The 2nd ProtoTera Doctoral Programme Workshop took place on 9 and 10 October, at the CTN Auditorium. The event brought together national and international experts in the field of proton therapy. Técnico PhD students, their supervisors and guests discussed the challenges and achievements of this radiotherapy technique – not yet available in Portugal – which allows the radiation dose to be concentrated on the tumour, minimising the exposure of the surrounding healthy tissues.
At the opening session, the President of Instituto Superior Técnico, Rogério Colaço, emphasised the importance of academic training in the field of proton therapy. Rogério Colaço said that although there are 27 doctoral students in this field, the implementation of the therapy could take time due to the priorities of the National Health Service and other urgent issues in the country. Lucília Salgado, from the Portuguese Institute of Oncology – Lisbon, expressed the hospital’s ‘interest in having proton therapy equipment available, as well as collaborating in research and advanced training projects’, emphasising the need for continuous training for professionals. Antero Abrunhosa, Director of ICNAS at University of Coimbra, highlighted the ‘importance of training in nuclear sciences in Portugal’. Patrícia Gonçalves, president of LIP, gave a brief overview of LIP’s role in connecting the Portuguese research community in particle physics and its applications.
The event featured 25 presentations by doctoral students at various stages of their career, from from basic research with simulation tools to clinical case studies: ‘Flash Therapy’, real-time imaging systems during treatment, targeted therapy with nanoparticles, treatment of degenerative diseases with proton therapy, 2D and 3D cancer computer simulations and their interaction with radiation.
Several Técnico PhD students at Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares (C2TN) had the opportunity to share their research work at the workshop, addressing crucial issues in the fight against cancer. Cátia Rosa stresses ‘the exchange of scientific ideas in the field of proton therapy enriches our training, helping us to solve problems and develop essential skills for our professional future’. Diogo Engrácia highlighted the importance of his work for society, saying that ‘the use of three-dimensional cellular models in cancer is crucial for testing new radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments, enabling a more realistic simulation of tumour response and better clinical results’. Joana Santos emphasised the contribution of her research to ‘a new approach to overcoming drug resistance in the treatment of colorectal cancer’. Rafael Travassos underlined the importance of modifying viral-type nanoparticles to increase their specificity to therapeutic targets, ‘an important contribution to society, since it is an innovative process that enhances the delivery of drugs in the treatment of cancer’.
The event was also attended by João Seco, a professor at the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), and Paula Alves, Head of the Radiotherapy Department at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology – Coimbra.
In the closing session, José Marques, C2TN’s Coordinating Researcher, highlighted ‘young researchers will soon be ready to join the country’s hospitals and universities’. ‘This group of young physicists, chemists and biologists have been in contact with national and international institutions and can act as promoters of new projects and future initiatives’, he added.
Funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), the Doctoral Programme aims to establish a national research and teaching network in advanced therapies and associated cancer treatment technologies.
