The research group headed by Professor Dr. Eugen Illenberger succeeded in cooperation with Polish scientists in demonstrating new ways to effectively target and activate the anti-cancer molecule cisplatin, the world’s most widely used chemotherapeutic drug. Illenberger’s work focuses on elucidating the molecular processes involved in radiation damage. They are crucial, for example, for the development of targeted strategies for tumor therapy.

The Polish Radiation Research Society was founded in 1967. It brings together Polish chemists, physicists, and biologists working in the field of radiation research. The Maria Sklodowska-Curie Medal was awarded for the first time in 1983. At irregular intervals the Polish Radiation Research Society awards the medals to Polish and foreign scientists who have made significant contributions to radiation science – with special reference to developments in Poland. The medal is named after the Polish physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics and the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Maria Sklodowska-Curie.