Dr. Verena Staedtke, a beloved mother, wife, daughter, friend and distinguished physician and researcher, passed away March 31, 2025 from advanced breast cancer. Her indelible legacy includes her everlasting love for her three beautiful children, Kepler, Leopold and Stacy, her scientific and life partner Dr. Renyuan Bai, her parents Elke and Gerhardt Staedtke, her dearest friend Dr. Andre Poloczek and a team of adoring friends and colleagues throughout the Johns Hopkins University, the Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program community and the global Neurofibromatosis and Pediatric Neuro-Oncology communities.

She was born and raised in Schwedt, a small town in Germany, where she was doted on by her loving mother and father. Growing up, she was a curious child, who loved learning and music. She excelled in school and her passion for learning ultimately led her to pursue her MD and PhD from the Charité-Universitätsmedizin in Berlin. She then left Germany to continue her education and training in the US at Johns Hopkins, finding a new place to call home. She went on to meet her life partner Renyuan, and fulfilled her dream of becoming a mother, initially by being welcomed into Stacy’s life and then with the birth of her two precious boys Kepler and Leopold. Motherhood was indeed her greatest joy. 

During her short but incredible career she made groundbreaking contributions to the field of neuro-oncology and cellular therapeutics for rare cancers while providing expert and compassionate clinical care to children with tumors of the nervous system.

At the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, her exceptional work on biologic drug delivery systems earned her the prestigious pre-doctoral Robert Koch Prize. She completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University under the mentorship of Drs. Bert Vogelstein and Gregory Riggins, where she led pioneering research on the oncolytic bacterium Clostridium novyi-NT for glioblastomas and the sarcoma, MPNST. Later, as early stage faculty, she made the groundbreaking discovery of the critical role of catecholamines in modulating the inflammatory response to immunotherapeutics.

Dr. Staedtke further honed her clinical expertise through a residency in pediatric neurology and a fellowship in neuro-oncology at Johns Hopkins University. Her exceptional skills in both patient care and transformative therapeutic discovery research led to her appointment as Assistant Professor of Neurology in 2015 and Associate Professor in 2019 as well as being named a Scholar in the renowned Francis Collins Scholars Program and receiving the Sontag Foundation’s Distinguished Scientist Award. Her most recent scientific achievements led to the first NF1 gene replacement therapy via a novel AAV vector being developed for translation to clinic for NF1 driven cancers and a clinical trial using oncolytic virus to halt skin tumors in people with NF1. As a clinician, she served as the Director of the pediatric branch of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Neurofibromatosis Center and was the recipient of Children’s Tumor Foundation’s 2023 NF Clinician Award. She was a brilliant and adored member of the clinical team; completely committed to celebrating wellness in kids with NF or advocating for whatever they needed from the medical system or wider community to have the best possible quality of life.

In addition to her excellence in medicine and science and her devotion to her family, she was an award-winning musician who played the piano competitively for Jugend Musiziert; a self-taught (and remarkably talented) painter and an accomplished swimmer. She was happiest when she was in one of two places: at home with her family (where three languages are spoken interchangeably at all times), her piano and her swimming pool or (2) in the lab, specifically at the bench, even as she advanced to her role as senior faculty.

Dr. Staedtke's contributions to medicine and science will serve untold people in perpetuity, especially those living with NF1 and nervous system cancers. She will be remembered for her humble brilliance, her infectious exuberance for learning about anything and everything, her optimism, her intense work ethic, her advocacy for and commitment to her patients, the joy she found through music and art, and her sincere love for her family, home, and her work. These memories, and the legacy of her work will continue to inspire and influence her colleagues, students, family and friends, and other countless lives. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Contributions to Honor Dr. Staedtke

Contributions celebrating and honoring Verena’s life are invited to the following funds supporting her passions: 

• The education of her young boys Kepler (age 4) and Leopold (age 2) via the Maryland College Savings Plan:  
  
  • Ugift code 98X-G7J for Kepler Staedtke-Bai
  • Ugift code M9T-P7C for Leopold Staedtke-Bai
• The Staedtke-Bai Laboratory via the Kennedy Krieger Foundation
  • Please direct your gift to the Office of Philanthropy, Kennedy Krieger Foundation, 707 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205 or complete an online form with the note: Dedicate this donation to the Staedtke-Bai Neurofibromatosis Laboratory in honor of Dr. Verena Staedtke.