Kick-off for the Competence Center for Radiation Research

Kick-off for the Competence Center for Radiation Research

At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), a new interdisciplinary platform has been launched to strengthen research on the effects of ionizing radiation and to accelerate the transfer of scientific findings into technological applications.

The Competence Center for Radiation Research brings together the HZDR institutes Resource Ecology, Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Radiation Physics, and Radiooncology – OncoRay. By combining expertise from chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine, researchers aim to gain deeper insights into how ionizing radiation interacts with matter, living organisms, and environmental systems.

The initiative benefits from HZDR’s unique research infrastructures, including biosafety and radiation protection laboratories as well as accelerator-based radiation sources.

The Helmholtz Innovation Platform Hi-Acts (Accelerator Technologies for Society) plays a key role in supporting these activities. Through Hi-Acts, four Technology Labs at HZDR are funded and will collaborate within the competence center. Their work focuses on developing accelerator-based technologies and translating research results into practical applications.

Research within the center spans topics from understanding how radionuclides interact with ecosystems and food chains to advancing next-generation cancer therapies. Protecting people and the environment remains a central objective.

By linking interdisciplinary radiation research with innovation pathways supported by Hi-Acts, the competence center strengthens the impact of accelerator science in addressing societal challenges.