VASSOS NIKOLAOS
VASSOS NIKOLAOS
General SurgeonProfessor Dr. Nikolaos Vassos is a general surgeon and surgical oncologist, and is the first, certified by the European Society of Surgical Oncology, specialized sarcoma surgeon in Greece and one of the first in Europe. He is also Professor of Surgery at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and has assumed the Directorship of the Surgical Oncology Clinic at the Athens Medical Center and directs the Group’s Sarcoma, Melanoma and Rare Tumors Center.
He completed his studies at the Medical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, receiving a scholarship for 6 consecutive years from the State Scholarship Foundation, while in 2007 he graduated first from the Medical School with “Excellent” and receiving the honor of reciting the Hippocratic Oath.
After completing his studies, he went directly abroad and completed his entire surgical residency at the world-renowned University Hospital Erlangen in Germany, which is a leading reference center for surgical oncology, especially in the field of colorectal cancer. At the same time, he completed his doctoral studies on the prognostic value of integrins in patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer at the Medical School of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2013. At the same university, he also received the title of Master of Health Business Administration (MHBA) as well as the Title of Specialization in General and Visceral Surgery.
At the same time, he continued his clinical, research and academic activities, while in 2015 he received special training in Surgical Oncology at international hospitals in the USA (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard University in Boston).
In 2016, he received the title of Associate Professor and was appointed Associate Professor of Surgery at the Medical School of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. At the same time, he completed his specialization in Peritoneal Carcinoma Surgery at the University Hospital of Regensburg, Germany and at the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in the United Kingdom, receiving the European Specialization Title of Peritoneal Carcinoma Surgeon, and assumed the organization and coordination of the corresponding Department at the University of Erlangen.
In 2018, he moved to England, taking up an honorary position at the world-renowned Royal Marsden Hospital in London, in the Department of Sarcoma, Melanoma and Rare Tumors of the University Surgical Clinic, which is the largest Center in Great Britain. His many months of service there was successfully completed by receiving the European Specialization Title as a Sarcoma Surgeon.
He then worked for the next four years at the Surgical Clinic of the University Hospital of Mannheim at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, assuming the position of Deputy Director in the Clinic of Surgical Oncology and the Sarcoma Center, which is one of the most historic and largest Centers in the world. During his stay there, he gained a vast amount of experience and expertise that few surgeons in Europe possess, and took over the Sarcoma Section at the European Society of Surgical Oncology. At the same time, continuing his academic, research and scientific work unabated, he received in 2021 the Title of Full Professor of Surgery at the University of Heidelberg, being the youngest surgeon to receive this title.
He has now returned to Greece having assumed the position of Director at the Surgical Oncology Clinic at the Athens Medical Center while he is the Head of the Sarcoma, Melanoma and Rare Tumors Center.
As an active member of the Academic Community of the University of Heidelberg, he continues his academic and research-scientific work, for which he has received numerous distinctions. He actively participates in many international research protocols and multicenter studies, while his authorship includes over 60 scientific publications in PubMed in major international medical journals with a total impact factor of 280, over 1200 bibliographic references and a special citation index (h-index) of 20, while he is the author of several chapters in Surgical Oncology books. He is a member of the scientific committee of international conferences, an invited speaker at numerous medical scientific conferences, a member of the editorial board of 12 prestigious international scientific journals and a reviewer in 40 international scientific journals (peer reviewed). At the same time, he is a regular and active member of many international medical (surgical and oncological) societies, holding key scientific and administrative positions in them, while he participates in the scientific education and guideline committees of the European Society of Surgical Oncology
- 2022 – present Director of the Surgical Oncology Clinic and Director of the Sarcoma, Melanoma & Rare Tumors, Athens Medical Center
- 2018 – 2022 Deputy Director of Clinical Surgical Oncology, Mannheim University Medical Center, University of Heidelberg, Germany
- 2018 Specialization in Sarcoma Surgery (ESSO Consultant) Sarcoma, Melanoma and Rare Tumors Unit, Department of Academic Surgery, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- 2014 – 2018 Curator of General and Visceral Surgery Head of the Department of Soft Tissue Tumors and Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Department of Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany
- 2015 Clinical Fellow, Division of Surgical Oncology Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA and Sarcoma, HPB and Colorectal Service Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, USA
- 2008 – 2014 Resident in General and Visceral Surgery Department of Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany
2001 – 2007 Medical Studies, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Grade: “Excellent” (1st in graduating class)
2009 – 2013 Doctoral Studies (Ph.D.), Medical School, “Doctor with Honors”
Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
2011 Certified Researcher (Clinical Trials – GCP, AMG, MPG),
Center for Clinical Studies, University of Erlangen-University of Tübingen, Germany
2014 Specialty Title in General and Visceral Surgery Bavarian Medical Association, Munich, Germany
2016 Associate Professor (Habitation, “Venia Legendi’’) in Surgery
Medical School, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
2017 – 2019Studies Master of Health and Business Administration (MHBA)
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
2018 Specialization Title of Peritoneal Carcinoma Surgeon
European Certification of Peritoneal Surface Oncology, European School of Peritoneal Surface Oncology, European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO)
2018 Certification Title of PIPAC (Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy) Surgeon
University Hospital CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
2019Specialization Title of Sarcoma Surgeon
European Certification for Sarcoma Surgery, European School of Soft Tissue Sarcoma Surgery (ESSO)
2021 Title of Full Professor of Surgery
Medical Faculty Mannheim, Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg
2022 Title of Special Visceral Surgery
Medical Society of Baden-Württemberg, Germany
2022 Title of Specialization in Surgical Oncology
Fellow of European Board of Surgery (FEBS) in Surgical Oncology (SurgOnc)
European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS)
- SURGICAL AND CLINICAL SPECIALIZATIONSurgical OncologySurgery of Abdominal SarcomasSurgery of Upper and Lower Limbs, Trunk and Chest WallSurgery of MelanomaSurgery of Colon and RectumProctological Procedures
Digestive Tract Surgery
Endocrine Surgery
Hernia and Abdominal and Chest Wall Reconstruction Surgery
Emergency Surgery
General Surgery
Regional Therapies
- Isolated Limb Perfusion (ILP)
- Intraoperative Radiotherapy – Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT)
- Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraoperative Chemotherapy (HIPEC)
- Pressurized Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy as Aerosol (PIPAC)RESEARCH PROJECTSarcomasGastrointestinal Stromal TumorsDesmoid TumorsRare TumorsSurgical Oncology
Gastrointestinal Surgery
Colorectal Cancer
Pancreatic Neoplasms
Neuroendocrine Tumors
Peritoneal Carcinoma
2022-present Member of Steering Committee, European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), ESSO Young Surgeons Alumni Club (EYSAC)
2022-presentMember of Research Academy, ESSO Young Surgeons Alumni Club (EYSAC)
2021-presentNational Representative for Germany ESSO Young Surgery Alumni Club (EYSAC)
2020-presentMember of the Expert Committee, Transatlantic Australasian Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Working Group
2019 Connective Tissue Oncology Award, Connective Tissue Oncology Society, Tokyo, Japan
2019Member of the Consensus Committee, S3 Guidelines Soft Tissue Sarcoma
2018Gerd-Hegemann-Scholarship, Bavarian Society of Surgery
2017 The “Top 3 Award” in General and Visceral Surgery in Germany, German Society of Surgery
2016 Fellow of International College of Surgeons
2015Fellow of American College of Surgeons, German Fellow, Chicago, USA
2015International Fellowship, Japanese Society Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery 27th Meeting of Japanese Society HPB Surgery, Tokyo, Japan
2014Travel Grant Award, Japanese Society of Gastroenterology, Japan Digestive Disease Week 2014, Kobe, Japan
2013European Scholarship, Summer School, United European Gastroenterology Summer School of UEG, Prague, Czech Republic
2013 Travel Grant Award, European Society of Medical Oncology ESMO, Preceptorship on Colorectal & Gastric Cancer, Berlin, Germany
2013 Travel Grant Award, European Digestive Surgery (EDS), 7th EDS Postgraduate Course, Istanbul, Turkey
2012 Research Award regarding the ‘‘Colorectal Liver Metastases Project’’, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen, Germany
2012 1st Prize with cash prize for the best paper (‘‘Management of hepatic focal hyperplasia’’) Hellenic Surgical Society, 28th Panhellenic Surgery Congress, Athens
2012 Travel Grant Award, European Pancreatic Club, 44th Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic
2012 Travel Grant Award, European Digestive Surgery, 20th European United Gastro Week (UEGW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
2011 Young Investigator Award, International Gastric Cancer Association, 9th International Gastric Cancer Congress, Korea, Seoul
2010 Travel Grant Award, German Cancer Society, 29th Annual Congress of German Cancer Society, Berlin, Germany
2009 Member of Award Committee, International Gastric Cancer Association, 8th International Gastric Cancer Congress, Krakow, Poland
2007 International Scholarship, European School of Oncology
2007 First Graduate with Honors (first in ranking with the highest score) from the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2002 Award with a cash prize for the best paper (‘‘Newer views on Prion diseases‘‘), 1st Conference of the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2005-2007 Scholarship from the Christos Vrakas Endowment of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki due to excellent performance in studies at the Medical School Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2001-2007 Scholarship from the State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) for six consecutive years of studies at the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki due to excellent performance
Member of International and European Scientific Societies
European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO)
ESSO Young Surgeons and Alumni Club (EYSAC)
European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)
European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)
Transatlantic Australasian Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Working Group (TARPSWG)
Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS)
American College of Surgeons (ACS)
International College of Surgeons (ICS)
European Digestive Surgery (EDS)
International Association of Pancreatology (IAP)
European Pancreatic Club (EPC)
European Association for Transluminal Surgery (EATS)
German Society of Surgery (DGC)
German Society of General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV)
German Section of Surgical Oncology (ACO)
German Pancreatic Club (DPC)
German Interdisciplinary Sarcoma Group (GISG)
German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)
Swiss Peritoneal Cancer Group
Bavarian Society of Surgery
Middle-Rhine Society of Surgery
Member of Greek Scientific Societies
Hellenic Surgical Society
Hellenic Group of Sarcomas and Rare Tumors (Founding Member)
Hellenic Society of Coloproctology
Hellenic Hernia Society
Hellenic Society of Digestive Oncology
Hellenic Society of Neuroendocrine Tumors
Athens Medical Association
Panhellenic Medical Association
Onassis Foundation Scholars Association
President and Member of the Editorial Board of Scientific Journals
Journal of Clinical Medicine (Editor in the Section of Surgical Oncology)
Archives of Medical Science – Civilization Diseases (Editor in the Section of Gastroenterology)
Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment
Archives of Organ Transplantation
Universal Journal of Medical Science
Scientific Journal of Molecular Biomarkers & Diagnosis
Journal of Surgical Oncology and Clinical Research
International Journal of Gastroenterology Disorders & Therapy
International Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research
Video Journal of Surgery
SM Journal of Sarcoma Research
Reviewer in Scientific Journals (Reviewer Board)
European Journal of Cancer
Oncotarget
Journal of Proteome Research
Annals of Surgical Oncology
Cancer Management and Research
Mutation Research
OncoTargets and Therapy
Journal of Surgery and Acute Care Surgery
Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Human Pathology
Journal of Breath Research
Tumor Biology
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
Journal of Clinical Pathology
Archives of Medical Science
Radiation therapy and Oncology
American Journal of Surgery
Journal of Thoracic Disease
BMC Gastroenterology
Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Pathology – Research and Practice
Clinics in Surgery
European Surgical Research
Cancer Growth and Metastasis
BMC Surgery
Zentralblatt für Chirurgie
Arab Journal of Gastroenterology
Annals of Hepatology
Austin Journal of Surgery
World Journal of Surgical Oncology
Rare Tumors
More than 180 lectures and presentations at international conferences
More than 70 speeches and presentations at Greek conferences
Organization of international conferences and seminars
Scientific and Research Work
Development of and participation in international research protocols (principal investigator, co-investigator)
Authorship of chapters in numerous international textbooks
Supervising professor for 11 doctoral dissertations
Research Impact
- Total number of publications: 81
Total Impact Factor: 395 - Number of publications in PubMed: 60
Total Impact Factor: 282
Average Impact Factor (IF): 4.7
Citations: 1221
h-index: 20
i10-index: 30
Athens Medical Center
56 Kifissias Avenue & Delphin, 15 125 Maroussi, 3rd floor
T: 210 6862080, 2310 400000 | E: n.vassos@iatriko.gr, secretary.vassos@gmail.com