German hematologist, oncologist
Fuat Shamoun Oduncu (born 1970 in Midyat, Turkey) is a German hematologist, oncologist and biomedical ethicist. He is professor for medicine at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and known for his work in the fields of oncology, palliative care, medical ethics and health economics.
Biography.
Fuat Shamoun Oduncu was born in Midyat. As Assyrian he belongs to the Christian minority of the Syriac Orthodox Church. His foreign worker family emigrated to Germany in 1974, living in Füssen, Bavaria since. He finished high school in 1989 and studied medicine 1989–95 at the LMU Munich. 1997 he graduated with the medical doctor degree (Dr. med.) at the medical faculty of the LMU. In parallel he graduated with the master's degree of philosophy (M.A.) at the Jesuit's University of Philosophy in Munich in 1996. Later in 2005 he graduated with the degree of doctor of philosophy (Dr. phil.) at the Department of Philosophy of the LMU. He obtained German citizenship in 1998 (prior Turkish citizenship). In 2002 Oduncu completed a postgraduate European Master  in Bioethics (E.M.B.) at the universities of Nijmegen, Madrid, Leuven and Padova. In 2005 he received his Ph.D. (German Habilitation) in internal medicine at the medical faculty of the LMU Munich. In 2004 he was approved as internist, 2005 as hematologist and medical oncologist. In 2007 he became the head of the department of hematology and oncology (Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV, Klinikum der Universität Munich). In 2009 he received his additional certifications for palliative care and for hemostaseology, and for medical quality management in 2012. In 2011 Oduncu completed a two-year part-time Master of Business Administration Health Care Management (M.B.A. HCM) at the Munich Business School in cooperation with the Boston University School of Management. In 2013 he was appointed professor at the LMU Munich.
As the general secretary of the Erich-Franck-Society Oduncu promoted the relationship between the medical faculties of the LMU Munich and the University of Istanbul. He supported an exchange program (Erasmus Programme) for students and university teachers. As a member of the charity foundation Christlicher Entwicklungsdienst and as a VSO worker Oduncu assists in foreign aid in the poorest regions of India and Africa (e.g. building of elementary and secondary schools and of homes for the poor).
Oduncu speaks several languages fluently (spoken and written): Aramaic (native), German, Arabic, Turkish, English, Spanish, French, Italian and Latin.
Scientific contribution.
Oduncu contributed to the understanding und treatment of cancer diseases. It is his stated scientific goal and personal vision to contribute to the development of innovative drugs on the basis of antibody technologies in order to provide a curative treatment for every single cancer patient one day.
Hence, Oduncu, together with his research partners (Georg Fey, Karl-Peter Hopfner), puts efforts on the development of the so-called bi- and trispecific antibodies, i.e. the triplebodies. These molecules present antibody-derivatives and small molecules which specifically bind to the surface antigens of cancer cells and to CD16- or CD3-positive effector cells of the patient. Through this concept of dual targeting the triplebodies are able to specifically identify the tumor cell by binding to two different surface antigens of the same tumor cell and kill the tumor through the stimulation of effector cells.
Dual targeting provides selective binding and selective killing of the cancer cells, thus leading to high rates of efficacy and very low rates of adverse effects. Thus, the use of triplebody technology with dual targeting provides a considerable potential for a successful personalized cancer therapy with the realistic chance of long-term efficacy and cure for cancer patients. The research team of Oduncu established the concept of dual targeting using triplebodies first for the in-vitro treatment of leukemia.
Besides, Oduncu contributed as a medical ethicist a vast publication body dealing with central ethical and societal issues of the following topics such as dying in dignity, euthanasia, assisted-suicide, palliative care, priority-setting in health care, organ transplantation, and embryo and stem cell research.