Prof. Rachela Popovtzer Awarded Her Third ERC Grant
The grant was awarded for GOLDEN-RT, an innovative nanotechnology-based platform designed to enable highly precise cancer treatment
Prof. Rachela Popovtzer of the Faculty of Engineering at Bar-Ilan University has been awarded her third European Research Council (ERC) grant. The prestigious award, granted under the ERC Proof of Concept program, supports the development of a groundbreaking nanotechnology platform for cancer treatment, aimed at advancing the next generation of oncology therapies—more precise, more effective, and safer for patients.
“The goal of the GOLDEN-RT platform is to enable accurate systemic radiotherapy for cancerous tumors and microscopic metastases,” says Prof. Popovtzer. “Improving the precision of radiotherapy increases its effectiveness while significantly reducing damage to healthy tissue. This technology represents an important step in translating science from the laboratory into real impact on patients’ lives.”
Treating Cancer with Gold Nanoparticles
Prof. Popovtzer specializes in biomedical engineering, with her research focused on nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, particularly for cancer therapy. Nanoparticles make it possible to transport therapeutic agents through the bloodstream directly and selectively to tumor sites.
In 2024, Prof. Popovtzer received an ERC Proof of Concept grant for GOLDEN-ADC, a platform designed to improve the precision of drug delivery to tumors. ADCs (Antibody–Drug Conjugates) are engineered antibodies chemically linked to potent anti-cancer drugs. As part of the project, Prof. Popovtzer developed insulin-coated gold nanoparticles to serve as carriers for antibody-based therapies, guiding them directly to tumor tissue.
The use of gold nanoparticles overcomes several key challenges associated with biological therapies, including drug–antibody binding efficiency, and significantly enhances treatment efficacy.
Earlier, in 2022, Prof. Popovtzer was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant for BrainCRISPR, a pioneering nano-platform designed to deliver CRISPR gene-editing systems to the brain. Based on gold nanoparticles, the platform enables CRISPR delivery across the blood–brain barrier to deep brain regions and into cells, opening new possibilities for treating rare genetic brain disorders and expanding the boundaries of gene therapy.
Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer
Prof. Popovtzer’s work has also received recognition from Israel’s Ministry of Science, which recently awarded her two competitive research grants.
In yet another project, Nanocarry, she is developing a powerful, highly targeted treatment for breast cancer cells using multifunctional nanoscale gold particles that carry two therapeutic antibodies on a single particle. The gold core allows the particles to be tracked through medical imaging, ensuring accurate delivery, while the insulin coating enables deep penetration into tumor tissue.
“Combining therapy and imaging within a single platform brings us significantly closer to smart, personalized oncology,” says Prof. Popovtzer.
A Powerful Combination of Nanotechnology, Chemistry, and Nuclear Medicine
The second Ministry of Science–funded project, developed in collaboration with Prof. Sharon Rothstein of the Department of Chemistry at Bar-Ilan University, targets liver metastases, one of the most challenging and lethal forms of cancer progression.
The project employs radioactive glucose-coated nanoliposomes that exploit the high metabolic activity of cancer cells to selectively enter metastatic tissue. These particles enable targeted therapeutic radiation alongside advanced imaging (SPECT/CT), making it possible not only to treat metastases but also to monitor treatment distribution and response in real time.
“This is a powerful integration of nanotechnology, chemistry, and nuclear medicine, with the potential to transform the way metastatic disease is treated,” Prof. Popovtzer concludes.