Max Witjes MD, DDS, PhD

Max JH Witjes was appointed in 2003 as a consultant in Head & Neck Oncology at the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of the University Medical Center of Groningen the Netherlands. Prior to this, he attained his medical and dental degree at the University Medical Center of Groningen. During his studies, he worked as a research assistant at the Department of Biomaterials in Groningen as well as the Department of Biomaterials, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (USA).

In 1997 he obtained his Ph.D. (cum laude) on the subject of “Photodynamic therapy and fluorescence localization of experimental oral dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma” which was completed partially at the Erasmus Medical Center of Rotterdam. He has been involved in further clinical and laboratory studies in image-guided surgery of head and neck (pre)malignancies and trained several Ph.D. students on these subjects. Next to his daily practice in H&N oncology he has a specific interest in developing optimal functional reconstruction of craniofacial defects using 3D virtual planning techniques. He has published on the advanced 3D planning of the reconstruction of craniofacial defects. He has integrated 3D virtual planning in the daily clinical work and initiated the start of the UMCG wide 3D lab which he now manages.