Laura Shields: IAPM Young Investigator Grant Recipient 2013
The aim of my PhD project is to investigate the radiobiology, dosimetry and modelling of
non-target doses with a view to optimising the treatment planning process for MegaVoltage (MV) radiotherapy. The investigation will consider: (i) what effect does low doses
of radiation have on normal cells, (ii) what detector achieves the highest accuracy in
measuring non-target doses, (iii) how accurate is the Treatment Planning System (TPS) at
calculating non-target dose.
In advance of getting the Young Investigator Grant (YIG), the initial phase of my PhD had
examined the effect of non-target doses on normal prostate cells. The study has been
accepted for publication in Radiation Research. The results were very interesting and
raised a number of questions which have not been addressed in the literature to date,
warranting further investigation e.g. the radiobiological impact of changes in beam
energy spectrum on cell survival. I am continuing experimental and modelling work in
this area.
Coming from a physics background my knowledge in the area of radiobiology is limited.
The YIG enabled me to attend the world-renowned radiobiology course (‘A course on
Radiobiology & Radiobiological Modelling in Radiotherapy’ in the Wirral, UK) which
would not have been possible without the grant. The course is run by experts in the field
and attended by researchers working in areas similar to my own. The course was very
beneficial to me in gaining a better understanding of radiobiology, the impact of low
doses on both normal tissue and secondary cancer induction. The course also provided
me with a platform from which I could discuss my research with experts in the field, hear
their valuable opinion and network with other researchers. The course gave me more
confidence in approaching my own research.
The field of non-target dosimetry and optimisation is very new and international interest
is growing. The European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) congress’ held
its first ever symposium on ‘Non-Target doses’ in April 2014. A multi-disciplinary team of
speakers were invited for the symposium from Oncologists to Physicists. My abstract got
accepted for a poster discussion session. This gave me the opportunity to present the
results of my work to date to an international audience in a special discussion session
with experts in the field. My discussion session was met with positive feedback and lots
of interest. I was nominated for the ESTRO Best Poster Award in the category: ‘Physics’.
The IAPM YIG enabled me to attend the ESTRO conference where I received peer
reviewed feedback on my work, made good contacts with others in my research area and
Laura Shields: IAPM Young Investigator Grant Recipient 2013
the opportunity to learn from what others were doing. I also attended the ESTRO precongress physics course entitled ‘Current advancements in treatment planning and
optimisation’ which I felt will help me to prepare for the final stage of my PhD project
when I examine different methods of treatment plan optimisation.
The grant was spent in the following way:
Description
Radiobiology Course Fee
ESTRO Pre-Meeting Physics Course
ESTRO 33 Congress Registration Fee
Flights to ESTRO33
Accommodation for ESTRO33
Total
Cost
€465
€126
€300
€300
€300
€1491
Further non-target cell studies are underway examining the impact of incident beam
energy spectrum on cell survival and DNA damage and also these effects on other cell
lines. I have also recently commenced my non-target detector study with the hope of
identifying a suitable detector for non-target dosimetry.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the IAPM for awarding me the
young investigator grant. The courses and conference I attended with the grant has led
to further research studies and provided me with insights into how to approach nontarget dose optimisation in the future.