Interview with Theodossis Theodossiou

Dr Theodossis Theodossiou is SCALPEL project coordinator and affiliated with Oslo University Hospital. Initially trained in, and receiving his PhD in, physics, Theodossis expanded his scientific journey into other fields such as photodynamic therapy in cancer which is central to the SCALPEL project. Apart from research he has served for numerous years in the clinic, helping to expedite photodynamic therapy treatments in cancer patients as well as mitochondrial medicine, cell bioenergetics and how to deliver drugs to cancer patients through nanosized carriers.

In his interview as part of the Bright Minds, Bold Science researcher spotlight series, Dr Theodossis Theodossiou discusses the SCALPEL project, the challenges and chances in cancer research and gives a little shout out to Star Wars.

Let’s start with the personal: What first drew you to cancer research and what part of your work today continues to excite or surprise you the most?
The biggest appeal of cancer research is trying to solve a big problem for humanity and save lives that are prematurely lost. It is a big scientific puzzle that comes with the prize of a great benefit for mankind. Especially in terminal diseases which are currently incurable. What excites and amazes me at the same time is that we get to discover new things which we did not know before. It is a magic journey.

Cancer is a uniquely complex disease to treat. From your perspective, what makes it such a challenge and what do you wish more people understood about its complexity?
Well, the complexity of cancer makes it a really challenging disease to treat. People must understand that. Each cancer is unique and each one is also heterogeneous making it difficult to cure the whole complex in one go. The other problem is that no matter what the treatment is, some cancer cells are left behind. This is why we believe more in universal treatments that will damage (hopefully) all parts of the cancer.

The European Week Against Cancer just took place from 25th – 31st May. It was wonderful to see how many initiatives there are in the fight against this disease. But with so many cancer initiatives underway, how is SCALPEL challenging conventional thinking or common assumptions in cancer research?
As I said above, some cells are always left behind. In SCALPEL, we are trying to turn the problem on its head and teach the immune system how to identify and fight these remaining cells.

SCALPEL brings together researchers from many different disciplines – photomedicine, immunology, synthetic chemistry, porphyrin chemistry and protein engineering. What makes these different fields of science so compatible in developing a new cancer treatment and have there been any unexpected synergies or challenges along the way?
It is now obvious in cancer that monotherapies will not work. Chemotherapy is mostly non curative, immunotherapy is not enough on its own (otherwise the cancer would not have been there in the first place) and surgery will always leave cells behind. Radiation therapy is non-specific and cannot be given in curative doses because it will also destroy normal tissue. Diverse dexterities are required to produce a potentially curative result. They must talk amongst themselves to be able to seamlessly weave their individual contributions into a hybrid, more powerful solution.

SCALPEL is developing a treatment that uses light activated click chemistry to selectively tag cancer cells, not only enabling the immune system to recognise and eliminate them but training the immune system to recognise cancer cells into the future potentially stopping recurrence. If you had to explain the science behind this project using a metaphor to make it more understandable, what would it be?
O.K., we are in Star Wars. The enemy has an invisible ship which cruises around and devastates the allied fleet. The friendly lasers fire blindly. When they do hit the invisible enemy ship, they leave a mark for another specialised ship to attach a probe to it before it manages to restore its damage. This probe signals to the battleships of the allied fleet in which direction to fire in order to destroy the enemy battleship. This is SCALPEL.

What kind of ripple effects could SCALPEL’s findings have – not just on cancer treatments, but also on how healthcare professionals, policymakers, pharmaceutical companies and people living with cancer think about and approach treatment?
Well, SCALPEL will have a lot of ripple effects in the medical community. It may be the first anticancer photo-vaccine in medical history. If it works like we expect it to then it could eradicate cancers due to the training of the immune system. So, PDT will debulk and the immune system will attack designated cancer cells and hence get training to defeat them. Should this go through to the clinical stage, we could see incurable cancers get cured and also occult metastasis being defeated by systemic immunity. Photo-oncologists will work hand in hand with immunologists and lipidome experts. New products will be created and people with cancer may see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And finally: What would you say to a young scientist just starting out in cancer research? What drives you to keep exploring, experimenting, and pushing boundaries in this field that could motivate them?
In science, you have to be curious and driven by this curiosity and have a galloping fantasy otherwise you will be reduced to reproducing. Visualise the new frontiers and have the power to stomach the politics within science. If you are powerfully driven you will be able to withstand all the obstacles and become a powerful locomotive force. At the end, science shines through.