Dr. Michael Saerens is a medical oncologist at Ghent University Hospital and a PhD researcher at the Cancer Research Institute (CRIG) of the Ghent University. His clinical work focuses on head and neck cancers and skin cancers, with active involvement in commercial clinical trials in these domains.

His translational research centers on the development of prognostic and predictive biomarkers in head and neck cancer, in close collaboration with the TOBI Lab (Translational Oncobiology and Bioinformatics) at the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology.  By integrating spatial proteomics, transcriptomics, targeted sequencing, flow cytometry, and multimodal analysis of blood and tissue, he aims to advance individualized treatment strategies and contribute to the evolution of personalized immunotherapy.

Dr. Saerens has been an ESMO Mentorship Programme awardee (2023) and is an active member of ESMO, the EORTC Head and Neck Cancer Group, and the Belgian Society of Medical Oncology (BSMO) and the Vlaamse Werkgroep Hoofd Hals Tumoren (VWHHT). Since 2021, he has also contributed to medical education as a guest lecturer for undergraduate and graduate students, teaching in the areas of precision oncology, pharmacotherapy, and immunotherapy.