Biography

Dr. Kratz received an M.D. from Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany, where he subsequently completed his training in Pediatrics in 2002. During his residency, he received a Mildred-Scheel-Foundation grant for a post-doctoral research fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, where he conducted molecular studies on childhood myeloid malignancies. Between 2003 and 2008, he worked in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Freiburg, Germany, where he became a board-certified Attending Physician in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. In parallel, he conducted genetic research studies focusing on childhood myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative disorders, and childhood cancer predisposition syndromes. In recognition of his intensive academic activities, the University of Freiburg awarded him the title of Professor of Pediatrics in 2009. In 2008, he became clinical leader of the Department of Pediatric Oncology in New Zealand's capital Wellington. In the summer of 2009, he came to the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Genetic Branch. His major research interests are childhood cancer predisposition syndromes, inherited bone marrow failure syndromes, familial/hereditary cancers, childhood myelodysplastic syndrome and myeloproliferative disorders, as well as developmental disorders that are caused by germline mutations in cancer-related genes. Dr. Kratz was responsible for identifying germline mutations in the KRAS oncogene as causes of two related developmental disorders, Noonan syndrome and cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome.

Research

Dr. Kratz is responsible for CGB's multidisciplinary etiologic study of Familial Testicular Cancer (NCI Protocol 02-C-0178), as its Principal Investigator. Together with several extramural investigators Dr. Kratz has launched a study of the DICER1 syndrome (NCI Protocol 11-C-0034). Dr. Kratz also joined CGB's Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes project (NCI Protocol 02-C-0052) as Co-Principal Investigator, with specific responsibility for the Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome, Diamond-Blackfan Anemia, and familial myelodysplastic syndrome. He is also developing a new research protocol targeting rare and novel cancer syndromes.

Selected Publications

• Kratz CP, Greene MH, Bratslavsky G, Shi J. A stratified genetic risk assessment for testicular cancer. Int J Androl 2011;34:e98-e102.
• Kratz CP, Han SS, Rosenberg PS, Berndt SI, Burdett L, Yeager M,. Korde LA, Mai PL, Pfeiffer R, Greene MH. Variants in or near KITLG, BAK1, DMRT1 and TERT-CLPTM1L predispose to familial testicular germ cell tumor. J Med Genet 2011;48:473-476.
• Kratz CP, Rapisuwon S, Reed H, Hasle H, Rosenberg PS. Cancer in Noonan, Costello, Cardiofaciocutaneous and LEOPARD Syndromes. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C 2011;157:83–89.
• Dührsen U, Kratz CP, Flotho C, Lauenstein T, Bommer M, König E, Brittinger G, Heimpel H. Long-term outcome of hemizygous and heterozygous carriers of a germline GATA1G208R mutation. Ann Hemat 2011;90:301-306.
• Gremer L, Merbitz-Zahradnik T, Dvorsky R, Cirstea IC, Kratz CP, Zenker M, Wittinghofer A, Ahmadian MR. Germline KRAS mutations cause aberrant biochemical and physical properties leading to developmental disorders. Hum Mutat 2011;32:33-43.
• Cirstea IC, Kutsche K, Dvorsky R, Gremer L, Carta C, Horn D, Roberts AE, Lepri F, Merbitz-Zahradnik T, König R, Kratz CP, Pantaleoni F, Dentici ML, Joshi VA, Kucherlapati RS, Mazzanti L, Mundlos S, Patton MA, Silengo MC, Rossi C, Zampino G, Digilio C, Stuppia L, Seemanova E, Pennacchio LA, Gelb BD, Dallapiccola B, Wittinghofer A, Ahmadian MR, Tartaglia M, Zenker M. A restricted spectrum of NRAS mutations causes Noonan syndrome. Nat Genet 2010;42:27-29,
• Chao MM, Todd MA, Kontny U, Neas K, MD, Sullivan MJ, MD, Hunter AG, Picketts DJ, Kratz CP. T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in association with Börjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome due to a mutation in PHF6. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 2010;55:722–724.
• Allanson JE, Bohring A, Dörr HG, Dufke A, Gillessen-Kaesbach G, Horn D, König R, Kratz CP, Kutsche K, Pauli S, Raskin S, Rauch A, Turner A, Wieczorek D, Zenker M. The face of Noonan syndrome: Does phenotype predict genotype. Am J Med Genet A 2010;152A:1960-1966.
• Savoia A, Germeshausen M, De Rocco D, Henschel B, Kratz CP, Kuhlen M, Rath B, Steuhl KP, Wermes C, Ballmaier M. MYH9-related disease: Report on five German families and description of a novel mutation. Ann Hematol 2010;89:1057-1059.
• Boztug K, Appaswamy G, Ashikov A, Schäffer AA, Salzer U, Diestelhorst J, Germeshausen M, Brandes G, Lee-Gossler J, Noyan F, Gatzke AK, Minkov M, Greil J, Kratz C, Petropoulou T, Pellier I, Bellanné-Chantelot C, Rezaei N, Mönkemöller K, Irani-Hakimeh N, Bakker H, Gerardy-Schahn R, Zeidler C, Grimbacher B, Welte K, Klein C. A syndrome with congenital neutropenia and mutations in G6PC3. N Engl J Med 2009 Jan 1;360(1):32-43.
• Kratz CP, Zampino G, Kriek M, Kant SG, Leoni C, Pantaleoni F, Oudesluys-Murphy AM, Di Rocco C, Kloska SP, Tartaglia M, Zenker M. Craniosynostosis in patients with Noonan syndrome caused by germline KRAS mutations. Am J Med Genet A 2009 May;149A(5):1036-40.
• Kratz CP, Niemeyer CM, Karow A, Volz-Fleckenstein M, Schmitt-Gräff A, Strahm B. Congenital transfusion-dependent anemia and thrombocytopenia with myelodysplasia due to a recurrent GATA1(G208R) germline mutation. Leukemia 2008 Feb;22(2):432-4.
• Niemeyer CM, Kratz CP. Childhood myelodysplastic syndromes. Br J Haematol 2008;140:610-24.
• Kratz CP, Steinemann D, Niemeyer CM, Schlegelberger B, Koscielniak E, Kontny U, Zenker M. Uniparental disomy at chromosome 11p15.5 followed by HRAS mutations in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma: lessons from Costello syndrome. Hum Mol Genet 2007 Feb 15;16(4):374-9.
• Kratz CP, Niemeyer CM, Zenker M. An unexpected new role of mutant Ras: perturbation of human embryonic development. J Mol Med 2007 Mar;85(3):227-35. Review.
• Schubbert S, Zenker M, Rowe SL, Böll S, Klein C, Bollag G, van der Burgt I, Musante L, Kalscheuer V, Wehner LE, Nguyen H, West B, Zhang KY, Sistermans E, Rauch A, Niemeyer CM, Shannon K, Kratz CP. Germline KRAS mutations cause Noonan syndrome. Nat Genet 2006 Mar;38(3):331-6.
• Ortmann CA, Niemeyer CM, Wawer A, Ebell W, Baumann I, Kratz CP. TERC mutations in children with refractory cytopenia. Haematologica 2006 May;91(5):707-8.
• Kratz CP, Niemeyer CM, Castleberry RP, Cetin M, Bergsträsser E, Emanuel PD, Hasle H, Kardos G, Klein C, Kojima S, Stary J, Trebo M, Zecca M, Gelb BD, Tartaglia M, Loh ML. The mutational spectrum of PTPN11 in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia and Noonan syndrome/myeloproliferative disease. Blood 2005 Sep 15;106(6):2183-5.
• Zhang Q, Zhao B, Li W, Oiso N, Novak EK, Rusiniak ME, Gautam R, Chintala S, O'Brien EP, Zhang Y, Roe BA, Elliott RW, Eicher EM, Liang P, Kratz C, Legius E, Spritz RA, O'Sullivan TN, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Swank RT. Ru2 and Ru encode mouse orthologs of the genes mutated in human Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome types 5 and 6. Nat Genet 2003 Feb;33(2):145-53.