Joseph Zenga, MD
Assistant 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, 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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(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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Practice patterns in transoral robotic surgery: results of an American head and neck society survey.
(Holcomb AJ, Kammer R, Holman A, Goldsmith T, Divi V, Starmer HM, Zenga J, Li R, Patel UA, Richmon JD.) J Robot Surg. 2023 Apr;17(2):549-556 PMID: 35933632 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85135563848 08/08/2022
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Free tissue reconstruction in the vessel-depleted neck: A multi-institutional cohort study.
(Chang K, Akakpo KE, Graboyes EM, Zenga J, Puram SV, Pipkorn P.) Microsurgery. 2023 Mar;43(3):205-212 PMID: 36285983 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85140436642 10/27/2022
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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
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(Bajwa M, Nicolai P, Puram SV, Zenga J, Varvares M.) The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology, Second Edition. 1 January 2023:217-228 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85173358902 01/01/2023
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Multiple simultaneous free flaps for head and neck reconstruction: A multi-institutional cohort.
(Tharakan T, Marfowaa G, Akakpo K, Jackson R, Zenga J, Puram SV, Pipkorn P.) Oral Oncol. 2023 Jan;136:106269 PMID: 36462329 PMCID: PMC10559876 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85142852643 12/04/2022
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(Li L, Sun R, Zenga J, Himburg H, Wang L, Duan S, Liu J, Bui D, Xie Z, Du T, Xie L, Yin T, Wong S, Gao S, Hu M.) J Inflamm Res. 2022;15:4435-4447 PMID: 35958187 PMCID: PMC9359786 08/13/2022