At this year’s annual meeting of the Austrian Society of Neurosurgery (ÖGNC), Eric Freund (Department of Neurosurgery at MedUni Vienna) was awarded first prize as the best young scientist. The high-level jury recognised his work on improving the treatment of malignant brain tumours.
For the research project entitled "Investigations into the effectiveness of medical gas plasma technology in the treatment of malignant brain tumours - GliomaPlas", Eric Freund’s team was able to obtain funding from the Margaretha Hehberger Cancer Research Fund this year. The use of oxidative ionised noble gases for tumour therapy was largely developed by Sander Bekeschus at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP). "We are cooperating with this institute and are one of the first neuro-oncological centres in the world to conduct preclinical research into the effect on brain tumours and in particular the interaction with the immune system. The aim is to improve the current treatment of these mostly fatal tumour diseases through innovative therapy concepts," says Freund.
The doctor and scientist presented the initial results of the project at the annual meeting of the Austrian Society for Neurosurgery (ÖGNC) in Salzburg in September and was awarded first prize for best young scientist. The award was based on around 80 submissions, from which the best contributions were honoured following a vote by the chief physicians of all neurosurgical clinics in Austria.
