Radiation can save lives—and harm them. It helps diagnose illness, treat cancer, and power protective technologies, but when it hits healthy tissue, exposure can be fatal.

Nature, it turns out, may be our best defence.

University of Adelaide researchers have harnessed the power of feverfew—a daisy-like herb used in traditional medicine—to develop the world’s first pill aimed at safeguarding multiple organs against the impacts of radiation.

Through the ‘Daisy Project’, they’re exploring the plant’s potential to shield patients during treatment, civilians during accidents, astronauts in space, and military personnel in combat zones.

Join us in July to learn about this promising plant-to-patient pipeline.

The presenters

Professor Christopher Sweeney is the inaugural Director of the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAIGENCI), Professor of Medicine at the University of Adelaide, and Consulting Medical Oncologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide, Australia. He has previously held a Full Professor position at Harvard University, and he has been awarded a Fellowship position at Indiana University Medical Center, a Doctor of Health Sciences from the University of Adelaide in 2023, and Fellowship of Australasian College of Physicians. His primary research interest is drug and biomarker discovery and development. His academic focus is the management of genitourinary malignancies, with a focus on prostate and testicular cancer translational and clinical research.

Dr Katherine Morel is a Research Fellow at the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAIGENCI). She is a cancer biologist with over 10 years’ experience working in molecular prostate cancer research. After receiving her PhD in Medical Science, Dr Morel spent four years undertaking postdoctoral training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University, where she worked closely with Professor Sweeney. Since returning to Adelaide, Dr Morel’s research has focused on identifying and utilising novel therapeutic approaches to target treatment-resistant forms of prostate cancer.

Dr Agnieszka Kumorkiewicz-Jamro is a Research Fellow at the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAIGENCI). She received her PhD in Natural Product Chemistry from AGH University of Science and Technology in 2021. Following her PhD in Natural Product Chemistry, she undertook a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Myeloma Research Laboratory at the University of Adelaide. In 2024, she joined Professor Sweeney’s team at SAiGENCI, contributing to the development of Australia’s first broad-spectrum radiation protectant and novel anticancer therapeutics aimed at addressing critical unmet needs in both defence and public health.