Joseph Zenga, MD
Associate Professor & Chief, Division of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology & Reconstruction
Biography
Dr. Zenga obtained his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and attended Washington University in Saint Louis where he earned an MD degree and completed an Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Skullbase Surgery, and Microvascular Reconstruction at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School. His fellowship training focused heavily on both complex free tissue reconstruction and minimally invasive surgery with the use of surgical robots. His research interests include basic and translational immunotherapy in head and neck cancer. In particular, his laboratory focuses on identification and therapeutic use of tumor antigen-specific T cells. This includes multiple innovative single-cell techniques incorporating individual tumor cell-T cell co-culture and single-cell RNA and T cell receptor sequencing. In addition to translational immuno-oncology, he also co-leads multiple novel clinical trials focused on using radiotherapy to improve the immune response in head and neck cancer.
Research Interests
- Immunology of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer
- Single-cell RNA and T cell receptor sequencing
- Tumor-specific T cell and neo-antigen discovery
- Murine modeling of oral cancer and in vivo imaging
- Phase I clinical trials
Publications
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(Zenga J, Himburg HA, Wong SJ, Kearl T, Hematti P, Jin VX, Memon AA, Mathison AJ, Awan MJ.) Oral Oncol. 2024 Sep;156:106947 PMID: 39009483 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85198374252 07/16/2024
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(Hussain O, DeGroot A, Treffy R, Bakhaidar M, Zenga J, Shabani S.) World Neurosurg. 2024 Jul;187:68 PMID: 38599373 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85192194909 04/11/2024
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Type I interferon signaling promotes radioresistance in head and neck cancer.
(Zenga J, Awan MJ, Frei A, Massey B, Bruening J, Shukla M, Sharma GP, Shreenivas A, Wong SJ, Zimmermann MT, Mathison AJ, Himburg HA.) Transl Cancer Res. 2024 May 31;13(5):2535-2543 PMID: 38881922 PMCID: PMC11170510 06/17/2024
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(Zenga J, Awan M, Frei A, Foeckler J, Kuehn R, Espinosa OV, Bruening J, Massey B, Wong S, Shreenivas A, Shukla M, Kasprzak J, Sun Y, Shaheduzzaman M, Chen F, Kearl T, Himburg HA.) Transl Oncol. 2024 Apr;42:101899 PMID: 38320395 PMCID: PMC10851216 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85184507548 02/07/2024
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(Cherubin T, Pawar S, Zenga J, Kasprzak J.) Wisconsin Medical Journal. July 2024;123(3):243 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85199500587 07/01/2024
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Type I interferon signaling promotes radioresistance in head and neck cancer
(Zenga J, Awan MJ, Frei A, Massey B, Bruening J, Shukla M, Sharma GP, Shreenivas A, Wong SJ, Zimmermann MT, Mathison AJ, Himburg HA.) Translational Cancer Research. 2024;13(5):2535-2543 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85195040296 01/01/2024
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(Cortina LE, Moverman DJ, Zhao Y, Goss D, Zenga J, Puram SV, Varvares MA.) Oral Oncol. 2023 Dec;147:106596 PMID: 37839153 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85173998840 10/16/2023
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Photoactivated HPPH-Liposomal therapy for the treatment of HPV-Negative head and neck cancer.
(Zenga J, Awan M, Hadi Razeghi Kondelaji M, Hansen C, Shafiee S, Frei A, Foeckler J, Kuehn R, Bruening J, Massey B, Wong S, Joshi A, Himburg HA.) Oral Oncol. 2023 Sep;144:106487 PMID: 37423200 PMCID: PMC10413333 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85164978149 07/10/2023
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Demystifying Surgical Free Flaps in the Head and Neck.
(Beck RT, Rath T, Gill S, Zenga J, Agarwal M.) Semin Roentgenol. 2023 Jul;58(3):301-310 PMID: 37507171 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85149877043 07/29/2023
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Clinical Impact and Accuracy of Shave Biopsy for Initial Diagnosis of Cutaneous Melanoma.
(Jones S, Henry V, Strong E, Sheriff SA, Wanat K, Kasprzak J, Clark M, Shukla M, Zenga J, Stadler M, Dzwierzynski W, Harker-Murray A, Young K, Kothari AN, Clarke CN.) J Surg Res. 2023 Jun;286:35-40 PMID: 36739830 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85147832080 02/06/2023
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Demystifying Surgical Free Flaps in the Head and Neck
(Beck RT, Rath T, Gill S, Zenga J, Agarwal M.) Seminars in Roentgenology. July 2023;58(3):301-310 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85149877043 07/01/2023
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(Zenga J, Awan MJ, Frei A, Shukla M, Shreenivas A, Wong SJ, Himburg HA.) Oral Oncology Reports. March 2023;5 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85181215896 03/01/2023