Dirk Schadendorf is the Director of the Department of Dermatology (since 2008) and the West German Cancer Center at the University Hospital Essen (since 2013).

In 1986 he got the license to practice medicine, obtained post-doc training in Tumour Immunology at MSKCC in N.Y.. After 6 years at the University Hospital Rudolf Virchow, Berlin, he became Assistant Professor for Dermatology in 1994. He was appointed Associate Professor for Dermato-Oncology at Mannheim University Hospital, University of Heidelberg, and Head of Skin Cancer Unit, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg. He is currently involved in more than 30 clinical studies. He has a strong focus on translational research and has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers.