Computation modelling of biological response to radiation at tissue level for Proton Therapy

Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) is a radically new type of radiotherapy that has the potential to improve the precision and targeting of radiotherapy leading to fewer side effects, faster recovery and better outcomes for patients. It also has the potential to target radio-resistant hypoxic tumours and tumours that are difficult to treat by more conventional means.

 NHS England has invested £250M in two new PBT treatment centres (London, Manchester), the first of which (at the Christie) opened in 2018. The Christie Clinical PBT Centre has three state of the art gantry rooms for clinical treatment and the fourth room, for research. The infrastructure and equipment in the PBT research room is funded by The Christie Charity.

 This project is aimed at using this new research capability in combination with developing computational models to answer a key challenge for proton therapy: what is the relative biological effect (RBE) of protons and how can this information be used clinically?

 Most clinical treatments with protons world-wide are given assuming that the same physical dose of protons delivers 1.1 times the biological effect of X-rays irrespective of depth, tissue type and oxygenation. Over several decades, evidence has accumulated for an increase in RBE at the end of proton range, but due to large experimental uncertainty, direct quantification of RBE has been challenging. RBE evidence is largely based on in vitro survival studies or in vivo pre-clinical studies, and evidence for detectable RBE effects which lead to normal tissue toxicity in patients has been elusive.

 Many phenomenological RBE models exist based on cell survival, as do tissue complication models based on empirical photon data, but this project addresses the conceptual gap that exists in computational modelling between the nanodosimetry of protons at a DNA level that cause treatment complications at a tissue level.

https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/research/domains/cancer/proton/

https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/michael.merchant.html

https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/karen.kirkby.html

Entry Requirements

Candidates are expected to hold (or be about to obtain) a minimum upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in a related area/subject.  Candidates with experience in Monte Carlo simulation, radiation or medical physics or with an interest in radiobiology are encouraged to apply. 

For information on how to apply for this project, please visit the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Doctoral Academy website (https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/apply/). Informal enquiries may be made directly to the primary supervisor. On the online application form select the PhD Cancer Sciences.

For international students, we also offer a unique 4 year PhD programme that gives you the opportunity to undertake an accredited Teaching Certificate whilst carrying out an independent research project across a range of biological, medical and health sciences. For more information please visit www.internationalphd.manchester.ac.uk

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