Home
About
Program
Registration
Sponsors
Contact

Home
About
Program
Registration
Sponsors
Contact

Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Dr Martina Benešová-Schäfer

Radiochemist
German Cancer Research Center Germany

Dr Martina Benešová-Schäfer

German Cancer Research Center

Martina Benešová-Schäfer leads the Junior Research Group Translational Radiotheranostics at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany. She studied Nuclear Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology at Charles University in the Czech Republic and earned her PhD in Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry from DKFZ. Her postdoctoral training was conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen and at ETH Zürich in Switzerland.

Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the physicochemical and biological properties of alpha particle-emitting radionuclides. She specializes in the development of targeted radioligands for diagnostic, prognostic, therapeutic, and theranostic applications. Martina Benešová-Schäfer has made contributions to the development of PSMA-targeting radioligands, including PSMA-617, PSMA-1007, and PSMA-ALB- 56. Driven by a strong commitment to personalized medicine, her work aims to expand treatment options and improve outcomes for patients with limited therapeutic alternatives.

Prof Alberto Briganti

Urologist & European Urology Editor in Chief
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Italy

Prof Alberto Briganti

Prof Alberto Briganti MD, PhD
Professor of Urology
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

Alberto Briganti is Full Professor of Urology at Vita-Salute University San Raffaele, Milan, Italy where he also acts as deputy director of the Urological Research Institute (URI) and responsible for the Robotic Program in Urology. He is the Chair of the Prostate Cancer Clinical and Research program at Vita-Salute University, San Raffaele Hospital. He earned his MD in 2002 at Vita-Salute University where he also pursued residency.

He completed uro-oncological fellowship at the Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, University of Montreal in 2006. In 2016 he obtained his Ph.D in Clinical and Experimental Biotechnology in Urology. He is a member of the Scientific Congress Office of the EAU and current Editor in Chief of European Urology (2024 IF: 25.2). He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Multidisciplinary Meeting on Urological Cancer (EMUC). He is a fellow of the European Board of Urology (EBU) and a Faculty member of the European School of Urology (ESU).

He is the 2016 EAU Crystal Matula Award winner. He has published more than 1,500 peer-reviewed publications. His main area of interests include urological oncology.

Prof Matthias Eiber

Nuclear Medicine Physician, Technical
University of Munich
Germany

Prof Matthias Eiber

Nuclear Medicine Physician, Technical
University of Munich
Germany

Prof. Matthias Eiber, MD, is Professor of Nuclear Medicine at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and one of the internationally leading experts in molecular imaging of prostate cancer. His scientific work focuses on PSMA-targeted PET imaging and theranostic concepts, with a strong emphasis on clinical translation and patient-centered precision medicine.

Prof Louise Emmett

Nuclear Medicine Physician
St Vincent's Hospital Sydney
Australia

Prof Louise Emmett

Prof Louise Emmett
Nuclear Medicine Physician
St Vincent's Hospital Sydney

Prof Louise Emmett is the Director of Theranostics and Nuclear medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Australia with a specialty interest in the imaging and therapy of prostate Cancer. She undertook her medical undergraduate training in Auckland, New Zealand, prior to completing her specialty training in Nuclear Medicine in Sydney, and a post specialty Nuclear Cardiology fellowship in Toronto, Canada. She commenced work in Nuclear medicine and PET at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney in 2012, initiating radio-pharmacy production of multiple new imaging and therapy peptides on the St Vincent’s campus for clinical and research evaluation. She is principal investigator in multiple phase I-II trials including the PRIMARY trial (PSMA + MRI in prostate diagnosis), PRIMARY2 (randomised phase III imaging trial), LuPIN trial (Phase I/II trial of Lu PSMA+ Idronoxil), ENZAp( phase II randomised trial of enza vs enza + Lu PSMA), in addition to running multiple phase I imaging trials in new theranostic agents.

Dr Brian Gonzalez

Health Services Researcher
Moffitt Cancer Center
USA

Dr Brian Gonzalez

Brian Gonzalez, PhD is Associate Center Director for Research Career Development and Associate Member in the departments of Health Outcomes & Behavior and Genitourinary Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center.

He is an expert in examining patient-reported outcomes (PROs) among patients with prostate cancer. He also led development of the first PRO measure designed for use with patients receiving radionuclide therapy for prostate cancer. His research focuses on improving quality of life in cancer patients and survivors. He seeks to identify novel risk factors for worsening quality of life and develop interventions to improve quality of life in cancer patients and survivors.

Prof Andrei Iagaru

Nuclear Medicine Physician
Stanford
USA

Prof Andrei Iagaru

Dr. Iagaru is a Professor of Radiology - Nuclear Medicine and the Chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at Stanford University Medical Center. He completed medical school at Carol Davila University of Medicine, Bucharest, Romania, and an internship at Drexel University College of Medicine, Graduate Hospital, in the Department of Medicine in Philadelphia. He began his residency at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, in the Division of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Iagaru finished his residency and completed a PET/CT fellowship at Stanford University's School of Medicine in the Division of Nuclear Medicine. His research interests include PET/MRI and PET/CT for early cancer detection; clinical translation of novel PET radiopharmaceuticals; peptide-based diagnostic imaging and therapy; targeted radionuclide therapy.

Since joining the faculty at Stanford in 2007, Dr. Iagaru has received several awards including the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) 2009 Image of the Year Award; AuntMinnie 2016 Best Radiology Image, American College of Nuclear Medicine (ACNM) Mid-Winter Conference 2010 Best Essay Award; 2009, 2014 and 2015 Western Regional SNM Scientist Award; 2011 SNM Nuclear Oncology Council Young Investigator Award; the 2020 Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Distinguished Scientist Award, Western Regional SNM; the 2022 Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Trailblazer Award, SNMMI; the 2022 Distinguished Investigator Award, The Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research and the 2023 Presidential Award, SNMMI. Dr. Iagaru published more than 240 papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as 9 book chapters and 1 book.

Prof Amar U Kishan

Radiation Oncologist
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA

Prof Amar U Kishan

Dr. Amar U. Kishan, Professor with tenure, is the Executive Vice Chair for the Department of Radiation Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Kishan specializes in the utilization of radiation to treat genitourinary malignancies (particularly cancers of the prostate and bladder). He runs an active clinical and translational research program and has spearheaded multiple innovative clinical trials in radiation oncology, including trials involving radioligand therapies. He has an extensive research background and has published over 315 manuscripts. He has received numerous accolades for his clinical service, including the 2021 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award and the 2024 UCLA Exceptional Physician award

Prof Phillip J. Koo

Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Prostate Cancer Foundation

Prof Phillip J. Koo

Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Prostate Cancer Foundation

Dr. Phillip Koo serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) where he oversees the medical and science programs for the organization. Since 1993, PCF has raised over $1 billion USD to help support research and education across the globe to end death and suffering related to prostate cancer.

Prof Tobias Maurer

Urologist
Martini-Klinik University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf
Germany

Prof Tobias Maurer

Prof. Dr. med. Tobias Maurer, FEBU 26.10.1975

Faculty
Martini-Klinik and Department of Urology University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Martini-Str. 52 Gebäude Ost 46, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)40 7410-51300
Email: t.maurer@uke.de
Web: https://www.martini-klinik.de/klinik/team/faculty/prof-maurer

Educational and Professional Experience
Since 2018 – Faculty at the Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
2017–2018 – Senior Attending Urologist, Department of Urology, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Klinikum rechts der Isar, Germany
2011–2016 – Attending Urologist, Department of Urology, TUM, Klinikum rechts der Isar
2009–2011 – Urologist, Department of Urology, TUM
1997–2009 – Medical training and residency at the Technical University of Munich

Professional Memberships
European Association of Urology (EAU)
European Society of Urological Imaging (ESUI), Associate Member
German Urology Association (DGU)
Vereinigung Norddeutscher Urologen e.V. (VNU)

Clinical and Scientific Focus
Prostate cancer (imaging, surgery, medical therapy)
PSMA-PET imaging and PSMA-radioguided surgery

Honors and Awards
More than 30 national and international awards and stipends, selected:
2017 – Award for Research and Innovation in Urooncology, German Urological Association (DGU), for PSMA-radioguided surgery
2015 – EAU-AUA Scientific Exchange Programme Stipend (USA)
2011 – Award from the German Society of Immunotherapy (DGFIT)
2000–2002 – Stipend of the German Research Foundation (DFG)

Reviewer Assignments
Reviewer for >40 peer-reviewed journals
Advisory Board, Nature Reviews Urology
Reviewer for grant applications including DFG, NWO, KWF, Wilhelm-Sander-Stiftung, King’s Health Partners R&D Fund, Cancer Research UK

Third-party Funding
Total > €1,000,000, including:
DFG (SFB 824, project B11, co-investigator)
EU FP7 (sub-investigator)
DFG (Graduate College 333 for doctoral thesis)

Clinical Study Experience
Co-Investigator on >30 clinical studies, Principal Investigator on 4, including 3 IITs:
• ProSTone (NCT04271579)
• BioPoP (NCT04324983)
• PräVAC (EUDAMED: CIV-12-07-008204; 2013–2018)

Publication List
285 publications (cumulative IF >1400); h-Index: 62
Selected publications:
• Knipper S et al. Eur Urol. 2022 Jun 16. [PMID: 35718637]
• de Barros HA et al. Eur Urol. 2022 Mar 23. [PMID: 35339318]
• Amiel T et al. J Urol. 2021 Jun. [PMID: 33535796]
• Knipper S et al. Eur Urol. 2020 Dec. [PMID: 33317857]
• Maurer T et al. J Nucl Med. 2020 Jan. [PMID: 31732677]
• Horn T et al. Eur Urol. 2019 Oct. [PMID: 30987843]
• van Leeuwen FWB et al. Nat Rev Urol. 2019 Jan. [PMID: 30644446]
• Maurer T et al. Eur Urol. 2018 Apr. [PMID: 29625755]
• Maurer T et al. J Urol. 2016 May. [PMID: 26682756]
• Maurer T et al. Nat Rev Urol. 2016 Apr. [PMID: 26902337]

A/Prof Alicia Morgans

Medical Oncologist
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
USA

A/Prof Alicia Morgans

Dr. Morgans is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Genitourinary Medical Oncologist and the Director of the Survivorship Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As a clinician and investigator, she has expertise in clinical trials and patient-reported outcome measures, as well as incorporating patient preferences and beliefs into clinical decision making. Her research has investigated complications of systemic therapy for prostate cancer survivors, including the study of skeletal, cardiovascular, diabetic, and cognitive complications, and her work has been funded by grants from the Prostate Cancer Foundation , the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and the Department of Defense. She leads multiple therapeutic and quality of life focused clinical trials for prostate cancer patients, and has participated in the advanced and localized prostate cancer treatment guidelines committees of the American Urologic Association, and the cardio-oncology committee of American Heart Association.

A/Prof Tadashi Watabe

Associate Professor & Nuclear Medicine Physician
University of Osaka, Japan

A/Prof Tadashi Watabe

Prof. Tadashi Watabe is an Associate Professor at the University of Osaka, Japan. He is a board-certified nuclear medicine physician with extensive expertise in theranostics and targeted alpha therapy. He serves as the principal investigator (PI) of investigator-initiated clinical trials of astatine (211At)-based targeted alpha therapy. The Alpha-T1 trial, which investigated [211At]NaAt in patients with radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer, has been completed. He is currently leading the ongoing first-in-human Alpha-PS1 trial, which uses [211At]PSMA-5 targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (NCT06441994). He is also the PI of several clinical studies involving [18F]FAPI-74, [18F]FBPA, and [11C]HCA2969. He has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed publications, with a primary research focus on the preclinical development of targeted alpha therapies using 211At and 225Ac, as well as theranostics related to FAPI, LAT1, and EphA2. He also serves as the Executive Congress Chair of the Theranostics World Congress 2027.

Prof Yao Zhu

Urologist & Chief Physician
Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, China

Prof Yao Zhu

Professor Yao Zhu, MD, PhD, is a Chief Physician and Professor at the Department of Urology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. As a high-volume surgeon, he has extensive experience in radical prostatectomy and specializes in robot-assisted surgery. Beyond his clinical practice, Professor Zhu is a leading researcher dedicated to conducting innovative clinical trials and translational studies in prostate cancer. He currently serves as an Editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology. His research achievements have been published in prestigious international journals, including Annals of Oncology and European Urology.

Local Speakers

Prof Arun Azad

Medical Oncologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Prof Dale Bailey

Medical Physicist
University of Sydney

Prof Dale Bailey

PhD FACPSEM FIPEM MRCP (Lond.) CSci (UK)
Medical Physicist
University of Sydney

Dale Bailey is a nuclear medicine physicist who has had a career-long focus on quantification in emission tomographic imaging using both SPECT & PET. Dale is currently the Principal Medical Physics Specialist in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney and is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Health at the University of Sydney. Dale has published in excess of 230 peer-reviewed articles and mentored over 40 post-graduate students predominantly on the theme of developing accurate in vivo measurements in nuclear medicine imaging as well as editing four textbooks. Dale is a Past-President of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine (ANZSNM) from 2016-2018.

Tim Baker

Journalist/Consumer Advocate
Peter Maccallum, Monash University

Tim Baker

Journalist/Consumer Advocate
Peter Maccallum, Monash University

Tim Baker is the author of Patting The Shark ( Penguin, 2022) documenting his ten year journey with metastatic prostate cancer. He is a research fellow at Monash Universitys Prostate Cancer Research Group and runs a reading group at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as a form of peer support and social prescribing. As a patient advocate, Tim is passionate about promoting better allied health support for people affected by cancer, particularly men on ADT.

Dr James Buteau

Nuclear Medicine Physician
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Sebastian Casanueva Eliceiry

Nuclear Medicine Fellow
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Sebastian Casanueva Eliceiry

Nuclear Medicine Fellow
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Nuclear Medicine physician undertaking a Therapy Fellowship at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. He completed his specialist training at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, where he also remains affiliated through collaborative research.

His clinical practice focuses on theranostics and oncologic molecular imaging, with particular interests in prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours. He is actively involved in multidisciplinary care, radioligand therapy, and clinical research.

Committed to advancing evidence-based theranostics through clinical practice, research, and education. He has contributed to teaching medical students and specialist trainees, presented at national and international meetings, and serves as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.

Ms Brittany Emmerson

Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Renu Eapen

Urologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Prof Ros Francis

Nuclear Medicine Physician
University of Queensland

A/Prof Luc Furic

Head of Translational Prostate Cancer Research
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

A/Prof Luc Furic

A/Prof Furic is Head of Translational Prostate Cancer Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne. His current research focuses on oncogenic signaling in prostate cancer, especially signaling impacting protein synthesis, and the identification and validation of novel therapeutic targets for theranostic applications. He has made key discoveries in understanding the reprogramming of protein synthesis as a vulnerability in prostate cancer. The overarching goal of his research program is to identify and target molecular pathways which are activated in all prostate cancer cells to address the challenge of tumor heterogeneity. A/Prof Furic's lab is validating novel radioligands for prostate cancer.

A/Prof Mohammad Haskali

Chief Radiopharmaceutical Scientist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Prof Michael Hofman

Chair of the ProsTIC Preceptorship 2024 and Director of Prostate Cancer Theranostics and Imaging Centre of Excellence, Nuclear Medicine Physician

Dr Price Jackson

Medical Physicist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Price Jackson

Medical Physicist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Price Jackson is a medical physicist with a background in applied image processing techniques. He has developed tools for image co-registration, pharmacokinetics analysis, and most recently the use of AI for image segmentation and response assessment. His research has led to developments in the use of of SPECT/CT for radiation dose assessment in targeted radionuclide therapies has been involved in a number of clinical trials across molecular imaging and radiotherapy disciplines at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Dr Louise Kostos

Medical Oncologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Edmond Kwan

GU Medical Oncologist & Lab Head Eastern Health & Monash University

Dr Edmond Kwan

GU Medical Oncologist & Lab Head Eastern Health & Monash University

Dr Edmond Kwan is a clinician–scientist and genitourinary cancer medical oncologist at Eastern Health in Melbourne, Australia. He currently serves as Laboratory Head and Senior Research Fellow at Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, with a cross-appointment within the Biomedicine Discovery Institute Prostate Cancer Research Group.

After completing his specialist training, he pursued a PhD at Monash University, focusing on prostate cancer genomics. He then relocated to Vancouver, Canada, where he completed a genitourinary clinical fellowship at BC Cancer and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia. His postdoctoral research centred on developing tissue and circulating tumour DNA biomarkers to predict treatment outcomes in lethal metastatic prostate cancer, using samples collected from prospective clinical trials and large biobanks to explore disease biology and tumour evolution. In 2024, he returned to Australia to begin his independent research career.

His research interests encompass diverse disciplines, including molecular biology, bioinformatics, clinical trials, biobanking, clinical database development, and translational medicine. By combining expertise in cancer genomics and clinical oncology, his research team strives to understand how genomic and epigenomic alterations identified in both tumour tissue and blood can better guide therapeutic decision-making in patients with urological cancers.

Prof Sze Ting Lee

Nuclear Medicine Physician
Austin Health

Prof Sze Ting Lee

Nuclear Medicine Physician
Austin Health

Prof Lee is a Nuclear Medicine Physician at the Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy at Austin Health, Melbourne.

She is the Deputy Director and Director of Training in the department, and the PET Lead in Lymphoma Imaging and Theranostics Trials as well. Her clinical and research interests lie in the novel tracers and applications of Molecular Imaging and Therapy in Oncological diseases, from phase 1 antibody trials through to participating in multicentre phase 3 clinical trials in this space. She has an appointment as a Senior Clinician Researcher at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Prof Lee is the Past President of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine (ANZSNM) and Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists (AANMS), the latter being the representative body for education, training, advocacy and governmental relations of medical practitioners in nuclear medicine. She was also on the Executive Board of the Australasian Radiopharmaceutical Trials Network (ARTnet).

Prof Lee chairs the AANMS Theranostics Committee, which developed the first Guidelines in Theranostics Practice in 2020. She is a member of the Australasian Training Site Accreditation Committee (TSAC). She is also the Chair of the Asian Nuclear Medicine Board (ANMB), examining and awarding Fellowships to over 500 Fellows around the world. She is the elected President of the World Association of Radionuclide and Molecular Therapy (WARMTH), and was the Secretary-General of the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (WFNMB) from 2014 to 2018.

Dr Sidney Levy

Nuclear Medicine Specialist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Sidney Levy

Nuclear Medicine Specialist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Levy is a dual qualified Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine Specialist with local and international postgraduate fellowship training in genitourinary, head and neck, neurological and musculoskeletal MRI and PET CT, and targeted radionuclide therapy. He maintains public appointments with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Monash Health, and private appointments with I-MED Radiology Network and Cabrini Health in Melbourne. As a Senior Lecturer through the University of Melbourne, he maintains an active educational and research programme in genitourinary oncology, and regularly contributes to multidisciplinary tumour boards at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Simone Leyden

Senior Director Global Public Affairs and Patient Advocacy
Telix Pharmaceticals Limited

Simone Leyden

Senior Director Global Public Affairs and Patient Advocacy
Telix Pharmaceticals Limited

Simone has more than 17 years in health advocacy and public policy, having co-founded NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia in 2009 after witnessing firsthand the huge disparity in treatment and support for rare and less common cancers. Simone’s pursuit for equitable access and investment in breakthrough treatments led to her current global role at Telix Pharmaceuticals, in which she covers co-investment opportunities with governments in sovereign manufacturing, public policy that improves access for patients, and ensuring a corporate culture of patients as partners within all aspects of drug development and delivery. Simone is Chair of the newly formed Nuclear Medicines Australia which has a principal purpose of bringing together industry experts to provide informed advocacy to key decision makers about creating a sustainable nuclear medicines ecosystem, and to support improved patient outcomes. Simone is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and in 2023 was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) as part of the Kings Birthday Honours, for significant service to community health, particularly through neuroendocrine cancer organisations.

Lisa Macfarlane

Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Lisa Macfarlane

Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Lisa is a senior Nuclear Medicine Technologist with over 30 years’ experience, working at centres across Australia and the UK. She joined Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) in 2010, as the Quality Improvement Manager in the Clinical Governance Unit, but after a short time wanted to return to the challenges and rewards of clinical responsibility. She joined the Molecular Imaging department as the lead NMT in Radiotherapy Planning, and is now the NMT Prostate Coordinator, significantly contributing to research and clinical care supported by the ProsTIC program. Lisa has presented at conferences in Australia and overseas, most recently giving an oral presentation at EANM24 in Hamburg Germany, an oral presentation at ANZSNM ASM2025 in Melbourne and presenting a poster at the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology 2026 in Cartagena Colombia.

A/Prof Daniel Moon

Urologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

A/Prof Daniel Moon

Urologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

A/Prof Daniel Moon is a Urologist with subspecialty expertise in robotic prostate and renal surgery. He served as the inaugural Director of Robotic Surgery at Epworth Healthcare 2012-2017 and is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at The University of Melbourne. He has performed over 2500 robotic procedures, published the first Australian series of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in 2008, performed the first Australian robotic cysto-prostatectomy in 2009, and established a robotic partial nephrectomy program at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, publishing the first Australian series of this procedure in 2014 and the largest Australian partial nephrectomy series in 2017. Amongst recent nuclear medicine research projects A/Prof Moon co-authored the PRIMARY trial and was one of the lead investigators for PRIMARY2.

Prof Declan Murphy

Director of Genitourinary (GU) Oncology and Director of Robotic Surgery
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Prof Declan Murphy

Director of Genitourinary (GU) Oncology and Director of Robotic Surgery
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Declan Murphy is Consultant Urologist and Director of Genito-Urinary (GU) Oncology at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, and Clinical Professor at the University of Melbourne.

Declan is an internationally-recognised key opinion leader in GU Oncology, prostate cancer in particular, and has many hundreds of peer-review publications to his name, with a h-index of 75.He specialises full-time in prostate cancer and is a high-volume radical prostatectomist.

He is Associate Editor of European Urology and has editorial experience with many other top journals. He is active on all social media channels, and co-hosts the top-rated GU Cast podcast and the European Urology Podcast.

Dr Katie Owen

Post Doctoral Fellow Translational Prostate Cancer Research
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Katie Owen

Post Doctoral Fellow Translational Prostate Cancer Research
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Katie Owen is a postdoctoral researcher in the Translational Prostate Cancer Research group led by A/Prof Luc Furic at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Her work on tumour-intrinsic type I interferon signalling in bone-metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) led to novel immune-based combinatorial approaches that reverse epigenetic silencing of critical immune-regulatory pathways to decrease bone-metastatic outgrowth and enhance the effectiveness of systemic immune-activating agents that have underperformed in advanced metastatic disease (EMBO Reports, 2020). Stemming from this research, Dr Owen now works on enhancing radiotherapeutic strategies for novel therapeutic targets in advanced metastatic cancers in collaboration with the Prostate Theranostic and Imaging Centre of Excellence (ProsTIC), spearheaded by nuclear medicine physician Prof Micheal Hofman. She leads the translational research arms of several clinical trials investigating early systemic biomarkers of response to targeted a- and b-particle therapies and combinatorial approaches to improve therapeutic durability for long-term elimination of metastatic CRPC. Dr Owen is a Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) Priority Impact Research Award Young Investigator (2021) and a PCFA Future Leaders Fellows (2022).

Dr Laura Porter

Early Career Research Fellow
Monash University

Dr Laura Porter

Early Career Research Fellow
Monash University

Dr Porter is an Early Career Research Fellow at Monash University in the Prostate Cancer Research Group, a team with a strong translational focus dedicated to improving urology and oncology clinical practice through a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that drive prostate cancer. Her research expertise centres on developing and applying patient-derived models to investigate tumour biology and evaluate preclinical therapeutic strategies. Using these clinically relevant preclinical models, her postdoctoral work explores the mechanisms underlying treatment resistance and sensitivity to CAR T cell immunotherapy and radioligand therapy, with a key interest in tumour heterogeneity and the tumour microenvironment. Through this work, Dr Porter’s overarching aim is to optimise therapeutic approaches for patients with prostate cancer.

Prof Shankar Siva

Radiation Oncologist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Joseph Van de Garde

Radiopharmacist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Joseph Van de Garde

Radiopharmacist
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr. Joseph Van de Garde is a Radiopharmaceutical Scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and a sessional academic at the Australian Catholic University. He earned his PhD in Radiopharmaceutical Science from the University of Melbourne.

His interdisciplinary research focuses on the translation of peptide drug candidates into targeted Theranostics. He specializes in the research and development of targeted radiopharmaceuticals, specifically investigating macrocyclic peptides targeting the ROR1 oncoprotein. Dr. Van de Garde has made key contributions to the development of novel peptide therapeutics, including patentable mRNA display peptides. Driven by a strong commitment to advancing translational medicine, his work aims to accelerate the journey of novel radiotracers from the bench to the clinic to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Sally Sara

Director of Nursing
Prostate Cancer Foundation of
Australia

Sally Sara

Director of Nursing
Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia

Adjunct Professor Sally Sara is Director of Nursing for the Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia (PCFA), leading a team of over 120 specialist prostate cancer nurses in every state and territory in Australia. A clinician researcher and PhD candidate with nearly 40 years of nursing experience, 28 of which were spent working in the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network where she established the first Commonwealth funded prostate cancer specialist nursing position in South Australia.

With many years of experience caring for men with prostate cancer Sally has seen firsthand the physical, psychological, financial and social challenges living with prostate cancer brings to men and their families. She is an elected Councillor, and the Australia and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society representative on the Coalition of National Nursing and Midwifery Organisations and represents the Australian College of Nursing in the Cancer Australia Intercollegiate Advisory Group.

Sally is an Adjunct Professor in the University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Health Research, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Technology Sydney.

Elizabeth Medhurst

Nurse Consultant
ProsTIC / Peter Maccallum Cancer Centree

Elizabeth Medhurst

Nurse Consultant
ProsTIC / Peter Maccallum Cancer Centree

Elizabeth Medhurst has been specialising in genitourinary cancers for the past eight years and developed a keen interest in metastatic prostate cancer. Most recently, Elizabeth has been working as a PSMA theranostics nurse consultant as a part of the Prostate Cancer Theranostics and Imaging Centre of Excellence (ProsTIC) at Peter MacCallum Cancer centre. Elizabeth has completed a Masters of Cancer sciences at the University of Melbourne. Elizabeth is keen to continue to explore the impact of nursing interventions and care pathways to improve the quality of life of men receiving these treatments

Oral Abstract Speakers

Dr Zeyad Al-Ogaili

Nuclear Medicine Specialist
Fiona Stanley Hospital

Dr Zeyad Al-Ogaili

Nuclear Medicine Specialist
Fiona Stanley Hospital

Dr Zeyad Al-Ogaili is a dual-trained Consultant Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine Physician at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia, and a PhD Candidate at The University of Western Australia. His research focusses on theranostics, molecular imaging and translational oncology, with particular interest in radioligand therapy optimisation, fibroblast activation protein-targeted imaging, and the integration of novel imaging biomarkers into early-phase clinical trials. Dr Al-Ogaili established the first dedicated Nuclear Medicine Clinical Trials Unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital and leads a portfolio of investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored trials spanning prostate cancer theranostics, mesothelioma, and advanced solid tumours. He serves as Chief Investigator and Principal Investigator across multiple active studies, including the RENOGUARD, MESO-FAP and LuMIERE trials. He has authored 19 peer-reviewed publications and presented at national and international nuclear medicine meetings.

Dr Mevan Ekanayake

Postdoctoral Researcher
Peter Maccallum Cancer Centre

Dr Mevan Ekanayake

Postdoctoral Researcher
Peter Maccallum Cancer Centre

Dr Mevan Ekanayake is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Anna Trigos Lab (Multi-omic Evolution and Ecosystems Lab) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where he develops and applies deep learning and AI approaches to understand cancer evolution and treatment resistance through the integration of large-scale molecular, clinical, and imaging data, with a particular focus on prostate cancer. He completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Monash University, in 2025, where his research explored how AI can extract clinically meaningful information from medical imaging to support precision medicine. Dr Ekanayake has published in leading journals, including CiBM, BSPC, and JDI, and has presented his work at major international conferences such as ISMRM, ISBI, WACV, MICCAI, and MICCAI. Despite being at an early stage of his career, he has contributed to several successful national and international research grants, including the ANZUP Below the Belt Grant, the PCFA Priority Impact Research Award, the NCMAS High Performance Computing Grant, and the IMSUT International Joint Research Grant. His research and science communication achievements have been recognised through multiple awards, including the ISMRM Summa Cum Laude Merit Award, the Hannah Brown Innovation Prize, the Monash Engineering Postgraduate Publication Award, the Monash Biomedical Imaging Student Excellence Award, and the Monash VYT Award.

Joel Noble

Student
The University Of Western Australia

Joel Noble

Student
The University Of Western Australia

Joel Noble completed his Bachelor of Science, majoring in Physics, at The University of Western Australia in 2022. A desire to see physics principles put into action for the direct benefit of the community drew him to medical physics, in which he completed his Masters at the end of 2024. During his Masters, Joel saw the opportunity to ride the rising wave of AI, putting his fledgling coding ability to the test with the development of Deep Learning models for synthetic CT generation to expedite palliative radiotherapy.

After his Masters, Joel was fortunate to be offered a research associate role by his supervisor, Dr. Jake Kendrick, to investigate AI-enabled personalised medicine approaches in metastatic prostate cancer. He is currently pursuing this research further as a PhD alongside the role.

Beyond day-to-day software development, Joel relishes opportunities to communicate and share his research in varying settings, including at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, where his research group is based, as well as helping to guide other students delving into medical AI applications.

Joel also writes and performs music, having played both solo and in multiple bands, particularly in Walyalup (Fremantle), which he considers his adopted creative home.

More speakers to be announced

Subscribe for updates

#prostic26

Facebook Instagram

Useful Links

Program
Speakers
Accommodation
Registration
Sponsors

Event Enquiries

The Production House Events
03 9020 7055
prostic26@tphe.com.au

Site by The Production House Events