Prof. Donatas Vajauskas is a leading Lithuanian radiologist/nuclear medicine specialist known for pioneering theranostics – the combined diagnostic imaging and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy approach – in nuclear medicine. As Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Centre at LUHS Kauno Klinikos, he oversaw the installation of the Baltics’ first medical cyclotron, enabling on-site production of modern radiopharmaceuticals for earlier cancer detection and more effective treatment. Under his leadership, Kauno Klinikos became the first hospital in Lithuania to introduce advanced theranostic therapies, such as peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for neuroendocrine tumors (first performed in 2021 on a patient with an inoperable NET). His team also implemented prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT imaging for prostate cancer – a novel diagnostic tool that guides Lutetium-177 radioligand therapy for metastatic disease. These efforts are supported by state-of-the-art infrastructure (PET/CT, SPECT/CT) and a radiopharmacy program providing isotopes for precision diagnostics and therapy – including Ga-68 tracers for PET imaging and therapeutic radionuclides like I-131, Radium-223 and Lutetium-177 Prof. Vajauskas’s work has significantly advanced precision and personalized medicine in Lithuania, establishing Kauno Klinikos as a national center of excellence in theranostics and placing the country on par with global leaders in nuclear medicine.
