In the early 1950s, a physicist at UCT named Allan Cormack was studying fundamental nuclear interactions and got curious about the limits of the X-ray technology he was using.
By 1956, Cormack had developed the theoretical basis for a radical new medical imaging technique known as the CAT (computerised axial tomography) scan. Cormack shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this discovery in 1979 with British engineer Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield. What is even more remarkable than the Nobel Prize is the global and lasting impact their innovation has had on humanity.
This story is not a one-off. Almost all transformative technological innovations have their genesis in fundamental research. Buoyant economies across the globe are underpinned by strong research and development spending that has fundamental research at its heart.
Just as Cormack’s curiosity about X-rays led to a revolution in medical imaging, recent progress in fundamental particle physics presents humanity with the opportunity for breakthroughs that will positively affect our daily lives, especially in that same field of medical imaging.
Technologically sophisticated experiments
I have spent my career studying the fundamental inner workings of nature using the most technologically sophisticated experiments humanity has ever built at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.
There, I have developed cutting-edge detectors, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, and have the honour of leading international teams with the simple but lofty goal of understanding nature better.
With the New Frontiers Research Award from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, I aim to take my experience and passion and follow Cormack’s example to make cutting-edge, life-saving and life-changing medical imaging cheaper, safer, more precise and available to all.
The award – R7.5-million over five years – is aimed at reinvigorating South Africa’s reputation for research excellence by adding to the trust’s support for Master’s and doctoral studies, as well as postdoctoral research.
PET (positron emission tomography) is the most sensitive medical imaging technique humanity has ever created. It’s essential for cancer diagnosis and the monitoring of cancer’s response to therapy.
PET also has a crucial clinical role in tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment. TB is the leading cause of death in South Africa and the leading infectious killer of people worldwide after Covid-19.
Limited impact
However, PET is expensive and hence has limited impact in low- and middle-income countries. Of South Africa’s 21 PET scanners, 62% are in the private healthcare sector, accessible to only 18% of the population, according to research by scientists at UCT and Stellenbosch University.
What if we could revolutionise PET imaging using cutting-edge technology from the world of fundamental physics?
There is great promise in microscopic objects known as quantum-dot nanocrystals. These minute crystals have incredible potential as the sensitive detector elements at the heart of a PET scanner. They offer dramatic improvements in PET efficiency, enabling the application of PET far beyond cancer to cardiovascular and infectious diseases, stem-cell-based tissue repair, inflammation, and the paediatric and even pre-natal domains. Let us not forget that one in 1,000 pregnant women is diagnosed with cancer each year.
Quantum dots are not difficult to produce at scale, hence their most astonishing property is their low cost. Aside from the technological advances, I am particularly excited by the potential to reduce cost and increase accessibility to PET scanning in all corners of society.
To push the precision of PET up and its costs down even further, I aim to harness the technology that is currently sweeping the globe: AI.
New frontier
There is a new frontier of AI in which the actionable insights of an AI algorithm are instantly produced, called real-time inference. Real-time AI inference is a game-changer for PET imaging.
Imagine a doctor performing a biopsy, guided by instant insights from an AI algorithm that analyses PET data in real time. This would make the procedure faster, more precise and safer for the patient.
The most important step in any major research project is assembly of the best possible team and establishment of the best possible local and international collaborations. I will embed my team within the UCT Department of Physics, which is exceptionally well resourced to host this programme.
South Africa’s greatest natural resource is, of course, its young people. I have been consistently amazed by the intelligence, enthusiasm and resilience of young physics and engineering students at UCT and across South Africa – there is nowhere else on Earth that I would rather be launching this research programme.
I am particularly excited by a formal link between my research programme and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (Aims) in Muizenberg, Cape Town.
Aims recently launched a novel AI for Science Master’s programme, entirely funded by Google DeepMind. My research programme on Real-Time AI for Particle Physics will become the fourth of four research pillars that define this programme, starting this year. This integration will yield an additional source of highly motivated and excellent young African students.
South Africa’s scientific research community is not as well funded as its peers in developed countries, but the country has a long history of scientific excellence. The most obvious example of this is the three Nobel Prizes in science earned by South Africans Max Theiler, who won the prize for medicine in 1951; Aaron Klug, who won the chemistry prize in 1982; and of course, the aforementioned Allan Cormack, also for medicine.
While few of the EU’s 27 countries meet its target of spending 3% of their GDP on research and development, whether commercial or academic, South Africa’s spending is far smaller. In 2021/22, the country spent 0.62% of its GDP on research and development, according to the Human Sciences Research Council.
Research and development
This means that the total amount South Africa spends on research and development is far less than that of many EU members in terms of percentage of GDP and in real terms, considering our GDP is lower than that of many EU member states.
Many of South Africa’s researchers come from disadvantaged or previously disadvantaged backgrounds, and simply need a chance to fulfil their potential. Also, many of the social challenges South Africans face, from poverty to the sluggish economy, mean that the potential socioeconomic and human capacity development impact of conducting serious scientific inquiry here is far greater than it might be in a country where science is better funded.
In South Africa, there is more leeway for a researcher like myself to have a meaningful effect on a young person’s trajectory by developing their scientific knowledge and research capacity. Many South African students are the first in their families to reach tertiary-level education – the Department of Higher Education and Training calculates that in 2020 just 14.9% of the population aged 25 to 34 had a degree, and this was a substantial improvement on 2015, when 10.1% of the population was in that fortunate position.
The country is on a steep upward slope in terms of educational attainment. Students are motivated, take very little for granted and are fully aware that the social safety net is flimsy. They have exactly the set of traits that spell a greater chance at success in science: a high degree of motivation, determination and grit.
Now, with the New Frontiers Research Award, we can work together, using fundamental research to positively change lives. DM
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