Postdoctoral research in FLASH proton therapy at UCLouvain

Project description:

Radiation therapy is one of the main treatments for cancer care. It consists in irradiating the tumor, while limiting the toxicity associated with the exposure of healthy tissues. Proton therapy is an emerging technology, which has the potential to better spare healthy tissues than conventional radiotherapy treatments.

Recently, radiation therapy with ultra-high dose rate has shown a protective effect for healthy tissues while maintaining similar tumor damage compared to conventional dose rate (the FLASH effect). Proton therapy is an ideal candidate for exploring further the FLASH effect because it can treat deep-seated tumor. In the protontherapy center in Leuven PARTICLE, we are planning at the present time a preclinical experiment for investigating the FLASH effect with the S2C2 cyclotron of IBA.

The postdoc will be fully integrated in the research teams, and will be given the opportunity to tackle many key questions related to the FLASH effect

1. The implementation of novel treatment delivery strategies to enable the FLASH effect without compromising dose conformality
2. Perform the dosimetry with multiple detectors, either already existing or in development specifically for FLASH
3. Participate to pre-clinical studies for the physics part (beam setup; dosimetry)

We are looking for a major contribution for these 3 points.

Funding:

The project is funded by the Walloon Region of Belgium until September 2024 included. The starting date is May 1^st. However, the position will be given only if an appropriate candidate has been identified;

The candidate should:

1. Be interested in an intensive research experience, with simulation and experimental aspects.
2. Be familiar with dosimetry
3. Understand optimization algorithms
4. Have past experiences in treatment planning and clinical studies.
5. Have strong scientific background (PhD in engineering, medical physics or similar fields).
6. Have good skills in oral and written English.

We offer:

1. A project in a hot topic that will ultimately lead to publications with high impact.
2. An enthusiastic multidisciplinary environment in the MIRO team of UCLouvain, which is deeply involved in the first Belgian proton therapy center PARTICLE, clinically operational since August 2020
3. A close collaboration with the IBA company, leader in proton therapy equipment.
4. Collaborations with our international partners.

Contact:

If you are interested, please send your CV, a motivation letter and a recommendation letter to Prof. Edmond Sterpin (edmond.sterpin@uclouvain.be) and Prof. John Lee (john.lee@uclouvain.be).