Benedikt Wiestler: We Want to Build a Time Machine

What if you could pick the best cancer treatment for a patient before therapy even begins?

MCML PI Benedikt Wiestler is tackling one of the hardest problems in neuro-oncology: how to target tumor cells that imaging cannot detect. Brain tumors don’t grow as a solid mass. They diffusely infiltrate surrounding brain tissue, and it’s this invisible spread that current radiotherapy can only approximate. In his research, AI models are used to visualize tumor infiltration and simulate individual treatment outcomes, with the goal of bringing personalized radiotherapy strategies into clinical trials.

In this video series, discover how MCML researchers are bridging theory and practice to build AI systems that prioritize accessibility, sovereignty, and impact.

The film was produced and edited by Nicole Huminski and Nikolai Huber.