological Diseases Following Pediatric CT Scans M.-O. Bernier
From 7:00 p.m. Get together

2nd day, Thursday, 9th July 2026

Session 4 | Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
9:00–9:20 a.m. MF from rail ways J. Schüz
9:20–9:40 a.m. RF broadcast towers L. Zupunski
9:40–10:00 a.m. Childhood leukemia near nuclear installations R. Wakeford
10:00–10:30 a.m. Coffee break
Session 5 | Childhood leukemia mouse models
10:30–10:50 a.m. Childhood leukemia mouse models A. Pandyra
10:50–11:10 a.m. Childhood leukemia mouse models I. Sánchez-García
Session 6 | Effects of MF exposure in animal experimental studies
11:10–11:30 a.m. BfS project 1: MF and immune system D. Sachno
11:30-11.50 a.m. BfS project 2: MF and leukemia development TBC
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Lunch
Key note lecture | Infections
1:00–2:00 p.m. Key note lecture TBC
2:00–2:30 p.m. Panel discussion Moderator: J. Schüz
2:30–3:00 p.m. Coffee break
Proffered Papers II
3:00–3:15 p.m. Investigating the Role of Immune Training and Innate Immune Stimuli in Enhancing Immunosurveillance against ETV6::RUNX1+ BCP-ALL H. Sahin
3:15–3:30 p.m. Helminth-Induced Immune Training and Its Potential Impact on Leukemia Progression Y. Zeng
3:30–3:45 p.m. Immune Training: A Prophylactic and Therapeutic Gatekeeper against B-ALL M.N.F. Morcos
3:45–4:00 p.m. Differential Impact of Early-Life Vaccination on Preleukemic Cells in a Murine Model of B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia A. Farrokhi
4:00–4:15 p.m. High Birth Weight predisposes to Childhood B-Cell Leukemia in genetically predisposed mice C. Vicente-Dueñas
4:15–4:30 p.m. Investigating the influence of environment on childhood leukaemia-initiating events using monoculture and 3D models J.R. Saville
From 7:00 p.m. Conference Dinner


3rd day, Friday, 10th July 2026
 
Session 7 | Exposome and Mechanisms
9:00–9:20 a.m. The evolutionary dynamics of lymphoid cancer and its meaning for childhood leukemia development M. Duran-Ferrer
9:20–9:40 a.m. Epigenome-wide analyses of ALL and early-life exposures: backtracking to birth A. Ghantous
9:40–10:00 a.m. Measuring environmental exposures in blood I. Caspersen
10:00–10:20 a.m. Findings from the PEDIAC consortium T. Mercher
10:20–10:50 a.m. Coffee break
Proffered Papers III
10:50–11:05 a.m. Defining Pre-Leukemic States and Evolutionary Trajectories in PAX5-Driven B-Cell Leukemia A. Abdelsaid
11:05–11:20 a.m. Functional Profiling of Germline PAX5 Variants in Pediatric B-ALL R. Haag
11:20–11:35 a.m. Maternal Pesticide Exposure Before and During Pregnancy and Risk of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Offspring: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis N. Rodet
11:35–11:50 a.m. Maternal folate depletion induces tissue-specific epigenetic alterations linked to childhood leukaemia J.R. Saville
Session 8 | Looking around and forward – what to do next?
12:00–12:30 p.m. Summary & Farewell BfS


Upload abstract

The deadline for abstract submission has been extended to 14 April. We encourage all interested participants to submit their abstracts by this new deadline.
Please use this link to download the template for the abstract. 

To submit your abstract, please send it to jschmidt@bfs.de by 14 April.

BfS Childhood Leukemia 2026 Travel Award

The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is pleased to announce the availability of one travel award for a PhD student to attend the 8th International Workshop on the Causes of Childhood Leukemia 2026.
 
  • The BfS Travel Award is open to PhD students presenting at the workshop.
  • The award will be granted to the applicant with the highest-rated abstract.
  • Selection will be primarily based on the quality of the abstract.
Evidence of PhD student status may be requested before award is provided.

Funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis; the awardee is required to initially cover travel expenses and submit valid receipts and invoices to BfS following the workshop to receive reimbursement.


Registration

* mandatory field

Type of participation

Please select how you would like to attend the event.
Ticket
€ 150,00
€ 190,00
€ 100,00

By registering, I agree that my personal data will be processed for the purpose of organizing and conducting the event in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. Further information can be found in the Data Protection Information.


Location

Tagungszentrum Kolpinghaus
Adolf-Kolping-Str.1
80336 München
Website

If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact the organizing office appointed by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, operated by the agency familie redlich, which can be reached on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (CET).

Organizing Office “8th International Workshop on the Causes of Childhood Leukemia”
c/o familie redlich AG
Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25 | 13355 Berlin
Email: leukemiaworkshop.muc@bfs-strahlenschutz.de

 
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