Expert in head and neck surgery and reconstructive surgery, as well as in oncology of the head and neck and in otolaryngology, Christian Simon has been appointed full professor at UNIL and head of the Otolaryngology Department. -laryngology (ENT) of the CHUV from February 1, 2012.
Born in 1969 in Würzburg (Germany), Christian Simon studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany) and graduated in 1996. He then held a postdoctoralresearch position for two years, funded by the German Research Council, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Department of Tumor Biology, where he is interested in the mechanisms of cancer cell invasion and metastasis formation. Returning to Germany in 1998, he completed his internship at the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Tübingen, under the supervision of Prof. Hans-Peter Zenner. After obtaining his FMH title in ENT in 2002, he returned to the United States as a Clinical Fellow and Junior Faculty for two years. There he trained for a year in head and neck ablative surgery at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, then in head and neck reconstructive surgery at Washington University in St. Louis.
Christian Simon returned to Germany in 2004 to take up the post of Assistant Professor and Consultant Surgeon in the Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Heidelberg. He represents his Department on the Expert Committee of the National Cancer Center (NCT) Heidelberg, where he is also head of head and neck oncology. He has also been appointed head of the Molecular Oncology Laboratory since 2005. In 2008, he flew to the United States as part of a one-year clinical research grant, in order to complete his training in the field of otology, neuro-otology and skull base surgery at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (USA). In 2009, he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology headed by Prof. Peter Karl Plinkert, at the University of Heidelberg.
Benefiting from a very complete training in the ENT field, Christian Simon has followed numerous clinical training courses, particularly in the fields of head and neck ablative surgery, head and neck reconstructive surgery and otology / neuro-otology. . In head and neck reconstructive surgery, he has specific expertise in free microvascular tissue transfer, as well as in transoral endoscopic surgery techniques. He also has very wide skills in otological surgery.
In terms of research, Christian Simon has been working since 1996 on understanding the biological mechanisms leading to invasion by cancer cells and the formation of metastases. He particularly focuses on the signal transduction pathways involved in these processes. He is also interested in the influence of human papillomavirus infections on the development of ENT tumors. His work has been the subject of numerous publications in high impact factor journals. The researcher is currently trying to further elucidate these mechanisms and how they contribute to the clinical phenotype leading to recurrence. He also wishes to develop animal models which will help in deciphering such mechanisms.