KTH alum Sandra Muhr develops a toolbox for cancer treatments at CERN
Transfers legendary particle accelerator technology to healthcare
Sandra Muhr, 27, is playing a part in the industrialisation of future cancer treatments at CERN, the world’s biggest particle physics laboratory located just outside of Geneva, Switzerland.
“The mission includes transferring and implementing research results for the benefit of society” she says.
Just two years after obtaining her M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management at KTH, Sandra Muhr is working on technology transfer from the legendary particle accelerators at the CERN laboratory outside Geneva. She’s part of the Knowledge Transfer group.
“At CERN, the knowledge and technologies from conducting fundamental research can be used not only within particle physics, but also for societal benefits. In the domain of cancer treatments, for example, we’re tailoring accelerators and superconducting magnets for the needs of particle therapy machines,” says Muhr.
The aim is to develop cutting-edge tools against cancer tumours. The treatment is based on the use of accelerators, similar to the ones currently operating at CERN for fundamental research.
In an accelerator, protons and ions can be accelerated to such high speeds that they can penetrate human tissue and destroy malignant cells, which is known as hadron therapy.
“Conventional cancer therapy uses X-rays consisting of high-energy photons, but the radiation also inevitably damages some of the patient’s healthy tissue. But with proton and ion based treatment technology, the cancerous cells are able to be targeted more precisely, sparing more healthy tissue.” says Muhr.
With the new type of treatment, which uses heavy ions, the local control of very aggressive tumours and lower toxicity offers many advantages over other methods. But hadron therapy is expensive.
With the European Commission’s funding of the
HITRIplus
project participating institutions are hoping to reduce the treatment cost and make it more accessible to the general public.
“We want to enable an efficient transfer of the research results to society by
industrialising our technology
.”
Sandra Muhr’s title is Knowledge Transfer Officer for Medical Applications, and she’s especially focused on transferring knowledge from scientific research to industrial companies. Her role includes identifying promising technical developments, implementing technology transfer routes and building innovation ecosystems.
What convinced you to apply for a job at CERN?
“I was inspired by famous examples of technologies at CERN that found their way into wider society, such as the World Wide Web. I was also intrigued by the possibilities of using CERN’s particle accelerator technology to contribute to societal impact.”
What do you hope to be working on in ten years’ time?
“I want to work with the technologies of the future in a creative manner, and develop unconventional solutions to solve society’s challenges. At KTH, I learned to quickly understand and adapt to complex technologies, and that has certainly benefitted me here at CERN. It has helped me in my work of transferring our toolbox for cancer treatments onward to future industrialisation.”
Text: Katarina Ahlfort
Photo: CERN