• GUEST: Rodney Hicks, Melbourne

Welcome to Episode 17 of “Dive into Imaging Science”!
🎧 Tune in for a dynamic discussion on how NETTER-2 may reshape treatment strategies for neuroendocrine tumours, what it means for the wider field of theranostics, and where radioligand therapy is headed next.

For our seventeenth edition, we are at the stunning Certosa di Pontignano in Tuscany – the home of TOPIM, which focussed this year on Theranostics.

🎯 Suitably, we discuss one of the most important recent studies in the field of nuclear medicine and oncology — the NETTER-2 trial, published in The Lancet in 2024. This landmark phase 3 study was the first to investigate radioligand therapy as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced grade 2–3 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. The results showed a dramatic improvement in progression-free survival and response rates compared with high-dose octreotide, setting the stage for radioligand therapy as a potential new standard of care.

To guide us through this groundbreaking work, we are joined by a very special guest, Professor Rodney Hicks, a global leader in PET imaging and therapeutic nuclear medicine. Over the past three decades, Rod has been at the forefront of bringing molecular imaging and theranostics from the research lab into routine clinical practice. He has played a pivotal role in shaping how PET is used to diagnose, monitor, and now treat cancer, and his vision has helped establish theranostics as one of the most exciting frontiers in oncology today.

The paper Markita selected for this episode, from Yulong Li’s lab and published in Science, features a sophisticated molecular sensor that reads out dopamine signalling in the brain via far-red fluorescence.

🍸 To top off our series of firsts, Giannis finally had a cocktail with us. For our first live recording, we wantedinitially to connect with Melbourne and Australia… maybe even F1-inspired. But after 10 minutes with Rod, we ditched that plan. His love of Greek mythology led us straight to Absinthe — named after Artemis herself.

Fast-forward to a wild hunt across Tuscany, ten taste-tests, and some brilliant Certosa bartenders later, we landed on:
The Siena Bliss — Absinthe, Mezcal, Aperol & lime: bold, mythical, and a little Tuscan magic.

Selected Publication: [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE plus long-acting octreotide versus high‑dose long-acting octreotide for the treatment of newly diagnosed, advanced grade 2–3, well-differentiated, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETTER-2): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 study.
Singh, Simron et al.The Lancet, Volume 403, Issue 10446, 2807 – 2817

Further information on the European Society for Molecular Imaging:
https://e-smi.eu/
Contact: office@e-smi.eu

• GUEST: Markita Del Carpio Landry, UC Berkeley

Welcome to Episode 16 of “Dive into Imaging Science”!
🎧 Tune in for a dynamic discussion on innovative probes work, the function of dopamine in the brain, and how these new imaging tools can be used in the future to reveal new biology.

This episode features a truly special guest: Markita Del Carpio Landry, the inaugural Trailblazer Plenary Lecturer at the upcoming EMIM in Ljubljana next March!

"The Trailblazer Lecture celebrates a rising leader in imaging science whose trajectory is unmistakably pointing toward lasting impact and excellence at the highest level. Markita is a perfect fit for such an accolade."

In the Landry lab, they have pioneered synthetic bio-mimetic nanocomposites for fluorescence imaging and targeted delivery of biological cargoes.

We talk with Markita about her career path, about the excitement to develop new imaging tools, and how gaining an academic position gave her the freedom to explore biological questions. We also discuss the importance of collaboration in science.

🎯 The paper Markita selected for this episode, from Yulong Li’s lab and published in Science, features a sophisticated molecular sensor that reads out dopamine signalling in the brain via far-red fluorescence.

The group describes how this innovative new tool can be multiplexed with other fluorescent readouts of acetylcholine and cyclic AMP. Starting in cells, before progressing to tissue sections, zebrafish, and finally in living mice, they demonstrate the ability to detect multiple neurochemicals simultaneously – quite a feat!

🍸 For this episode a cocktail to celebrate the inauguration of the trailblazer lectures and invites to our podcast. The Champagne Cocktail.

Recipe: A sugar cube in a flute glass, coated with Angostura bitters, then a shot of Cognac and top up with Champagne. A twist to the most loved celebration drink!

Selected Publication: Yu Zheng et al. In vivo multiplex imaging of dynamic neurochemical networks with designed far-red dopamine sensors. Science 388, eadt7705(2025). DOI:10.1126/science.adt7705

Further information on the European Society for Molecular Imaging:
https://e-smi.eu/
Contact: office@e-smi.eu

• GUEST: Vasilis Ntziachristos

🎧 Tune in for a dynamic discussion on how the interplay of light and sound is revolutionizing our understanding of disease.

🎙️ Welcome to Episode 15 of “Dive into Imaging Science”!
In this edition, we’re delighted to introduce: none other than Vasilis Ntziachristos as our guest!

Vasilis is a distinguished leader in the field of optical and optoacoustic imaging, renowned for his pioneering work in fluorescence molecular tomography, fluorescence-guided surgery, and optoacoustic mesoscopy. But his career didn’t begin there. In this episode, we learn how a shift from physics to engineering – and from NMR to optical imaging – was sparked by the influence of key mentors in the field.

With his characteristic charm and charisma, Vasilis reflects on the importance of surrounding oneself with those who challenge boundaries and reimagine what’s possible – an ethos that has defined his own scientific journey..

🎯 Staying close to home, this episode explores how optoacoustic mesoscopic imaging is being used to study colitis, inspired by research from the labs of Sarah Bohndiek in Cambridge and Adrian Regensburger in Erlangen:

Published in Advanced Science, their work introduces a novel ‘transrectal absorber guide’ – an imaging approach that enables visualization of the colon from outside the body. Using this new method, they surprisingly demonstrate how inflammation reduces blood vessel coverage and length but increases vessel diameter.

Vasilis walks us through the fundamentals of this technique, and we dive into the nuances of signal acquisition and image segmentation..

🍸 For this episode it was quite easy to choose. Something that takes us back 20 years or so in Boston and the early days of fluorescence molecular tomography, a drink enjoyed at Sonsie, one of the best bars in downtown Boston at Newbury street: The Grey Goose martini – a twist on the vodka martini cocktail.

Recipe: 3 parts Grey Goose Vodka, 1 part dry Vermouth and garnish with cocktail olives. Great things can come in very simple forms.

Selected Publication: Buehler A, Brown EL, Nedoschill E, Eckstein M, Ludwig P, Wachter F, Mandelbaum H, Raming R, Oraiopoulou ME, Paulus LP, Rother U, Friedrich O, Neurath MF, Woelfle J, Waldner MJ, Knieling F, Bohndiek SE, Regensburger AP. In Vivo Assessment of Deep Vascular Patterns in Murine Colitis Using Optoacoustic Mesoscopic Imaging. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Dec;11(45):e2404618. doi: 10.1002/advs.202404618. Epub 2024 Oct 22. PMID: 39439243; PMCID: PMC11615813.

Further information on the European Society for Molecular Imaging:
https://e-smi.eu/
Contact: office@e-smi.eu