DFG funds research into proton therapy at the University Alliance Ruhr
- Research
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiotherapy that is used to treat cancer. Protons, i.e. positively charged particles, are targeted at tumor cells. In contrast to X-rays, protons have the advantage that they release their energy very precisely in the tumor tissue, destroying it and largely sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. In the first funding phase, a total of 24 doctoral students from the fields of chemistry, physics and engineering will conduct research into methods of this particle technology and machine learning in their doctoral projects. Among other things, they will work on developing new instruments to further improve the precision of proton therapy. They will also investigate radiation effects at various levels in order to kill tumor cells even more effectively and further reduce the undesirable effects of radiation.
"In the Graduiertenkolleg, we want to transfer our strong basic research into medical applications. In order for this technology transfer to succeed, experts from basic research and applied sciences as well as clinical application are represented there," explains GRK spokesperson Prof. Kevin Kröninger from TU Dortmund University. The future doctoral supervisors come from the fields of chemistry, physics, medical physics, medicine, computer science and engineering.
Bridge between basic research, technology and medicine
The TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen are involved in AMTEC-PRO - the acronym stands for "Advanced Methods and Technologies for Proton Therapy" - as scientific partners. The West German Proton Therapy Center at Essen University Hospital is the central clinical facility of the research group. AMTEC-PRO will benefit from the excellent research infrastructures of the entire University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) and will also establish a cross-location UA Ruhr guest chair for particle science for the alliance of the three Ruhr area universities. Relevant preliminary work for the new Graduiertenkolleg was carried out by the researchers involved in a UA Ruhr-wide project funded by the Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR).
In the long term, AMTEC-PRO aims to establish a sustainable link between basic scientific research, new technologies and modern medicine in the Ruhr region. Doctoral students will also benefit from the interdisciplinary nature of the research training group, which will open up career paths in science and industry.