Thomas Tueting
Dr. Thomas Tueting, MD, is Professor and Chairman of Dermatology at the University Hospital Magdeburg. He received his clinical training in dermatology at the Army Hospital Koblenz and the University Hospital Mainz and subsequently his research training in experimental tumor immunology at the University of Pittsburgh. In his former position as Associate Professor of Dermatology and Head of Dermato-Oncology in the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital Bonn Dr. Tueting he also specialized in dermatopathology.
Dr. Tueting has a long-standing research interest in understanding the interplay between innate and adaptive immunity in the pathogenesis and treatment of melanoma, initially focussing on the role of type I IFNs for the regulation of T cell responses in the tumor microenvironment. Using adoptive T cell transfer approaches his group discovered that progressively growing autochthonous melanomas can resist cytotoxic T cell responses through reversible dedifferentiation in an inflammatory microenvironment. His group also discovered that neutrophilic inflammatory responses in the skin induced by sun burning doses of UVB irradiation promote melanoma cell migration and metastatic dissemination. Current work addresses molecular and cellular mechanisms how inflammation shapes the heterogeneity and plasticity of melanoma and immune cells in tumor evolution and therapy resistance. A long-term goal is the preclinical and clinical development of more effective, patient-specific treatment protocols that combine complementary approaches of cancer therapy to re-establish and maintain immune surveillance.