UP lecturer wins prestigious international award for cancer research

A University of Pretoria (UP) lecturer has been recognised on the global stage after receiving the prestigious Saul Hertz Award at the Theranostics World Congress 2026 for her contributions to advancing cancer treatment. Dr Keamogetswe Ramonaheng, head of medical physics and radiobiology at the Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), received the honour for her work in theranostics. Theranostics is an emerging field that combines diagnostic imaging with targeted radionuclide therapy to improve cancer treatment outcomes.

The award is named after Saul Hertz, widely regarded as the founder of theranostics. Ramonaheng said the recognition was both humbling and meaningful. The moment carried additional significance when the award was presented by Barbara Hertz, daughter of Saul Hertz, who shared a personal message during the ceremony.

“As an African woman and a nuclear medicine physicist, you are using your blessings to improve the human condition,” Hertz said. Ramonaheng’s research focuses on advancing patient-specific dosimetry, which calculates the amount of radiation absorbed by individual patients during treatment. This approach helps clinicians tailor therapies more precisely, improving both safety and effectiveness. Her work builds on principles first demonstrated in the 1940s when radioiodine therapy showed a link between radiation dose and biological response.