Christian J. Braun is a pediatric oncologist and physician-scientist whose research focuses on dysregulated gene expression programs in pediatric cancers and their therapeutic exploitation. His work integrates functional genomics, CRISPR-based screening technologies, and molecular oncology to identify context-specific vulnerabilities in malignant cells.

He leads a translational research program that combines genome-scale CRISPR perturbation platforms, in vivo functional screening, and mechanistic studies of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. A central theme of his work is the identification of cancer-specific dependencies emerging from tightly regulated RNA processing and transcriptional control networks. His laboratory has contributed to the development of versatile in vivo CRISPR screening technologies and integrative cancer genomics approaches that enable systems-level interrogation of tumor biology

Clinically, Prof. Braun specializes in pediatric hematology and oncology. He completed his residency and subspecialty training at Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, LMU Munich, and obtained board certification in Pediatrics in 2022 and subspecialty certification in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology in 2024. As a Senior Physician, he is responsible for the care of children with malignant diseases and actively integrates molecular diagnostics and precision oncology strategies into clinical decision-making.

From 2011 to 2017, he conducted postdoctoral and research work at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the laboratory of Prof. Michael T. Hemann. During this time, he developed and applied CRISPR-based functional genomic technologies that have become foundational tools for in vivo cancer modeling.

In 2019, he was appointed Head of a Max-Eder Junior Research Group funded by the German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), which was extended for an additional funding period in 2024. In 2025, he completed his habilitation at LMU Munich and was appointed Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Professor for Translational Pediatric Oncology at Goethe University Frankfurt.

His work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Lisec-Artz Prize for Outstanding Cancer Research, the Metastasis Research Prize of the Beug Foundation, and the Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award of the American Society of Hematology.

He is an active member of national and international scientific societies and regularly serves as reviewer for leading journals and funding agencies.