Dissertation defence (Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine): MSc Max Miner
Time
29.8.2023 at 12.00 - 16.00
MSc Max Miner defends his dissertation in Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine entitled “Emerging Radiopharmacetuicals for PET-imaging Gliomas” at the University of Turku on 29 August 2023 at 12.00 pm (TYKS T Hospital, Risto Lahesmaa auditorium, Hämeentie 11, 20520 Turku).
The audience can participate in the defence by remote access: https://utu.zoom.us/j/62033783502
Opponent: Professor Klaus Kopka (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Research Centre, Germany)
Custos: Professor Anne Roivainen (University of Turku)
Doctoral Dissertation at UTUPub: https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/175536
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Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation:
The development and characterization of new and emerging radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging glioma brain tumours in experimental models is an important step towards the detection and treatment planning of central nervous system cancers. The thesis by Maxwell Miner, entitled “Emerging radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging Gliomas” is set to be scrutinized by one of the leading researchers in the field, Klaus Kopka, who is the director of a major radiopharmaceutical research center at the prestigious Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Dresden, Germany.
In the dissertation, Miner compares newly developed glutamine- and folate-based radiopharmaceuticals to clinically-established glucose and methionine analogues while providing a deeper investigation into radiopharmaceutical metabolism, biochemical accumulation rates, whole body distribution, and PET camera comparisons in multiple experimental in vivo tumour models.
Gliomas are a serious disease with poor patient outcomes if the tumours are of the aggressive variety. The detection and evaluation of tumor characteristics is essential for treatment planning and doing so in a swift non-invasive way via PET and other imaging is an extremely useful tool for this task. A well-suited radiopharmaceutical can accumulate in the target tissue, in this case brain tumor, following biochemical energy consumption gradients, increased receptor expression, and other biochemical properties to infer highly relevant differences between adjacent tissue masses.
“Ideally, with the perfect imaging radiopharmaceutical you would be able to delineate the tumour boundaries, detect the relative metabolic rate (aggressive vs. benign), and divulge some insight into tumour receptor expression/presence of a relevant treatment target” states Miner. “For delicate organs such as the brain, avoiding early surgical biopsy it is not needed and getting important biochemical information faster are inherently welcome prospects.”
The audience can participate in the defence by remote access: https://utu.zoom.us/j/62033783502
Opponent: Professor Klaus Kopka (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Research Centre, Germany)
Custos: Professor Anne Roivainen (University of Turku)
Doctoral Dissertation at UTUPub: https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/175536
***
Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation:
The development and characterization of new and emerging radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging glioma brain tumours in experimental models is an important step towards the detection and treatment planning of central nervous system cancers. The thesis by Maxwell Miner, entitled “Emerging radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging Gliomas” is set to be scrutinized by one of the leading researchers in the field, Klaus Kopka, who is the director of a major radiopharmaceutical research center at the prestigious Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Dresden, Germany.
In the dissertation, Miner compares newly developed glutamine- and folate-based radiopharmaceuticals to clinically-established glucose and methionine analogues while providing a deeper investigation into radiopharmaceutical metabolism, biochemical accumulation rates, whole body distribution, and PET camera comparisons in multiple experimental in vivo tumour models.
Gliomas are a serious disease with poor patient outcomes if the tumours are of the aggressive variety. The detection and evaluation of tumor characteristics is essential for treatment planning and doing so in a swift non-invasive way via PET and other imaging is an extremely useful tool for this task. A well-suited radiopharmaceutical can accumulate in the target tissue, in this case brain tumor, following biochemical energy consumption gradients, increased receptor expression, and other biochemical properties to infer highly relevant differences between adjacent tissue masses.
“Ideally, with the perfect imaging radiopharmaceutical you would be able to delineate the tumour boundaries, detect the relative metabolic rate (aggressive vs. benign), and divulge some insight into tumour receptor expression/presence of a relevant treatment target” states Miner. “For delicate organs such as the brain, avoiding early surgical biopsy it is not needed and getting important biochemical information faster are inherently welcome prospects.”
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