Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Group
The Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Group (RSG) aims at exploring the application of ionizing radiation from artificial sources to human health, more specifically to the design and development of innovative molecules and nanoparticles containing radioactive isotopes for Molecular Imaging (PET and SPECT), Targeted Radionuclide Therapy and Cancer Theranostics. Those activities, with a strong multidisciplinary character, are undertaken by a team of scientists with expertise in various scientific disciplines, including chemistry, radiochemistry, biology and pharmaceutical sciences; supported by a set of dedicated facilities for i) chemical synthesis (including solid phase peptide synthesis); ii) radiosynthesis; iii) biochemical, molecular biology and cellular studies; and iv) animal studies and preclinical imaging.
Objectives
- Considering the strong translational potential, this research area aims to contribute to the rise of molecular and precision medicine.
- Design of innovative target-specific radiopharmaceuticals, based on a plethora of imaging or therapeutic radionuclides, to image/interfere with different disease-associated molecular and biological pathways.
- Development and evaluation of molecular/nanosized tools for cancer theranostics, based on PET (e.g. 64Cu and 68Ga) and SPECT (99mTc, 67Ga and 111In) radiometals, and on β- (e.g. 188Re and 177Lu) or Auger-emitting (e.g. 125I and 161Tb) therapeutic radionuclides.
- Owing to the rare combination of radiopharmaceutical chemistry expertise with facilities for preclinical evaluation, the RSG wants to reinforce its role as a key partner of renowned national/international institutions involved in radionuclide production, nuclear medicine and biomedical research (e.g. ICNAS, CNC, Fundação Champalimaud, IMM-Lisbon Medical School, IRCM, CERN, SCK-CEN, KU Leuven and MDACC-UT Austin).
- Within the framework of national and international cooperation projects, including with biotech companies, the RSG is focused in reinforcingthe collaborations with research groups engaged in the discovery/development and biological evaluation of novel (metallo)drugs and antibody-based biopharmaceuticals.
Group Leader
- João Galamba Correia