Pioneering radiation research

Röntgenpreis für Zellbiologen PD Dr. Johann Matschke (vordere Reihe, Mitte). Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions und die Ludwig-Schunk-Stiftung fördern wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs. (Quelle: Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions) / Röntgen Prize for cell biologist PD Dr. Johann Matschke (front row, centre). Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation support young scientists. (Source: Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions)

This year, the renowned Justus-Liebig University of Giessen (JLU) Röntgen Prize goes to cell biologist PD Dr. Johann Matschke from Essen University Hospital. The €15,000 prize money was donated by Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation. JLU has been awarding the prize since 1960 in memory of the Nobel Prize winner Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who worked as a professor in Giessen from 1879 to 1888.

Radiation researcher PD Dr. Johann Matschke receives the prize for his research on the radiation resistance of cancer cells. His previous research identified important metabolic networks that allow tumor cells to evade the cytotoxic effects of radiotherapy.

Pioneering research into radiation resistance in cancer cells

From his findings, PD Dr. Matschke wants to derive new biomarkers for radiation resistance. "The impairment of tumor cell metabolism can thus lead to new points of attack for cancer therapies," emphasized Prof. Dr. Sangam Chatterjee (Institute of Experimental Physics I) for JLU’s evaluation committee. On the day before the award ceremony, the scientist visited Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions and reported on his findings. Daniel Sälzer, Managing Director of Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions in Asslar, congratulated the award winner and highlighted the importance of vacuum technology for research and development: "Vacuum technology plays an important role in cutting-edge research. Generating the beam only works using vacuum, just like analysis using mass spectrometry. We are very excited to support this important research that can help cure diseases or delay their progression."

Academic background of the award winner

PD Dr. Matschke studied biochemistry at the Ruhr University of Bochum from 2005 to 2010 and graduated with a doctorate in his research at Essen University Hospital on the identification of mechanisms of hypoxia-mediated radiation resistance. The award winner used his post-doctoral phase for two research visits to Technion in Haifa, Israel, to gain further qualifications in the implementation and bioinformatic evaluation of metabolome analyses using mass spectrometry. In his second post-doctoral phase from 2016 to 2020, he developed a research profile on the topic of cellular metabolism and radiation response. Since October 2020, the scientist has led a junior research group on the topic of cell metabolism and radiation response in the research group of Professor Dr. Verena Jendrossek at the Institute of Cell Biology (tumor research) in Essen. The German Society for Biological Radiation Research (DeGBS) awarded PD Dr. Matschke the Dieter-Frankenberg Award for Young Talent in 2020.