Prof Dr. Barbara Wollenberg

MRI TUM : Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology,  head and neck surgery

Tumor immunology,  Immunotherapy, Platelet driven cancer progression

Prof. Dr. Barbara Wollenberg is a physician, specialized on otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery. From 1996 to 2003 she was trained as senior staff member at the Klinikum Großhadern of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. 2003 she was appointed to become the chair of the department of otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery at the University of Lübeck. 2007 she declined the call to the university of Hamburg and was appointed at the TUM in 2019. Clinically Barbara Wollenberg masters a broad spectrum in surgical skills and interests ranging from reconstructive surgery to surgery of the central and lateral skull base via endoscopic and microscopic techniques.

Already since her time in medical school Prof. Wollenberg is highly interested in immunologic research. The main research focus questions the interaction of cancer cells with the human immune system, in particular the mechanisms of cancer cells hijacking healthy immune cells for their own expansion and immunotherapeutic drug development. 2001 she was awarded the Heisenberg Scholarship of the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) to develop EBV-Vector-based vaccines targeting head and neck cancer. In this context Prof Wollenberg has established a translational team of researchers and physicians and published more than 300 scientific papers. She was honoured with several national and international research prizes, among them the very visible Acta Price of the CORLAS.

2005 Prof. Wollenberg became a member of the German National Academy of  Science, Leopoldina, where she currently acts as the senator and spokesperson of the medical class. From 2013, after long years as „Fachkollegiat” Prof Wollenberg also served as a senator for the DFG. 2018 Prof Wollenberg served as the first female president of the German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

Prof. Wollenberg is a passionate tutor of her residents and has already coached multiple Drs and PhDs. As editor of several specialty specific journals as well as a member of several scientific societies she is well known in her field.

Dr. Nicole Schmitt's clinical and research work is focused on head and neck surgical oncology and novel therapeutic combinations, including repurposed drugs. She received her MD degree at Washington University School of Medicine in 2006. She completed her general surgery internship as well as her research fellowship and residency in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at the University of Washington, and completed a fellowship in head and neck surgery and tumor biology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Chu is a fully trained head and neck surgeon. He was graduated from National Defense Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan in 1989 and completed his residencies and fellowships of Otolaryngology-Head and neck surgery at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in 1995. He spent one year as the international research fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and worked with Prof. Jatin P. Shah in 2001. Now, he is Professor of Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Prof. Chu has been actively involved in national Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Societies. He was the past President of Taiwan Head and Neck Society and past Vice-President of Taiwan Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. His is the standing director of Taiwan Voice Society and Taiwan Laryngology Association. Dr. Chu has been academically active at national and international meetings, his research interests includes transoral laser microsurgery for head and neck cancers/tumors, organ preservation therapy in head and neck cancers, treatment of head and neck cancer and thyroid cancer, and diagnosis and treatment of second primary malignancies.