News of July 6, 2026

From Dresden to Melbourne

HZDR Researcher Becomes Professor in Australia

For more than a decade, Manja Kubeil has been working closely with researchers at Monash University in Melbourne. Now, the Australian university has appointed the HZDR researcher as an Adjunct Associate Professor – a position equivalent to an associate professorship in Germany that encompasses both research and teaching responsibilities. In this interview, Prof. Kubeil discusses the significance of this appointment, new areas of research, and how this transcontinental collaboration is succeeding.

Congratulations on your appointment! What does this step mean to you?

From a scientific perspective, I am delighted that the collaboration with Monash University – which began for me in 2012 thanks to my HZDR colleague Dr. Holger Stephan – has evolved into such a strong and enduring partnership. The professorship is the result of a series of high-caliber projects that we have launched together over the years. I would particularly like to highlight the German-Australian research platform MHELTHERA and the DART initiative, through which we share expertise in nuclear medicine and radiochemistry and develop next-generation radiopharmaceuticals at both locations.

And on a personal level?

Of course, this step also means a great deal to me personally. I’ve always wanted to advance my career, and as a researcher, I’ve aspired to the title of professor. The fact that Monash University is now conferring this title on me is a great honor and reflects the trusting collaboration we’ve built. It’s also a natural fit because I lived in Melbourne for an extended period as a postdoc and made friends there. The city now feels like a second home to me.

In your new role, which research areas would you like to further develop or establish?

In addition to our ongoing projects in radiopharmacy, we are now turning our attention to a new topic: radioecology. This field focuses on the environmental impacts of radiation. Australia is a mining nation, and the extraction of heavy metals such as uranium can lead to soil and water contamination as well as air pollution. We want to find out what this means for people, as well as for the flora and fauna in the vicinity of mines and deposits. As with our joint project with South Africa, we at HZDR can contribute our radiochemical expertise – for example, in studies on the uptake of pollutants by organisms, their transfer from the environment into the food chain, and the development of remediation methods.

How do you organize the collaboration between Australia and Germany in practical terms, despite the time difference and the great distance?

Time management is key. Since I can only be in Australia for a few weeks once a year, most meetings take place online at set times. These meetings are often scheduled early in the morning at 7:30 a.m. Because of the time difference – ten hours in the winter and eight hours in the summer – our Australian partners have no other choice. I like to start the day early, but this kind of scheduling requires discipline, not just at work, but in my personal life as well. Since my husband also works in academia and travels internationally, we usually plan our family calendar half a year in advance.

What opportunities do you see in the long term for the collaboration between HZDR and Monash University?

The professorship has further strengthened the already strong relationship of trust between us. I believe the value of such a partnership cannot be overstated. In times of intense competitive pressure in the academic world, it is especially valuable to have partners you can rely on. Incidentally, this applies not only to research itself, but also to the support of early-career scientists, which we are advancing together. For example, we have launched the Monash Helmholtz Joint Doctoral Program, which allows an Australian doctoral student to come to Dresden for an entire year. In addition, there are other stays funded by the German Academic Exchange Service or the Australian Research Council. Both sides benefit from such opportunities.

About Manja Kubeil:

Manja Kubeil studied chemistry at the Technical University of Dresden and earned her Diplom degree in 2009. Until 2014, she pursued her PhD at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf on metal-based radiopharmaceuticals and subsequently received a postdoctoral fellowship as part of the European Union’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. With this coveted fellowship, she worked for two years as a research associate at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. In 2017, she returned to the HZDR Institute for Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research. Since 2025, Kubeil has been head of the Department of Radiation Research on Biological Systems at the HZDR Institute for Resource Ecology.

Additional information:

Prof. Manja Kubeil
Institute of Resource Ecology at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 2006 | Email: m.kubeil@hzdr.de