Tracy Batchelor, MD, and Dr. med. Wolfgang Wick

The guest editors of this issue of Seminars in Neurology are Dr. Tracy Batchelor from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Wolfgang Wick from the Neurology Clinic in Heidelberg, Germany.

Dr. Batchelor is the Giovanni Armenise – Harvard Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He is the Executive Director of the Stephen E. and Catherine Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Associate Clinical Director of the MGH Cancer Center, and Co-Leader of the Brain Cancer Program at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. His work involves the development of novel therapeutics for malignant primary brain tumors. His investigations in glioblastoma emphasize the development of imaging and tumor markers of sensitivity and resistance to antiangiogenic and targeted therapeutics in preclinical models and humans. Dr. Batchelor is the Principal Investigator on R01, P50, K24, and K12 grant funding from the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Batchelor serves as the Co-Chair of the National Cancer Institute Brain Malignancies Steering Committee and has served in multiple leadership roles in national organizations including the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the American Academy of Neurology.

Dr. Wick is a Professor of Neurology and Chairman of the Neurology Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, Division Head of Neuro-Oncology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and Program Chair of Neuro-Oncology at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT). He studied in Bonn, London, and Boston and earned his medical degree from the University of Bonn in 1997. From 1998 to 2003, he underwent postgraduate training in neurology at the University of Tübingen. His main interest is precision neuro-oncology, in which he focuses on resistance mechanisms, immunotherapy, biomarkers, and radiosensitization. In addition to basic laboratory research, he is conducting multicenter phase I to III randomized trials for the Neuro-Oncology Working Group (NOA) of the German Cancer Society, the EU GAPVAC (Glioma Actively Personalized VAccine Consortium), the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently Spokesperson of the NOA and president of European Association for Neuro-Oncology (EANO), and chaired the EORTC Brain Tumor Group for more than 6 years.

The issue on “Neuro-Oncology” is a timely update in a fast-changing field of neurology, orchestrated beautifully by Drs. Batchelor and Wick. They and their coauthors have presented a remarkably insightful and modern illustration of neuro-oncology, with an eye to the remarkable research being done to help patients affected with neurologic neoplastic disease. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Drs. Batchelor and Wick, as well as of the contributing authors, for their great work in this outstanding issue of Seminars!