Moeava Tehei

Assoc. Professor Moeava Tehei is an academic leader in targeted nanotherapies and medical radiation physics at the University of Wollongong (UOW), School of Physics, within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences. He leads the Targeted Nano-Therapies team at the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) and serves as Head of Postgraduate Studies in Physics (2024–present). He holds a PhD in Physics from Grenoble Alpes University (France, 2002) and has over two decades of expertise in radiation-based cancer therapies, synchrotron applications, and nanoparticle research.

Research interests span targeted nanoparticle-enhanced radiotherapy, synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), and multimodal cancer treatment strategies. His work integrates biophysics, nanotechnology, and clinical translation, with a focus on glioblastoma and other brain cancers. Key contributions include pioneering the use of high-Z nanoparticles as radiosensitizers and advancing preclinical models for MRT efficacy testing.

Tehei has secured over $2 million in competitive grants, including an NHMRC Project Grant as lead CI. He founded the Targeted Nano-Therapies team (2012) and co-organized major conferences like Radiation 2012 and Innovation in Radiation Applications 2017. His editorial roles include membership on the boards of Scientific Reports (Nature) and Journal of Nanotheranostics.

Award-winning research includes the French Neutron Society's Thesis Prize and Biophysics Society's Young Researcher Prize. His students have won national awards in biomedical engineering and physics. Current leadership roles include Faculty Education Committee membership and integrity officer duties at UOW.

Key facilities used: Australian Synchrotron, preclinical imaging systems (IVIS SpectrumCT), and advanced flow cytometry setups. Research aligns with SDGs 3 (Health) and 9 (Innovation in Industry).