Who's who: Radiobiologist

Radiobiology is considered a relatively new field of science, even though it has existed since the early 1900s. Radiation was seen as a miracle cure and used in medicine within years of discovery. Few discoveries these days would reach the clinic in such a short period of time!

While radiation therapy patients will not normally meet with a radiobiologist, the scientific community of radiobiologists interacts with clinicians and shares their determination to advance our ability to improve radiation therapy treatment delivery. Indeed, radiobiologists have had a huge impact over the years on the design of radiation therapy protocols.

For instance, they have helped doctors define the daily dose of radiation that can be safely delivered, how many doses should be given, and warned against the missing too many daily doses.

Today, our efforts are focusing on the exploitation of the most intricate analysis of a patient’s genetic make up to increase radiation therapy success.