prof. Nathalie De Geyter (PhD)

Despite significant treatment advances, cancer remains a major clinical challenge, requiring new therapies. My research focuses on cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP), a partially ionized gas capable of producing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), such as H2O2 and NO2-. These species selectively kill cancer cells by overwhelming their antioxidant defences, causing irreversible DNA damage and apoptosis, while sparing healthy tissues. This selectivity makes plasma-based therapies a promising targeted alternative to conventional treatments.
CAPP can be applied via direct treatment, where tumors are exposed to plasma, or indirect treatment, where a liquid is first plasma-treated before being applied to cancer cells. While direct treatment has shown tumor reduction in clinical studies, it presents safety concerns, patient discomfort, and treatment uniformity challenges. Plasma-treated liquids (PTLs) provide a safer and more controlled RONS application to tumors. Most studies generate PTLs using plasma jets positioned above the liquid, which limits plasma-liquid interactions. 
My research explores new plasma reactor configurations, including submerged plasma jets, which generate plasma directly within the liquid. This approach enhances plasma-liquid interactions, resulting in higher RONS concentrations and improved anticancer efficacy and selectivity, as demonstrated in head and neck cancer (HNC) models. However, PALs diffuse rapidly in the body, diluting RONS concentrations and reducing long-term efficacy. To address this, I initiated a novel research direction on plasma-treated hydrogels, which act as localized RONS reservoirs for sustained release at the tumor site, enhancing treatment durability. 
By integrating plasma physics, chemistry, biology, and biomedical engineering, my multidisciplinary research aims to advance plasma-based oncology, developing selective, efficient, and minimally invasive therapies, thus offering new hopes for patients.
 

• prof. Nathalie De Geyter (PhD) - principal investigator, full professor
• dr. Rouba Ghobeira (PhD) - post-doctoral fellow
• Parisa Shali - doctoral fellow
• Laura Hoebus - doctoral fellow     
   

• ‘Investigation of the physicochemical properties and selective anti-cancer efficacy of in-plasma treated PBS using an exclusive liquid-submerged plasma jet’. IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences, 2025. (Under review)
• ‘Innovative plasma technology for the selective killing of tumor cells in oral squamous cell carcinoma’. Cancer Research, 2025. (Under review)
• ‘A preclinical platform for assessing long-term drug efficacy exploiting mechanically tunable scaffolds colonized by a three-dimensional tumor microenvironment’. Biomaterials Research, 2023. (PMID: 37853495)
• ‘Heterocellular 3D scaffolds as biomimetic to recapitulate the tumor microenvironment of peritoneal metastases in vitro and in vivo’. Biomaterials, 2018. (PMID: 29306747)
   

• Lab address: UGent, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, Technicum blok 4, 9000 Gent
• LinkedIn RUPT
• Biblio Ugent
• Google Scholar
• Nathalie De Geyter is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks