Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Kinfe

The personal focus of Prof. Dr. Thomas Kinfe includes innovative procedures such as robotics and MR-assisted functional neurosurgery, which allow Prof. Dr. Kinfe and his team to perform procedures with the highest precision and efficiency. These innovative technologies, in combination with established procedures such as intraoperative imaging and electrophysiological mapping of single-cell activity, enable brain electrodes to be placed with millimeter precision in deep brain structures, while intraoperative imaging (MRI) checks in real time whether the implantation has been performed optimally. Patients at the clinic under the direction of Prof. Dr. Kinfe benefit not only from the latest diagnostic and therapeutic (telemedicine) procedures, but also from an interdisciplinary approach involving neurologists, psychiatrists, neuroradiologists, anaesthetists, trauma surgeons and plastic surgeons.

The field of invasive neuronal interfaces (brain-computer interface, BCI) for the treatment of functionally impaired patients (motor function, speech) represents a central project with national and international cooperation partners both in academia and industry, with the aim of further developing and implementing clinical translation in the field of BCI research at the University Medical Center Mannheim.

After immigrating to the Federal Republic of Germany, Prof. Dr. Kinfe obtained the general university entrance qualification in Mannheim and completed his studies in human medicine at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen and the Mannheim Medical Faculty of the Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg, which he was able to complete with the state examination. In the field of neurosurgery, he was awarded my doctorate (magna cum laude) on May 13, 2008 on the subject of “Histological studies in the adult rat brain after stereotactic neonatal lesion of the entorhinal cortex” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. J. K. Krauss. As part of his habilitation project (“Minimally invasive and non-invasive technologies in the neuromodulation of chronic, refractory pain syndromes”) in 2016 at the Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, several manuscripts on the topic of neuromodulation in refractory pain syndromes were published in leading journals (list of publications). During this time in a leadership role, he was responsible for the independent design, implementation and evaluation of several clinical studies in functional neurosurgery. In 2019, Prof. Dr. Kinfe was then appointed (primo loco) to the W2 professorship for Functional Neurosurgery and Stereotaxy at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in conjunction with the position of head of the corresponding section, which he held until September 2024. His scientific expertise is evidenced by numerous publications, review activities, acquisition of third-party funding and memberships in national and international specialist societies.

Before every procedure, Prof. Dr. Kinfe places great importance on a comprehensive and individual consultation, during which surgical and non-surgical treatment options are discussed in detail. The aim is always to sustainably improve the patient's quality of life while reducing risks to a minimum. In his work, Prof. Dr. Thomas Kinfe pursues the goal of combining medical progress with patient-centered care. He combines scientific excellence with innovative clinical practice, which opens up new perspectives for many patients with neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. With his specialization and commitment, he sets standards in modern functional neurosurgery and establishes pioneering treatment approaches that attract national and international attention.