Clemens-Martin Wendtner, M.D. University of Cologne (Germany)

Dr. Wendtner is a Full Professor of Medicine at the University of Cologne, Germany. He is a member of the faculty of the University of Cologne and has held the positions of Assistant Medical Director of Medical Clinic I and Research Director of the Laboratory of Immunotherapy, both at the University of Cologne in Germany since 2004. Dr. Wendtner graduated with his M.D. from the University of Münster, Germany, in 1993, and completed his clinical and research training at the University of Munich, Germany, from 1993 until 2003, including a postdoctoral training at the Max-Planck-Institute at Martinsried/Munich and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD.

Since the mid-1990's his major scientific interest has been chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In this context he has developed new viral vector systems for ex-vivo gene therapy approaches, i.e adeno-associated virus (AAV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) vectors. Furthermore, characterization of novel tumor-associated antigens in CLL represents another focus of his research. Dr. Wendtner is one of the founding members of the German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG) which formed in 1996, and he participates on the Steering Committee and has been the Secretary of the GCLLSG since 2004. Therefore, he has been centrally involved in initiation and implementation of multiple clinical trials of this large cooperative study group for patients with CLL. Besides hematology, his major focus in oncology is clinical research in the field of soft tissue sarcomas.

Dr. Wendtner is member of several organizations involved in clinical and basic research in medicine, including the German Society of Gene Therapy, the German Society of Hematology and Medical Oncology, the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Wendtner won the 2000 Young Investigator Award from the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS). In 2002, he won 1st Prize at the International Symposium of Biological Therapy of Cancer in Munich and the Curt-Bohnewand Award. In 2004, he was presented the Merit Award of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in New Orleans, LA.