On November 29, CEPID CancerThera held its first workshop, bringing together over 50 participants, including principal researchers, associate researchers, undergraduate, and graduate students. The event marked the first year of the research center’s activities, which began in May 2023, fostering discussions on the achievements made, challenges faced, and future strategies and perspectives, emphasizing the importance of continuous dialogue and the exchange of experiences for the advancement of science and innovation in cancer patient care.
The Cancer Theranostics Innovation Center (CancerThera) is primarily funded as a Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (CEPID) by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), aiming to become an international reference in “Theranostics” research—a neologism referring to procedures combining “diagnosis” and “therapy” through the use of radiopharmaceuticals. The institutions associated with CancerThera’s operations are the Hematology and Hemotherapy Center of Unicamp (Hemocentro/Unicamp), the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP), and the Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos at the University of São Paulo (IQSC/USP).
Dr. Carmino A. de Souza, onco-hematologist, professor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the State University of Campinas (FCM/Unicamp), principal investigator, and director of CancerThera’s executive committee, highlighted the event’s importance: “Holding this workshop was absolutely essential. For the first time, we filled a room with over 50 people linked to the center, promoting an exchange of experiences among students, professors, and researchers.”
In a light and engaging tone, reflecting the participants’ enthusiasm, the event showcased the impact of the work developed at the center, which operates according to the translational research model, allowing greater interaction and integration between basic, pre-clinical, and clinical areas. “It was excellent to learn more deeply about what each researcher is developing and at what stage their investigation is,” emphasizes Dr. Celso Dario Ramos, nuclear physician, professor at FCM/Unicamp, principal researcher, and deputy director of the center’s executive committee.
According to him, the interaction between diverse areas such as Nuclear Medicine, Hematology, Chemistry, and Communication is one of CancerThera’s great merits. The collaborative environment at the research center allows for expanding study horizons: “Everyone talks to everyone, and everyone learns a little more about the other colleague’s area,” he says. In this sense, he values holding meetings like the workshop because, “in a year, a lot happens: research progresses, changes direction, new ideas emerge,” Ramos adds.
Great results, promising prospects
The meeting provided a platform for presenting ongoing projects, with special emphasis on the contributions of investigations conducted over the last 18 months of activities. The quality and impact of the initiatives were widely recognized by the participants. The involvement of undergraduate and graduate students supervised by CancerThera’s principal researchers was also notable, demonstrating the center’s vigor in training new scientists.
Among the workshop’s highlights, besides the presentations of research results from the various groups that make up the center, were the initiatives in the Knowledge Dissemination area. Comments made by participants converged on the need to translate complex themes into accessible messages for different audiences and to develop scientific dissemination skills, impacting the education of the entire society and preventing the spread of misinformation, for example, about cancer prevention and the use of radiation for medical diagnosis and treatment.
Among the various institutional communication and scientific dissemination activities promoted is CancerThera’s participation in episode 11 of the third season of the series “Science for All,” a partnership between FAPESP, the Roberto Marinho Foundation, and Canal Futura. Entitled “New Perspectives Against Cancer,” the film portrays the daily life of the research center and follows the life story of a prostate cancer patient. It is currently available on Globoplay (from January 20, 2025, it will be broadcast on Canal Futura’s programming and will be accessible at this link on FAPESP’s website).
According to Souza, these efforts reflect CancerThera’s commitment to expanding the outcomes of its projects for 2025. New scientific events, high-impact publications, and scientific dissemination activities are being produced, which are essential to consolidate the results. “The work is progressing very virtuously, with many tangible results, engaged researchers, and promising research lines,” he assesses.
Text: Romulo Santana Osthues | Photos: Romulo Santana Osthues, Elvira Correa, and Débora Vitória Azolli Moreira
