Academic History

Silke Gillessen, MD, is the Director of the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland, and the Head of the Department of Medical Oncology and a Professor at the Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland. She is the Genitourinary Cancer Systemic Therapy Research Chair at the University of Manchester and an Honorary Consultant at The Christie Hospital, both in Manchester, UK. Prof. Gillessen also works as a Consultant in the Department of Oncology/Haematology at the Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St, Gallen, Switzerland. Prof. Gillessen completed her specialist Medical Oncology training at the University Hospital of Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Adult Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

Prof. Gillessen is a founder of the St. Gallen Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) and has previously served as the President of the SAKK GU Group, on the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Scientific Subcommittee for GU Oncology, and as Chair of the ESMO Committee for Prostate Cancer. She has also received the prestigious SAKK/Pfizer Award.

Speaking on precision oncology and novel treatments across genitourinary cancers

Prof. Gillessen’s research focuses primarily on prostate cancer, with a particular interest in precision oncology and biomarker-driven treatment strategies. Her work encompasses the development and optimization of androgen receptor-targeted therapies, chemotherapy, radioligand therapy, and combination treatment strategies, as well as biomarker-driven precision medicine. She has played a central role in numerous international clinical trials evaluating novel therapies and treatment sequencing, while also contributing to the development of global clinical guidelines and consensus recommendations.