Ellen Sletten, a professor in the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received the Helmholtz High Impact Award 2024.
She is being recognized for developing an innovative method that combines short-wave infrared light with special fluorescent dyes and advanced camera technology to improve cancer detection during surgery. This method has the potential to detect individual cancer cells at tumor margins and in lymph nodes during surgery. Sletten received the honor with longtime collaborator Oliver Bruns at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden.
“We have been working together on this project for a decade,” Sletten said. “It is great to see how much we have already been able to achieve.”
The Helmholtz High Impact Award, established last year by the Helmholtz Association in collaboration with the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, recognizes highly innovative interdisciplinary contributions that address major challenges in science, industry or society. The focus is on new approaches with the potential to be game changers in relevant problem areas. This year’s award was presented Sept. 17 at the Helmholtz annual meeting in Berlin.
Read the full story about the award on the chemistry and biochemistry website.
