Professor Mike Sathekge, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Pretoria and the Steve Biko Academic Hospital, has received the 2025 Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (OMT) to advance research into theranostics, an emerging field of nuclear medicine that combines diagnosis with targeted treatment.
The R3 million fellowship will enable Sathekge and his collaborators to further develop the technology and move it closer to wider clinical use.
“Theranostics brings diagnosis and treatment together. It is a combination of early diagnosis with treatment that is personalised and precise down to mere cells, which allows us to accurately detect and assess tumours, devise specific treatment regimens, and assess treatment response over time,” Sathekge said.
Satekge’s research focuses on Trop2, a protein found in high levels in aggressive breast cancers and several other cancers.
Working with research partners at KU Leuven in Belgium and the Joint Research Centre in Germany, his team is developing tiny engineered antibody fragments, known as nanobodies, that can identify Trop2-positive cancer cells before delivering highly targeted radiation directly to them.
“Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in South Africa and globally, yet many patients are diagnosed only after the disease has spread, making treatment more difficult and reducing their chances of survival,” said Sathekge.
Sathekge’s proposal was chosen from 80 submissions for the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award, one of South Africa’s most prestigious research grants.
Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Chairperson Rebecca Oppenheimer said the judging panel had faced a difficult task because of the high calibre of entries, but believed Sathekge’s research had the potential to transform cancer care.
“Prof Sathekge and his colleagues hold in their hands the potential for a quantum leap forward in improving South African patients’ health outcomes and human dignity,” she said.
University of Pretoria Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Francis Petersen said the research addressed an urgent healthcare need while demonstrating the growing contribution of African scientists to global medical innovation.
“South Africa urgently needs better ways to detect, understand, and treat aggressive breast cancer. Too many patients still present late, when the disease is more difficult to manage, and treatment options are limited,” Petersen said.
According to a recent study published in the South African Medical Journal, about 67% of breast cancer patients treated in South Africa’s public healthcare sector are often diagnosed at a late stage, when the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body.
Researchers have also warned that the country's cancer burden is expected to increase because of population growth, an ageing population, and changing disease patterns.
Satekge's research could help make earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatment a reality for breast cancer patients in South Africa.
The country's healthcare system desperately needs innovations like theranostics to tackle the disease burden.
Satekge's groundbreaking work could save thousands of lives if his research is successfully translated to clinical practice.