Rene Mario Winter

About

Assistant professor and researcher at NTNU Department of Physics and coordinator at the Norwegian 7T MR Center. 2019-2023, postdoc at NTNU Physics at the Kathrine Redalen Lab. Spring 2023, research fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City at the Joseph Deasy Lab. 2014-2019, PhD at Tuebingen University Hospital in Germany at the Daniela Thorwarth Lab.

Research

Our research activities are in the field of imaging guided radiotherapy of cancer. Imaging techniques such as PET and MR have great potential to identify cancer patients with tumor recurrence or persistence. PET and MR may also help to improve the radiotherapy treatment, for example through a more precise delineation of tumor versus normal tissue which can improve the planning of the radiation dose. Another example is that parameters can be derived from the images and be used to characterize the tumor in terms of its biology. This can help to determine radioresistant subregions in the tumor, which may be prognsotic for the response to therapy and serve as a target for a higher radiation dose. Such patient indivudal, imaging based treatment adaptation may in future help to achieve a better treatment outcome. Our research therefore addresses different aspects of integrating PET/MR imaging into radiotherapy:

Radiotherapy tailored imaging solutions for combined PET/MRI
Analysis of dynamic hypoxia PET in head and neck cancer
New strategies to characterize tumors in terms of biology and radiation therapy resistance using multiparametric PET/MRI, machine learning methods and radiomics
Tumor control probability modelling and radiotherapy dose painting based on functional image data
Machine learning of functional image data for automatic tumor delineation
Optimization of radiotherapy specific imaging protocols for PET/MRI
Streamlining synthetic CT generation and PET attenuation correction

Teaching

Physics of Nuclear Medicine Imaging, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi, guest lectures spring 2023, and 2024
Physics of Medical Imaging TFY4320, NTNU, spring 2021, and 2022

Awards/Grants

Research stay grants by Norwegian Nuclear Medicine Consortium, 2021 and 2022
ESTRO Jack Fowler Award, Vienna 2020
ESTRO Poster Award, Barcelona 2015

Other activities

Member of ESTRO and EANM
Reviews for Radiother Oncol, EJNMMI, Med Phys, EJMP, phiRO, QIMS, ESTRO
Co-supervision of PhD and MSc theses

Publications

Machine learning identifies multi-parametric functional PET/MR imaging cluster to predict radiation resistance in preclinical head and neck cancer models

Our 2023 paper in EJNMMI presenting a novel method to systematically scan imaging data in multi-dimensional parameter spaces. With this method we found that FMISO PET and diffusion-weighted MRI predict radiation resistance in human head and neck tumors.

OP-567 PET image quality assessment for quantitative radiotherapy-tailored PET/MR in multicenter trials: a phantom study

Highlight talk at EANM 2022 presenting our latest results from a multicenter EARL compliance study of PET image quality in radiation therapy setups.

PO-1656 Accuracy of diffusion-weighted MRI in radiotherapy setup for multicenter PET/MRI in head/neck cancer

Presentation at ESTRO 2022 of our results from a three-center QIBA compliance study of diffusion-weighted MRI in radiotherapy setups.

2025

Winter, Rene Mario; Boeke, Simon; Leibfarth, Sara; Habrich, Jonas; Clasen, Kerstin; Nikolaou, Konstantin. (2025) Clinical validation of a prognostic preclinical magnetic resonance imaging biomarker for radiotherapy outcome in head-and-neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Academic article
Hernandez, Guillermo Garrido; Ytre-Hauge, Kristian Smeland; Winter, Rene Mario; Danielsen, Signe; Alsaker, Mirjam Delange; Redalen, Kathrine Røe. (2025) In Silico Interim Adaptation of Proton Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer by Simultaneous Dose and Linear Energy Transfer Escalation. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics
Academic article

2024

Knuth, Franziska; Tohidinezhad, Fariba; Winter, Rene Mario; Bakke, Kine Mari; Negård, Anne; Holmedal, Stein Harald. (2024) Quantitative MRI-based radiomics analysis identifies blood flow feature associated to overall survival for rectal cancer patients. Scientific Reports
Academic article
Hernandez, Guillermo Garrido; Henjum, Helge; Winter, Rene Mario; Alsaker, Mirjam Delange; Danielsen, Signe; Boer, Camilla Grindeland. (2024) Interim <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET based response-adaptive dose escalation of proton therapy for head and neck cancer: a treatment planning feasibility study. Physica Medica
Academic article
Høiskar, Marte Kåstad; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Alsaker, Mirjam Delange; Redalen, Kathrine Røe; Winter, Rene Mario. (2024) Quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in head and neck cancer: A systematic comparison of different modelling approaches. Physics and imaging in radiation oncology (PIRO)
Academic article
Fridström, Kajsa Maria Linnéa; Winter, Rene Mario; Hornik, Natalie; Almberg, Sigrun Saur; Danielsen, Signe; Redalen, Kathrine Røe. (2024) Evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging derived synthetic computed tomography for proton therapy planning in prostate cancer. Physics and imaging in radiation oncology (PIRO)
Academic article

2023

Boeke, Simon; Winter, René M; Leibfarth*, Sara; Krueger, Marcel A; Bowden, Gregory; Cotton, Jonathan. (2023) Machine learning identifies multi-parametric functional PET/MR imaging cluster to predict radiation resistance in preclinical head and neck cancer models. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Academic article

2022

Winter, René; Engelsen, Ola; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Redalen, Kathrine. (2022) OP-567 PET image quality assessment for quantitative radiotherapy-tailored PET/MR in multicenter trials: a phantom study. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Abstract
Knuth, Franziska Hanna; Grøndahl, Aurora Rosvoll; Winter, René; Torheim, Turid Katrine Gjerstad; Negård, Anne; Holmedal, Stein Harald. (2022) Semi-automatic tumor segmentation of rectal cancer based on functional magnetic resonance imaging. Physics and imaging in radiation oncology (PIRO)
Academic article
Winter, René; Bratting, Ole Jakob; Lium, Maren; Brekke, Njål; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Engelsen, Ola. (2022) PO-1656 Accuracy of diffusion-weighted MRI in radiotherapy setup for multicenter PET/MRI in head/neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René; Engelsen, Ola; Sæterstøl, Jostein; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Redalen, Kathrine. (2022) PO-1653 Reproducibility of quantitative PET in radiotherapy setup for multicenter PET/MR in head/neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract

2021

Knuth, Franziska Hanna; Adde, Ingvild Askim; Huynh, Bao Ngoc; Grøndahl, Aurora Rosvoll; Winter, René; Negård, Anne. (2021) MRI-based automatic segmentation of rectal cancer using 2D U-Net on two independent cohorts. Acta Oncologica
Academic article

2020

Clasen, Kerstin; Leibfarth, Sara; Hilke, Franz J.; Admard, Jakob; Winter, René M.; Welz, Stefan. (2020) PET/MRI and genetic intrapatient heterogeneity in head and neck cancers. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie (Print)
Academic article
Böke, Simon; Winter, René; Nachbar, Marcel; Clasen, Kerstin; Gani, Cihan; Stolte, A. (2020) PO-1685 Serial DWI in HNC treated on a 1.5 T MRLinac and benchmark to a reference 3 T diagnostic MR scanner. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract

2018

Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Schmidt, Holger; Zwirner, Kerstin; Moennich, David; Welz, Stefan. (2018) Assessment of image quality of a radiotherapy-specific hardware solution for PET/MRI in head and neck cancer patients. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Academic article
Thorwarth, Daniela; Zwirner, Kerstin; Winter, René M.; Welz, Stefan; Zips, Daniel; Gatidis, Sergios. (2018) MR-simulation for radiotherapy treatment planning of head and neck cancer using 3T MAGNETOM Vida. MReadings: MR in RT
Article in business/trade/industry journal
Zwirner, Kerstin; Thorwarth, Daniela; Winter, René M.; Welz, Stefan; Weiss, Jakob; Schwenzer, Nina F.. (2018) Voxel-wise correlation of functional imaging parameters in HNSCC patients receiving PET/MRI in an irradiation setup. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie (Print)
Academic article
Leibfarth, Sara; Winter, René M.; Lyng, Heidi; Zips, Daniel; Thorwarth, Daniela. (2018) Potentials and challenges of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in radiotherapy. Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology
Academic article

2017

Winter, René M.; Schmidt, Holger; Leibfarth, Sara; Zwirner, Kerstin; Welz, Stefan; Schwenzer, Nina F.. (2017) Distortion correction of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the head and neck in radiotherapy position. Acta Oncologica
Reader opinion piece
Winter, René M.; Boeke, Simon; Krueger, Marcel; Menegakis, Apostolos; Sezgin, Efe Cumhur; Wack, Linda. (2017) EP-1688 Voxelbased analysis of FMISO-PET and diffusion-weighted MRI of two different HNSCC models in mice. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract

2016

Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Schmidt, Holger; Schwenzer, Nina F.; Zips, Daniel; Thorwarth, Daniela. (2016) EP-1910 Evaluation of diffusion-weighted imaging properties of a RT-specific positioning solution for PET/MR imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Schmidt, Holger; Schwenzer, Nina F.; Zips, Daniel; Thorwarth, Daniela. (2016) V05-2 Evaluation der Bildgebungseigenschaften einer Hardwareloesung fuer strahlentherapiespezifische Patientenlagerung in der PET/MR Bildgebung. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie (Print)
Abstract

2015

Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Gatidis, Sergios; Schmidt, Holger; Schwenzer, Nina F.; Zips, Daniel. (2015) PD-0454 Evaluation of imaging properties of a dedicated RT positioning solution for combined PET/MR imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract

2014

Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Paulus, Daniel H.; Quick, Harald H.; Gatidis, Sergios; Schmidt, Holger. (2014) OC-0083 Evaluation of a dedicated radiotherapy positioning solution for combined PET/MR imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract

Journal publications

Winter, Rene Mario; Boeke, Simon; Leibfarth, Sara; Habrich, Jonas; Clasen, Kerstin; Nikolaou, Konstantin. (2025) Clinical validation of a prognostic preclinical magnetic resonance imaging biomarker for radiotherapy outcome in head-and-neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Academic article
Hernandez, Guillermo Garrido; Ytre-Hauge, Kristian Smeland; Winter, Rene Mario; Danielsen, Signe; Alsaker, Mirjam Delange; Redalen, Kathrine Røe. (2025) In Silico Interim Adaptation of Proton Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer by Simultaneous Dose and Linear Energy Transfer Escalation. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics
Academic article
Knuth, Franziska; Tohidinezhad, Fariba; Winter, Rene Mario; Bakke, Kine Mari; Negård, Anne; Holmedal, Stein Harald. (2024) Quantitative MRI-based radiomics analysis identifies blood flow feature associated to overall survival for rectal cancer patients. Scientific Reports
Academic article
Hernandez, Guillermo Garrido; Henjum, Helge; Winter, Rene Mario; Alsaker, Mirjam Delange; Danielsen, Signe; Boer, Camilla Grindeland. (2024) Interim <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET based response-adaptive dose escalation of proton therapy for head and neck cancer: a treatment planning feasibility study. Physica Medica
Academic article
Høiskar, Marte Kåstad; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Alsaker, Mirjam Delange; Redalen, Kathrine Røe; Winter, Rene Mario. (2024) Quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in head and neck cancer: A systematic comparison of different modelling approaches. Physics and imaging in radiation oncology (PIRO)
Academic article
Fridström, Kajsa Maria Linnéa; Winter, Rene Mario; Hornik, Natalie; Almberg, Sigrun Saur; Danielsen, Signe; Redalen, Kathrine Røe. (2024) Evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging derived synthetic computed tomography for proton therapy planning in prostate cancer. Physics and imaging in radiation oncology (PIRO)
Academic article
Boeke, Simon; Winter, René M; Leibfarth*, Sara; Krueger, Marcel A; Bowden, Gregory; Cotton, Jonathan. (2023) Machine learning identifies multi-parametric functional PET/MR imaging cluster to predict radiation resistance in preclinical head and neck cancer models. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Academic article
Winter, René; Engelsen, Ola; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Redalen, Kathrine. (2022) OP-567 PET image quality assessment for quantitative radiotherapy-tailored PET/MR in multicenter trials: a phantom study. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Abstract
Knuth, Franziska Hanna; Grøndahl, Aurora Rosvoll; Winter, René; Torheim, Turid Katrine Gjerstad; Negård, Anne; Holmedal, Stein Harald. (2022) Semi-automatic tumor segmentation of rectal cancer based on functional magnetic resonance imaging. Physics and imaging in radiation oncology (PIRO)
Academic article
Winter, René; Bratting, Ole Jakob; Lium, Maren; Brekke, Njål; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Engelsen, Ola. (2022) PO-1656 Accuracy of diffusion-weighted MRI in radiotherapy setup for multicenter PET/MRI in head/neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René; Engelsen, Ola; Sæterstøl, Jostein; Sæther, Oddbjørn; Redalen, Kathrine. (2022) PO-1653 Reproducibility of quantitative PET in radiotherapy setup for multicenter PET/MR in head/neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Knuth, Franziska Hanna; Adde, Ingvild Askim; Huynh, Bao Ngoc; Grøndahl, Aurora Rosvoll; Winter, René; Negård, Anne. (2021) MRI-based automatic segmentation of rectal cancer using 2D U-Net on two independent cohorts. Acta Oncologica
Academic article
Clasen, Kerstin; Leibfarth, Sara; Hilke, Franz J.; Admard, Jakob; Winter, René M.; Welz, Stefan. (2020) PET/MRI and genetic intrapatient heterogeneity in head and neck cancers. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie (Print)
Academic article
Böke, Simon; Winter, René; Nachbar, Marcel; Clasen, Kerstin; Gani, Cihan; Stolte, A. (2020) PO-1685 Serial DWI in HNC treated on a 1.5 T MRLinac and benchmark to a reference 3 T diagnostic MR scanner. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Schmidt, Holger; Zwirner, Kerstin; Moennich, David; Welz, Stefan. (2018) Assessment of image quality of a radiotherapy-specific hardware solution for PET/MRI in head and neck cancer patients. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Academic article
Thorwarth, Daniela; Zwirner, Kerstin; Winter, René M.; Welz, Stefan; Zips, Daniel; Gatidis, Sergios. (2018) MR-simulation for radiotherapy treatment planning of head and neck cancer using 3T MAGNETOM Vida. MReadings: MR in RT
Article in business/trade/industry journal
Zwirner, Kerstin; Thorwarth, Daniela; Winter, René M.; Welz, Stefan; Weiss, Jakob; Schwenzer, Nina F.. (2018) Voxel-wise correlation of functional imaging parameters in HNSCC patients receiving PET/MRI in an irradiation setup. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie (Print)
Academic article
Leibfarth, Sara; Winter, René M.; Lyng, Heidi; Zips, Daniel; Thorwarth, Daniela. (2018) Potentials and challenges of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in radiotherapy. Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology
Academic article
Winter, René M.; Schmidt, Holger; Leibfarth, Sara; Zwirner, Kerstin; Welz, Stefan; Schwenzer, Nina F.. (2017) Distortion correction of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the head and neck in radiotherapy position. Acta Oncologica
Reader opinion piece
Winter, René M.; Boeke, Simon; Krueger, Marcel; Menegakis, Apostolos; Sezgin, Efe Cumhur; Wack, Linda. (2017) EP-1688 Voxelbased analysis of FMISO-PET and diffusion-weighted MRI of two different HNSCC models in mice. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Schmidt, Holger; Schwenzer, Nina F.; Zips, Daniel; Thorwarth, Daniela. (2016) EP-1910 Evaluation of diffusion-weighted imaging properties of a RT-specific positioning solution for PET/MR imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Schmidt, Holger; Schwenzer, Nina F.; Zips, Daniel; Thorwarth, Daniela. (2016) V05-2 Evaluation der Bildgebungseigenschaften einer Hardwareloesung fuer strahlentherapiespezifische Patientenlagerung in der PET/MR Bildgebung. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie (Print)
Abstract
Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Gatidis, Sergios; Schmidt, Holger; Schwenzer, Nina F.; Zips, Daniel. (2015) PD-0454 Evaluation of imaging properties of a dedicated RT positioning solution for combined PET/MR imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract
Winter, René M.; Leibfarth, Sara; Paulus, Daniel H.; Quick, Harald H.; Gatidis, Sergios; Schmidt, Holger. (2014) OC-0083 Evaluation of a dedicated radiotherapy positioning solution for combined PET/MR imaging. Radiotherapy and Oncology
Abstract

Outreach