Kristina Breitenecker (KB) obtained her Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Applied Life Sciences Campus Vienna in 2018. KB performed her master thesis at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Medical University of Vienna by investigating mechanisms behind immune escape of lung adenocarcinomas. She joined the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna as a PhD student in 2019. In the lab of Wolfgang Mikulits, KB aims to elucidate the role of tumor intrinsic and extrinsic Axl expression in hepatocellular carcinoma. KB's research interests include the tumor microenvironment and its contribution to tumor progression including metastasis and therapy resistance. Furthermore, she is interested in exploring tumor models that suitably reflect disease situations.