Peter Mac partners with International Atomic Energy Agency
17 September 2025
Peter Mac will boost the radiation medicine workforce and help build care capacity across the Asia–Pacific thanks to an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Last night at the 69th IAEA General Conference, underway in Vienna, Peter Mac was formally designated as Anchor Centre within the IAEA’s Rays of Hope program.
This initiative aims to reduce cancer deaths by expanding access to high-quality radiotherapy and nuclear medicine in low and middle-income countries.
Peter Mac’s Director of Radiation Oncology, Professor Sandro Porceddu, says: “This designation is a recognition of Peter Mac’s global leadership in radiation medicine”.
His Excellency Mr Ian Biggs (Left) with Dr Brendan Healy.“It provides us with a unique opportunity to share our expertise, strengthen partnerships, and help improve access to life-saving cancer care across the Asia-Pacific region.”
Peter Mac was represented at the formal signing by Dr Brendan Healy, Lead Medical Physicist at Peter Mac’s Bendigo campus and who previously worked with the IAEA in Vienna.
Also present was Australia’s Ambassador to Austria, His Excellency Mr Ian Biggs who is also Australia's Resident Representative and Governor to the Board of Governors of the IAEA.
Rays of Hope has also received Australian Government support, and Peter Mac will now lead this initiative in our region. As an IAEA Anchor Centre, Peter Mac will:
- Host four international IAEA workshops, over four years, bringing together the regional radiation medicine workforce to share expertise and build capacity.
- Deliver training, observerships, and mentorship programs to support the development of sustainable cancer services in low and middle-income countries.
- Share Peter Mac’s expertise with a focus on radiation oncology, nuclear medicine and cancer imaging and aligned fields including oncology nursing and radiation safety.
The Anchor Centre will be coordinated by the Department of Radiation Oncology’s newly appointed Strategic Programs Manager, Dr Jo Phipps-Nelson.
It will also involve leading contributions from Cancer Imaging, Allied Health and Nursing departments and be supported by the breadth of Peter Mac’s research and education programs.
The IAEA, founded in 1957, works directly with world-class institutions to further its mission to harness atomic energy for global peace, health, and prosperity.
In high-income countries, 90% of cancer patients have access to radiotherapy while in middle-income countries it’s 60% and in low-income countries only 10% of patients benefit from this essential cancer care.