The TCH funds collaborative projects between basic, translational, and clinical researchers at SDU NAT, SUND, and OUH
We are pleased to announce the 2025 Translational Cancer Hub Call for Proposals, with a submission deadline of October 15th 2025. Please find the detailed call text and application template attached below.
We invite proposals that take a strongly interdisciplinary approach to address pressing challenges in oncology. Projects must be jointly led by one basic and one clinical researcher. We especially encourage applications from co-applicants who have not previously collaborated, to foster new synergies.
We look forward to receiving your proposals.
Note: Instrument restricted to SDU/OUH researchers
For a project to be sponsored by the TCH are the multidisciplinary and translational nature of the cancer research proposed, and the potential to promote high-quality scientific collaboration between basic and clinical cancer researchers. Projects in which students from a basic research lab will spend significant amount of time in a clinical research environment, and vice versa, will be particularly encouraged. This applies to both the PhD scholarships and the pre-graduate fellowships. Pre-graduate fellowships are meant to support the entry into the PhD program of talented Master students, who would like to continue their thesis work on translational cancer research topics. Applications will be invited in a call announced once a year, according to a pre-defined application format and evaluated for scientific excellence by the Steering Committee, with the optional help of internal and external reviewers.
Other activities funded by the TCH are:
- honoraria for internationally renowned speakers to be regularly invited at our seminar series
- an annual joint OUH/SDU Cancer Symposium featuring local and international speakers of excellence
- other networking and educational events (including a PhD course)
The TCH as a center can also obtain grants for instruments, salaries, technicians, center operations costs etc. The TCH administrative assistant is Lea Bolander Krengel, grant manager from NAT, which will also assist on organizational and administrative tasks.
The TCH proposed duration is 5 years with the possibility of 5-years subsequent extension, based on a positive evaluation. All Steering Committee members are appointed for 5 years.
The TCH does not believe the total number of publications represent the best metrics for evaluating the success of the Center and of science in general. Instead, we will focus on quality-oriented parameters as follows:
1) The number of high-quality publications (10+ impact factor, as defined by ISI) published with TCH-associated PIs as corresponding authors will be evaluated annually.
2) Analysis of the impact of journal articles published by researchers affiliated with the Centre, through Field-Weighted Citation Impact* score (FWCI), as calculated for each year through the SciVal portal, using the Scopus database. The FWCI score is a measure of how an article's citations count, via a comparison with other similar articles that are in the same field and time frame. A FWCI score of 1.00 means that
the article is cited as expected compared to other articles within the field and time frame. If the score is greater than 1.00, the article is cited more than expected, while a score below 1.00 means that the article is cited less than expected.
3) Number and value of third-party grants acquired by TCH-endorsed projects.
4) Clinical trials initiated based on findings from researchers affiliated with TCH
5) Quality of students supported by TCH, (i.e. employability and success in science)
Evaluations will be reported annually at a Steering Committee meeting, at the Annual Cancer Conference and listed in the final evaluation report.
Overall, the TCH is a unique opportunity to facilitate joint interdisciplinary research activities of SDU and OUH, which will soon be supported by the physical co-location of these institutions at the Odense University campus. Establishing TCH in Odense has the potential to function as a leading national center within oncological research.
PIs, staff involved and affiliations:
-Faisal Mahmood (PI), PhD, Medical Physicist, Professor, Odense University Hospital (OUH), Department of Oncology; University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Department of Clinical Research.
-Mikael Palner (PI), PhD, Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Department of Clinical Research; Odense University Hospital (OUH), Department of Nuclear Medicine.
-Frodi Gregersen, Postdoc, Preclinical Imaging Core Facility, SDU, Department of Clinical Research.
-Collaborating oncologists, Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital.
-PhD student, Preclinical Imaging Core Facility, SDU, Department of Clinical Research.
Short description of the proposal:
Hypoxia, the state of inadequate oxygen supply to tissues, is a critical factor that reduces the radio-sensitivity of tumours and is a key negative prognostic indicator for radiotherapy (RT) outcomes. While Positron Emission Tomography (PET) using specific hypoxia tracers such as FMISO and FAZA is considered the gold standard for non-invasive hypoxia assessment, its clinical translation faces substantial barriers. These include the limited availability of PET scanners in RT workflow and the complex production requirements for hypoxia-specific tracers, which are not standard in most hospitals, including OUH. In contrast, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is widely available in oncology departments and may provide a more feasible solution for integrating hypoxia information into RT treatment strategies, including hypoxia-targeted RT for improved treatment efficacy.
In this project, we will utilize the unique infrastructure at the affiliating departments and propose a three-step approach to develop an MRI-based hypoxia biomarker, focusing on glioblastoma, a tumor known for its radio-resistance, with hypoxia as a key contributing factor: 1. Development of an MRI-based hypoxia biomarker in a glioblastoma small animal model using the new preclinical PET/MRI system at SDU, leveraging simultaneous PET and MRI scanning.
2. Translation of the MRI-based hypoxia biomarker in patients with glioblastoma at OUH, using the clinical PET/MRI system to evaluate/optimize its reproducibility in the clinical setting.
3. Implementation of the MRI-based hypoxia protocol in the RT setting, and perform test in patients with glioblastoma on the 1.5 T MRI scanner for RT planning, and on the cutting-edge MRI-linac system (1.5 T MRI integrated with a linear accelerator) for real-time, MRI-guided radiotherapy. We expect to initiate the first clinical trial of MRI-based hypoxia-targeted RT within 3-4 years.