Book Appointment Dr. Wenske joined the Faculty of the Department of Urology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) as Assistant Professor in July 2013 with a clinical focus in urologic oncology, especially the diagnosis and treatment of early and advanced prostate cancer. Dr. Wenske leads the Department's program on Active Surveillance of Prostate Cancer and uses the new Ultrasound-MRI Fusion technology for the execution of more precise and targeted prostate biopsies. This new technology uses prostate MRI images, that are being obtained a few days prior to the prostate biopsy, to merge them with live ultrasound images that are being used during the actual biopsy. Consequently, abnormal areas within the prostate that are suspicious for prostate cancer on the MRI can be specifically targeted with the ultrasound. This allows for a more accurate sampling and overall assessment of the prostate when prostate cancer needs to be ruled out. Dr. Wenske also specializes in the use of ablative therapies in the treatment of primary and recurrent prostate cancer. He uses cryosurgery to ablate malignant prostate tissue with very low temperatures and ice, and Dr. Wenske performs also HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) to ablate the entire prostate or just parts of it that are involved with prostate cancer with heat. Dr. Wenske completed his Urology Residency at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Prior to joining our department, Dr. Wenske spent 3 years as a Urology Resident at the University Hospitals in Hamburg and Bochum, Germany, and subsequently spent a successful research fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he investigated the "Role of human kallikrein 2 (hK2) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in prostate cancer onset and progression" in the laboratories of Dr. Peter Scardino and Dr. Hans Lilja in the Department of Urology. The research was funded by a grant from the German Heinrich-Hertz foundation, as well as the Prostate Cancer Foundation. In addition to his clinical efforts, he is determined to pursue an academic career as an independent researcher on prostate cancer in the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center here at CUIMC. Dr. Wenske has great interest and dedication in clinical and basic urologic research. He published numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals, wrote several Urology textbook chapters, and has participated as a speaker at several national and international urologic conferences. Dr. Wenske was awarded a Physician Research Training Award from the Prostate Cancer Research Program by the Department of Defense in 2013, which funded his research ââ€â‚¬ entitled "Identification of master regulators of advanced and castrate-resistant prostate cancer under treatment with Abiraterone" ââ€â‚¬ on prostate cancer and the underlying resistance mechanisms to currently available drugs in the advanced settings of this disease . In December 2015, Dr. Wenske was awarded a Prostate Cancer Hypothesis Development Grant funded by the New York State (NYS), Department of Health (DOH) for a 2-year period. The objective of his research titled "Imaging-guided Fresh Prostate Cancer Tissue Acquisition for the Prediction of Treatment Response" is to further the understanding of prostate cancer biology and treatment response to different medications in vitro. .