Ina Kurth

Ina Kurth is the Division Head of the Service Unit for Radiopharmaceuticals and Morszeck Preclinical Trial Unit (PCTU) at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany. She also serves as Deputy Head and Laboratory Head of the Division of Radiation Oncology/Radiobiology. Dr. Kurth’s research focuses on preventing therapy resistance in tumors, particularly radioresistance, with a translational emphasis on molecular markers bridging clinical and experimental research.

Education:

• 1999–2005: MSc Biology (Diploma), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Thesis: Cell adhesion dynamics and force development.
• 2005–2011: PhD, Technical University of Dresden, Dissertation: Hematopoietic stem cell differentiation in microcavity systems.

Research Interests: Radiobiology, radiation oncology, therapy resistance mechanisms, biomarker translation, head and neck cancer biology. Her work integrates preclinical models, transcriptomics, and epigenetic analyses to develop strategies for overcoming radioresistance.

Key Contributions: Built the joint radiooncological/radiobiological laboratory (2018) and PCTU (2022). Holds a patent on biomaterial systems for stem cell regulation (2008). Her recent work emphasizes single-cell transcriptomics and AI-driven imaging for precision oncology.

Teaching & Leadership: Coordinates the Cancer Biology Master’s program at DKFZ, led the 2022 Summer School in Medical Physics, and supervised 10 student theses. Active in facility governance roles at DKFZ and DEGRO.

Labs & Initiatives: Oversees the PCTU and radiopharmaceutical service unit, advancing translational research infrastructure in oncology.