Progress, collaboration, and growing impact across science and society
As the IFIGENEIA Project completes its first year, the project reflects on a dynamic start marked by scientific progress, growing collaboration, and increasing international visibility.
Project Kick-off & Momentum
Launched in March 2025, the project quickly gained momentum with its kick-off meeting in Thessaloniki, where partners came together to establish a shared vision.
Since then, IFIGENEIA has fostered a truly interdisciplinary environment, bringing together physicists, chemists, engineers, medical doctors, medical physicists, and clinical experts, complemented by expertise in communication, dissemination, innovation and business development.
Scientific & Technical Progress
Over the past year, significant advances have been made towards the conceptual design of a future radioisotope production facility, with a focus on medically relevant isotopes such as Lu-177.
In parallel, the development of an RFQ demonstrator is building the technical expertise required for future implementation while dealing with possible sources of uncertainties at an early stage.
Key insight:
Aligning expertise on accelerator physics, development on target properties, necessary laboratory infrastructure, and clinical needs requires continuous interaction with the experts and developing flexibility in the design at early stages.
Collaboration in Action
Regular exchanges – particularly within the accelerator and radiopharmaceuticals-related work packages 3 and 4 – have become key drivers of progress, enabling the presentation and discussion of simulation results and design strategies.
The project is structured around dedicated hubs operating under the scientific guidance of leading institutions such as CERN, DKFZ, and GSI, ensuring coherence and scientific excellence across activities.
Outreach & International Presence
IFIGENEIA has actively engaged with stakeholders and the wider public across several countries. Highlights include outreach events in Cyprus, Slovenia, and Sarajevo, strengthening connections with institutional, academic, and policy communities.
The project has also gained visibility within the scientific community through participation in major international events, including:
- International Conference on Isotopes (ICI 2025), Florence, Italy
https://agenda.infn.it/event/41820/
- European Molecular Imaging Meeting 2026 (EMIM 2026), Ljubljana, Slovenia
https://eanm.org/stec_event/21st-european-molecular-imaging-meeting-emim-2026/
- EANM Congress 2025, Barcelona, Spain
https://eanm.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EANM25_Scientific_Highlights_Report_Final_Version.pdf
Τhe IFIGENEIA project and first results were also presented.
These activities have strengthened IFIGENEIA’s visibility across science, policy, and society.
Strategic Positioning & Sustainability
IFIGENEIA has further strengthened its role at the European level through its contribution to the Emerging Facilities work-package of PRISMAP+.
At the same time, special attention is given to the long-term sustainability and impact of the project. This includes progress towards the development of a business and investment plan. The goal is that the proposed facility is both technically sound and economically viable, capable of delivering lasting societal value.
Complementary efforts across communication and dissemination (WP2), investment and sustainability planning (WP5), and training and capacity-building activities (WP6) play a central role in the project. All these actions ensure that IFIGENEIA is not only advancing its scientific and technical objectives but is also building a strong, interconnected, and sustainable ecosystem that bridges research, clinical practice, and societal impact.
Looking Ahead: Year 2
As the project enters its second year, the focus will shift towards consolidating these achievements into a coherent conceptual design, while continuing to build technical expertise through demonstrator activities and strengthening collaboration across all work packages.
Ultimately, IFIGENEIA contributes to a broader vision: enabling more reliable and flexible production of medical radioisotopes, supporting the future of personalised medicine.
“Year 1 has laid the foundations. Year 2 will turn this vision into concrete actions.”
The IFIGENEIA Project Coordination Team