Nicolas Wentzensen

Biography

Dr. Wentzensen received an M.D. from the University of Heidelberg in 2000. He trained in general surgery and conducted research in surgical oncology in the Department of Surgery, University of Heidelberg from 2000-2002. From 2002-2007, Dr. Wentzensen earned his Ph.D. (Habilitation) in Applied Tumor Biology at the Institute of Pathology, University of Heidelberg. During this time, he conducted research in molecular biology, molecular pathology, and molecular epidemiology of cervical cancer. He built a research group focusing on cervical cancer biomarker discovery and validation and established a diagnostic laboratory for cervical cancer screening. From 2005-2007, he earned a Master of Epidemiology at the University of Mainz. Dr. Wentzensen joined DCEG as a visiting fellow in 2007, became a tenure-track investigator in 2009, and was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and appointed senior investigator in 2013. In 2015 he joined the Clinical Genetics Branch as Deputy Chief and head of the Clinical Epidemiology Unit within the branch. Dr. Wentzensen’s research is focused on etiologic heterogeneity and biomarker discovery of gynecological cancers, mainly cervical and ovarian. His research has been highly recognized internationally. His medical doctorate thesis on human papillomavirus integration was awarded summa cum laude. He has received multiple research awards from the University of Heidelberg and several awards for presentations at international scientific meetings, including an AACR scholar-in-training award. Since joining DCEG, Dr. Wentzensen has won two intramural research awards, an NCI Director’s Intramural Innovation Award, an NIH Award of Merit and a Research Highlights Award. He was selected as an expert for the Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Review Group (Section ‘Prevention of Cervical Cancer’) and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists Future Strategies of Cervical Cancer Prevention Meeting, and he serves on a standing U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel for Microbiology Devices. Dr. Wentzensen has played an important role in recent updates of cervical cancer screening and management guidelines, including the Practice Improvement of Cervical Screening and Management effort sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), and the American Society for Clinical Pathology, as well as the ASCCP cervical cancer management guidelines effort. For his contributions to these efforts, he was awarded a Meritorious Scientific Award at the biennial ASCCP meeting in 2014. Dr. Wentzensen serves as a senior editor for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Research Interest

Cervical Cancer and Other HPV-related Cancers; Ovarian Cancer; Endometrial Cancer