Education and professional career

• 2016: Vice Director of the CIO Cologne/Bonn
• 2016: Director of the Department of General-, Visceral- and Tumor Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany
• 2013: Director of the Department of General-, Visceral- and Vascular Surgery, University of Magdeburg, Germany
• 2012: Vice Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Munich (CCCLMU)
• 2012: Final boards of Thoracic Surgery in Germany
• 2011: Vice Director of the Department of Surgery,
• 2009: European Board of Surgery Qualifications (EBSQ), Appointment as Professor of Surgery, University of Munich-Großhadern
• 2006: Chairman of the Tumorboard Munich for GI-Tumors, head attending in Surgical Oncology
• 2005: Final boards of Visceral Surgery in Germany
• 2002: Assistant Professor (Habilitation) at the Department of Surgery at the University of Munich-Großhadern Principle investigator in the research field: tumor angiogenesis, anti-angiogenic therapy, metastasis, pancreatic cancer
• 2001: Final Boards of General Surgery in Germany
• 1997-1999: Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Department of Cancer Biology (Dr. I.J. Fidler), University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX, USA supported by "Lise-Meitner-Stipendium" of the German Research Association, Germany
• 1992: Dissertation at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany "Pathobiomechanics of the Sternoclavicular Joint"

Awards, distinctions and professional activities

• 2012: Heberer-Award (Dr. med. H. Niess/AG Bruns)
• 2011: Posterpreis der DGFIT (Dr. med. I. Ischenko/AG Bruns)
• 2011: Posterpreis der Chirurgischen Forschungstage (cand. med. Q. Bao7AG Bruns)
• 2009: Fritz-Linder-Preis der DGCH (cand. med. C. Zischek/AG Bruns)
• 2009: Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Forschungspreis (Dr. med. A. Kleespies/AG Bruns)
• 2007: Fritz-Linder-Preis der DGCH (Dr. med. H. Niess/AG Bruns)
• 2006: Posterpreis der Deutschen Krebsgesellschaft (Dr. med. A. Kleespies/AG Bruns)
• 2006: Johann-Nepomuk-von-Nussbaum-Preis (Dr. med. A. Kleespies/AG Bruns)
• 2005: "Curt-Bohnewand-Preis" der Medizinischen Fakultät der LMU München
• 2003: 120. Tagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirurgie; "Von-Langenbeck-Preis", "Anti-angiogenetische Therapieansätze zur Behandlung des humanen Pankreaskarzinoms nach orthotoper Implantation in die Nacktmaus"
• 2002: Fourth International Symposium on Antiangiogenic Agents, San Diego, USA; Fellowship Award, „Contrast enhanced MRI as in vivo monitoring for the anti-angiogenic effect of EGF-R blockade in pancreatic cancer growing orthotopically in nude rats”
• 2002: 79. Tagung der Vereinigung der Bayerischen Chirurgen e.V.; „Gerd-Hegemann-Reisestipendium“
• 2001: Reisestipendium zum 101. Japanischen Chirurgenkongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirurgie, Sendai, Japan
• 2001: American Association for Cancer Research 92nd Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA; AACR-Pharmacia & Upjohn Scholar-in-Training Award, "Blockade of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) signaling as treatment for pancreatic cancer liver metastasis in nude mice"
• 2000: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verdauungs- und Stoffwechselkrankheiten Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Gastroenterologie (AGO) 6. Winterkurs, Regensburg; AGO-Posterpreis für Grundlagenforschung, "BCL-2 bedingte Zelltodsuppresion fördert die Hypoxie induzierte Tumorangiogenese in humanen Pankreaskarzinomzellen"
• 1994: 36th Annual World Congress, International College of Angiology, New York, USA, Young Investigator Award, “In-vivo biomechanical properaties of different implanted graft materials in peripheral vascular surgery”
• 1993: Vereinigung Niederrheinisch-Westfälischer Chirurgen, Poster Award 1993; "Die chirurgische Therapie der Ösophagusperforation - Erfahrungen der letzten 10 Jahre"

Selected publications

• Protocol of the PANCALYZE trial: a multicenter, prospective study investigating the tumor biomarkers CXCR4, SMAD4, SOX9 and IFIT3 in patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma to predict the pattern of recurrence of the disease. Popp FC, Popp MC, Zhao Y, Betzler C, Kropf S, Garlipp B, Benckert C, Kalinski T, Lippert H,     Bruns CJ. BMC Cancer. 2017 Mar 29;17(1):229. doi: 10.1186/s12885-017-3186-8.
• A combination of low-dose bevacizumab and imatinib enhances vascular normalisation without inducing extracellular matrix deposition. Schiffmann LM, Brunold M, Liwschitz M, Goede V, Loges S, Wroblewski M, Quaas A, Alakus H,     Stippel D, Bruns CJ, Hallek M, Kashkar H, Hacker UT, Coutelle O. Br J Cancer. 2017 Feb 28;116(5):600-608. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2017.13. Epub 2017 Jan 31.
• miR-221 Mediates Chemoresistance of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma by Direct Targeting of DKK2 Expression. Wang Y, Zhao Y, Herbst A, Kalinski T, Qin J, Wang X, Jiang Z, Benedix F, Franke S, Wartman T, Camaj P, Halangk W, Kolligs FT, Jauch KW, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ. Ann Surg. 2016 Nov;264(5):804-814.
• Harnessing mesenchymal stem cell homing as an anticancer therapy. Hagenhoff A, Bruns CJ, Zhao Y, von Lüttichau I, Niess H, Spitzweg C, Nelson PJ. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2016 Sep;16(9):1079-92. doi: 10.1080/14712598.2016.1196179. Epub 2016 Jun 13. Review. PMID: 27270211.
• Verapamil inhibits tumor progression of chemotherapy-resistant pancreatic cancer side population cells. Zhao L, Zhao Y, Schwarz B, Mysliwietz J, Hartig R, Camaj P, Bao Q, Jauch KW, Guba M, Ellwart JW, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ. Int J Oncol. 2016 Jul;49(1):99-110. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2016.3512. Epub 2016 May 10. PMID: 27177126.
• Pancreaticoduodenectomy for adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head is justified in elderly patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Renz BW, Khalil PN, Mikhailov M, Graf S, Schiergens TS, Niess H, Boeck S, Heinemann V, Hartwig W, Werner J, Bruns CJ, Kleespies A. Int J Surg. 2016 Apr;28:118-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.02.064. Epub 2016 Feb 21.
• Risk factors, short and long term outcome of anastomotic leaks in rectal cancer. Jannasch O, Klinge T, Otto R, Chiapponi C, Udelnow A, Lippert H, Bruns CJ, Mroczkowski P. Oncotarget. 2015 Nov 3;6(34):36884-93. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.5170.
• Treatment of advanced gastrointestinal tumors with genetically modified autologous mesenchymal stromal cells (TREAT-ME1): study protocol of a phase I/II clinical trial. Niess H, von Einem JC, Thomas MN, Michl M, Angele MK, Huss R, Günther C, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ, Heinemann V. BMC Cancer. 2015 Apr 8;15:237. doi: 10.1186/s12885-015-1241-x.
• Overexpression of IFN-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 3 (IFIT3) in pancreatic cancer: cellular "pseudoinflammation" contributing to an aggressive phenotype. Niess H, Camaj P, Mair R, Renner A, Zhao Y, Jäckel C, Nelson PJ, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Oncotarget. 2015 Feb 20;6(5):3306-18.
• Antisense inhibition of microRNA-21 and microRNA-221 in tumor-initiating stem-like cells modulates tumorigenesis, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer. Zhao Y, Zhao L, Ischenko I, Bao Q, Schwarz B, Nieß H, Wang Y, Renner A, Mysliwietz J, Jauch KW, Nelson PJ, Ellwart JW, Bruns CJ, Camaj P. Target Oncol. 2015 Dec;10(4):535-48. doi: 10.1007/s11523-015-0360-2. Epub 2015 Feb 3.
• Effect of KRAS exon 2 mutations on antitumor activity of afatinib and gefitinib. Gamba S, Camaj P, Heinemann V, Laubender RP, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Stintzing S, Giessen C, Boeck S, Haertl C, Bruns CJ, Modest DP. Anticancer Drugs. 2015 Apr;26(4):371-8.
• Combination of antiangiogenic therapy using the mTOR-inhibitor everolimus and low-dose chemotherapy for locally advanced and/or metastatic pancreatic cancer: a dose-finding study. Joka M, Boeck S, Zech CJ, Seufferlein T, Wichert Gv, Licht T, Krause A, Jauch KW, Heinemann V, Bruns CJ. Anticancer Drugs. 2014 Oct;25(9):1095-101.
• Side population cells of pancreatic cancer show characteristics of cancer stem cells responsible for resistance and metastasis. Niess H, Camaj P, Renner A, Ischenko I, Zhao Y, Krebs S, Mysliwietz J, Jäckel C, Nelson PJ, Blum H, Jauch KW, Ellwart JW, Bruns CJ. Target Oncol. 2015 Jun;10(2):215-27.
• Hypoxia-independent gene expression mediated by SOX9 promotes aggressive pancreatic tumor biology. Camaj P, Jäckel C, Krebs S, De Toni EN, Blum H, Jauch KW, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ. Mol Cancer Res. 2014 Mar;12(3):421-32.
• Stem cell-like side populations in esophageal cancer: a source of chemotherapy resistance and metastases. Zhao Y, Bao Q, Schwarz B, Zhao L, Mysliwietz J, Ellwart J, Renner A, Hirner H, Niess H, Camaj P, Angele M, Gros S, Izbicki J, Jauch KW, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ. Stem Cells Dev. 2014 Jan 15;23(2):180-92.
• Recombinant TIMP-1-GPI inhibits growth of fibrosarcoma and enhances tumor sensitivity to doxorubicin. Bao Q, Niess H, Djafarzadeh R, Zhao Y, Schwarz B, Angele MK, Jauch KW, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ. Target Oncol. 2014 Sep;9(3):251-61.
• Surgery for metastasis to the pancreas: is it safe and effective? Niess H, Conrad C, Kleespies A, Haas F, Bao Q, Jauch KW, Graeb C, Bruns CJ. J Surg Oncol. 2013 Jun;107(8):859-64.
• KRAS allel-specific activity of sunitinib in an isogenic disease model of colorectal cancer. Modest DP, Camaj P, Heinemann V, Schwarz B, Jung A, Laubender RP, Gamba S, Haertl C, Stintzing S, Primo S, Bruns CJ. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2013 Jun;139(6):953-61.
• Selective targeting of genetically engineered mesenchymal stem cells to tumor stroma microenvironments using tissue-specific suicide gene expression suppresses growth of hepatocellular carcinoma. Niess H, Bao Q, Conrad C, Zischek C, Notohamiprodjo M, Schwab F, Schwarz B, Huss R, Jauch KW, Nelson PJ, Bruns CJ. Ann Surg. 2011 Nov;254(5):767-74; discussion 774-5.
• Src tyrosine kinase inhibition suppresses lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Ischenko I, Seeliger H, Camaj P, Kleespies A, Guba M, Eichhorn ME, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2010 Aug;10(5):546-53.
• EFEMP1 binds the EGF receptor and activates MAPK and Akt pathways in pancreatic carcinoma cells. Camaj P, Seeliger H, Ischenko I, Krebs S, Blum H, De Toni EN, Faktorova D, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Biol Chem. 2009 Dec;390(12):1293-30.
• Blumgart anastomosis for pancreaticojejunostomy minimizes severe complications after pancreatic head resection. Kleespies A, Rentsch M, Seeliger H, Albertsmeier M, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Br J Surg. 2009 Jul;96(7):741-50.
• EFEMP1 expression promotes in vivo tumor growth in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Seeliger H, Camaj P, Ischenko I, Kleespies A, De Toni EN, Thieme SE, Blum H, Assmann G, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Mol Cancer Res. 2009 Feb;7(2):189-98.
• Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells acquire a lymphendothelial phenotype and enhance lymphatic regeneration in vivo. Conrad C, Niess H, Huss R, Huber S, von Luettichau I, Nelson PJ, Ott HC, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Circulation. 2009 Jan 20;119(2):281-9.
• Inhibition of Src tyrosine kinase reverts chemoresistance toward 5-fluorouracil in human pancreatic carcinoma cells: an involvement of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. Ischenko I, Camaj P, Seeliger H, Kleespies A, Guba M, De Toni EN, Schwarz B, Graeb C, Eichhorn ME, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Oncogene. 2008 Dec 4;27(57):7212-22.
• Matuzumab short-term therapy in experimental pancreatic cancer: prolonged antitumor activity in combination with gemcitabine.Kleespies A, Ischenko I, Eichhorn ME, Seeliger H, Amendt C, Mantell O, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Sep 1;14(17):5426-3.
• Distinct populations of cancer stem cells determine tumor growth and metastatic activity in human pancreatic cancer. Hermann PC, Huber SL, Herrler T, Aicher A, Ellwart JW, Guba M, Bruns CJ, Heeschen C. Cell Stem Cell. 2007 Sep 13;1(3):313-23.
• Effect of Src kinase inhibition on metastasis and tumor angiogenesis in human pancreatic cancer. Ischenko I, Guba M, Yezhelyev M, Papyan A, Schmid G, Green T, Fennell M, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Angiogenesis. 2007;10(3):167-82.
• Antiangiogenic and antitumor activity of a novel vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD6474 in a metastatic human pancreatic tumor model. Conrad C, Ischenko I, Köhl G, Wiegand U, Guba M, Yezhelyev M, Ryan AJ, Barge A, Geissler EK, Wedge SR, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ. Anticancer Drugs. 2007 Jun;18(5):569-79.
• Cationic lipid complexed camptothecin (EndoTAG-2) improves antitumoral efficacy by tumor vascular targeting. Eichhorn ME, Luedemann S, Strieth S, Papyan A, Ruhstorfer H, Haas H, Michaelis U, Sauer B, Teifel M, Enders G, Brix G, Jauch KW, Bruns CJ, Dellian M. Cancer Biol Ther. 2007 Jun;6(6):920-9.