Translational Radiotheranostics
- Imaging and Radiooncology
- Junior Research Group
Dr. Martina Benesova-Schäfer
Group Head
In the 21st century, cancer will remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Our mission is to prevent this through the promising combination of personalized radiodiagnostics and targeted radionuclide therapy – known as radiotheranostics.
In highly innovative and interdisciplinary projects, we currently focus on alpha-particle emitting radionuclides, such as Th-227, Ac-225 and Ra-223, and investigate their coordination properties, physicochemical effects and radiation-induced immune responses in tumor tissue and the microenvironment.
We use this knowledge to identify new therapeutic targets and synthesize effective radioligands/radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging, endoradiotherapy and intra-operative surgery in order to apply our promising findings as quickly as possible for improved personalized precision medicine in oncology.
What are we currently working on?
Radionuclide Separation and Purification
We develop efficient methods for the separation and purification of α-emitters to expand their use in preclinical research and clinical applications. These strategies enable effective separation without complex subsequent steps, improved availability of α-emitters and are transferable to other clinically relevant radionuclides.
Radionuclide Generators
With novel prototypes of radionuclide generators, we want to enable the (de)centralized production of α-emitters without the need for accelerators or nuclear reactors. The immobilization of the parent nuclide with subsequent elution of the daughter nuclide in high purity represents the technical foundation. More specifically, we aim to build ²²⁷Ac/²²⁷Th and ²²⁷Th/²²³Ra-based generator systems from the reprocessing of uranium, thorium and nuclear waste in order to make relevant α-emitters more easily available for research (More here).
Structure-Function Relationships
Structure-function relationships of actinides need to be explored to predict their magnetic, electronic and (radio)chemical properties. Using high-energy X-ray absorption spectroscopy (HR-XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), we analyze pharmaceuticals and chelating agents in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Density functional theory (DFT) and quantum mechanics of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) help us to understand the interaction effects between metal ions and ligands.
Our milestones
Two of our members contributed to the development of PSMA-targeted compounds (PSMA-11, PSMA-617, PSMA-1007) in the former Department of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry of the DKFZ. PSMA-617 was licensed from ABX (DE) and acquired by Novartis (CH) for USD 2.1 billion in 2018.
2022 [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (Pluvicto®) received approval from the FDA, MHRA, Health Canada and EMA for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer: a global success.Our in-house developed products [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 (Locametz®) and [¹⁸F]PSMA-1007 (Radelumin®) are used worldwide for PET diagnostics of prostate cancer.
These developments show that our research contributes directly to improving patient care, with the aim of successfully applying these advancements to other types of cancer beyond prostate cancer.
Meet the team
The Junior Research Group Translational Radiotheranostics (formerly: Molecular Biology of Systemic Radiotherapy) was established in April 2019 and brings together researchers from various scientific backgrounds to advance our interdisciplinary research projects and develop innovative approaches to improve systemic radiotherapies.
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Dr. Martina Benesova-Schäfer
Group Head
- Show profile
Sandra Casula
Administrative Assistant for Divisions E041, E270 and E280
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Mariam Amghar
PhD student
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Ulrike Bauder-Wüst
Biological Technical Assistant (BTA)
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Dr. Luciana Kovacs dos Santos
PostDoc
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Dr. Harun Tas
PostDoc
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Ruth Winter
PhD student
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