Dialogues

May 30, 2025, 14:55

Episode14 with Michael Meister – Cancer Through My Eyes

In this fourteenth episode of Cancer Through My Eyes, we hear from a physician-scientist whose life’s work lives at the crossroads of pediatric care, precision oncology, and preclinical discovery. Dr. Michael Meister exemplifies the unique power of bridging research with clinical presence, where every data point reflects a child’s story and every decision is grounded in compassion.

Dr. Meister is a Pediatric Oncology Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in the Netherlands. His research centers on pediatric soft tissue sarcomas (STS), focusing on tumor organoid model development, genomics, and international precision medicine efforts such as the Dutch iTHER and German INFORM trials. A board-certified pediatrician, he began as a researcher at the Princess Máxima Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands in 2018 and is now part of its frontline care team.

Dr. Michael Meister’s Story

Drawn to complexity and meaning, Dr. Meister found both in pediatric oncology. He was compelled not only by the scientific depth of childhood cancers but also by the emotional and developmental layers that come with treating young patients and supporting their families. His dual training in medicine and research allows him to shift perspectives, from the lab bench to the bedside, with focus and humility.
Dr. Meister is committed to tackling some of the most difficult questions in pediatric oncology.

His work on soft tissue sarcomas, a rare and heterogeneous group of tumors combines molecular biology, high-resolution imaging, and collaboration across borders. He believes impact can be measured not just by breakthrough discoveries, but by how we show up for patients, even in the hardest moments.

Q&A:

1. Dr. Meister, what first pulled you toward the world of pediatric oncology, was there a moment or experience that made it feel personal?

I have always been fascinated by complex problems where one must disentangle and consider all key aspects of that problem to solve it. During my medical studies I was drawn to pediatrics as the complexity in the care of sick children truly embodies this: In children, we as medical professionals must not only treat the cause of the underlying disease but also be aware that children of different age groups have distinct needs and desires, especially when considering their physical, cognitive and emotional development.

Furthermore, we are not only caring for the child itself but also for their family, adding another layer of complexity. And all this becomes vastly more intricate, once a child faces a life-threatening disease such as cancer where not only the disease itself but also treatment interventions can have serious effects on the physical but also the emotional well-being of a child and their family.

To be the doctor who is there for them, knowing all the ins and outs of the child and its family and how to best navigate through the intricacies of a cancer treatment trajectory, is truly fulfilling.

2. You began your journey at the Princess Máxima Center as a researcher, before stepping fully into the continuation of your clinical training. How has doing science first changed the way you now see your patients?

I wouldn’t say that science has changed my perception of our patients as I already had worked in the care of children with cancer prior to starting my research at the Princess Máxima Center. However, I would certainly say that both pillars of my professional life, i.e., clinical care for children with cancer and research on pediatric soft tissue sarcomas, substantially influence each other:

Seeing patients with incurable cancers gives me the motivation to go the extra mile in research while the analytical and critical thinking required in preclinical research tremendously helps in balancing treatment decisions in care.

3. Soft tissue sarcomas are rare and complex, especially in children. What keeps you curious, even when the research moves slowly or the answers feel out of reach?

I think that the question perfectly summarizes the fascinating aspects of pediatric soft tissue sarcomas: They are extremely diverse with a multitude of subtypes for which we are often only beginning to understand the underlying molecular biology that drives tumorigenesis. In stark contrast to that, the treatment modalities at our disposal are limited and, thus, not much different between subtypes.

This discrepancy can certainly be explained by the rarity of the individual subtypes with some of them occurring only once per year in The Netherlands on average. To develop novel treatment modalities, collaboration between countries is necessary and I find the highly collaborative spirit between and within the different pediatric soft tissue sarcoma study groups inside and outside of Europe inspiring as everyone wants to make a difference for children with soft tissue sarcomas.

4. You’re working on building organoid models from pediatric tumors, essentially growing cancer in a dish to find better treatments. How do you stay emotionally connected to the human stories behind such technical work?

Being able to combine the care for children with cancer and my research at the Princess Máxima Center certainly benefits me in both areas, as mentioned above. I would say that I can differentiate between these when it comes to the technical aspects of developing preclinical models such as tumor organoids. In fact, a certain “professional distance” may even be necessary to interpret data from preclinical experiments in an unbiased way.

However, this is not to say that we as preclinical researchers don’t have a great responsibility to treat patient samples with utmost care as they are rare and that patients and/or their caregivers have given consent to acquiring those samples to improve treatment for future generations of patients.

5. You’re part of major precision medicine efforts in both the Dutch iTHER and German INFORM trials. How do you see the role of collaboration — across countries and disciplines — shaping the future of pediatric cancer care?

Given the rarity of pediatric cancers, collaboration is imperative to perform (pre)clinical studies with sufficient power and impact that can be carried out in a reasonable timeframe. A major hurdle here are regulatory aspects that make anonymized data and sample sharing difficult. Future collaborations would thus benefit from a legal framework that makes sharing those easier.

6. Working in pediatric oncology means facing some of the most heartbreaking cases in medicine. How do you care for your own emotional well-being while caring for children and families in crisis?

I think that is important to realize that we as medical professionals are also “just” humans that are allowed to fail as there will unfortunately always be patients for whom no curative treatment options exist. What helps me in these cases is to remind myself that good patient care also comprises palliative and end-of-life care. Hearing from parents whose children have passed away that our support as medical professionals at the end of the child’s life made their situation bearable, helps me with dealing with any feelings of failure.

7. Science and medicine are both full of uncertainty. What helps you keep moving forward when the data are unclear or the outcome is unknown?

I actually enjoy moments of uncertainty as these require flexibility and quick thinking once the unforeseen happens.

8. For young researchers and doctors who feel torn between the lab and the clinic, what have you learned about balancing both without losing the heart behind the work?

There are several things that I have learned over the years when it comes to combining lab work and clinics:

(1) You need to make concrete agreements with your colleagues concerning your availabilities in the lab and in the clinic, respectively. It’s always better to set expectations from the start even if this causes initial friction with colleagues from either side. However, don’t shy away from adapting the schedule if it does not work anymore.

(2) Even with such agreements, there will be times where you cannot avoid working after hours as you are basically working two jobs.

(3) Take good care of yourself physically and mentally and do not shy away from taking a step back and reevaluating your situation.

(4) Similarly, take good care of your family: They will always be there if even the grant proposal did not go through, or your article was not accepted. They can be your harshest critics, but they are certainly your biggest fans!

(5) And lastly: You make most progress in life if you step out of your comfort zone. This is equally true for science and clinical work.

9. In a field where breakthroughs can take years, what does impact mean to you — today, right now — as you stand at the intersection of research and real lives?

While we all strive for having a huge impact on the lives of many patients by, for instance, bringing forward a novel therapy for an otherwise incurable disease, we should not lose sight of what impact we as healthcare professionals can have on the life of the individual patient and their family. In line with what I said above concerning palliative & end-of-life care, “being there” and giving support when death is inevitable can make such a big difference that I would consider this to be of major impact. What I essentially want to say is that our actions can have tremendous impact every day and that it is good to remind ourselves about this from time to time.

As Cancer Through My Eyes continues, Dr. Meister’s story reminds us that great science is not measured only in publications, but in presence. In every choice he makes—from the lab to the hospital room—he is guided by the belief that care, like science, is an act of devotion.

Know someone we should feature next? Let us know—we’d love to hear your suggestions.

Stay tuned for more conversations that illuminate the hearts behind the science.

By Semiramida Nina Markosyan, HBSc

Read and watch more dialogues and series by OncoDaily.

Episode 1 with Dr. Hadeel Hassan – Cancer Through My Eyes

Episode 2 with Ziad Abuhelwa – Cancer Through My Eyes

Episode 3 with Jasmin Hundal – Cancer Through My Eyes

Episode 4 with Angelo Pirozzi – Cancer Through My Eyes

Episode 5 with Dr. Soirindhri Banerjee – Cancer Through My Eyes

Episode 6 with Alexis LeVee – Cancer Through My Eyes

Episode 7 with Renée Maria Saliby – Cancer Through My Eye

Episode 8 with Michael Serzan – Cancer Through My Eyes