Micrometrical assessment of biological response to particle therapy
- Planned secondments: Medical University of Vienna (Austria), GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt (Germany) and National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy - CNAO (Italy)
- PhD program: University of Torino, Physics Department
Project description
Advanced experiments for assessing the biological effects of particle therapy (PT) are highly desirable to inform personalised adaptive proton or carbon ion therapy beyond anatomical changes.
Multi-scale image-based biological response models are essential to understand the differential radiosensitivity of normal and tumor cells as well as mechanisms of resistance, at a resolution which cannot be met by standard bulk analyses.
In this project, the student will merge different technologies and expertise from physics and biology integrating analysis of 2D delivered particles distribution with detailed exposure analysis, based on measurement of DNA damage foci abundance, morphology and clustering on 2D co-cultures of tumor and normal cells. These analyses will be complemented by spatial transcriptomics studies, aimed at assessing the local response of gene expression biomarkers.
The overall goal of the project is to develop and validate an integrated experimental and analytical framework to assess the biological effects of particle therapy beams using both 2D imaging of particle distributions and advanced spatial transcriptomics. The candidate will help design, simulate, and implement an optimized experimental setup that enables simultaneous acquisition of particle distribution maps during controlled irradiations of selected cell lines with pencil beams of different ion species and beam parameters. Afterwards, spatial transcriptomic profiling will be carried out on the irradiated 2D co-cultures of tumor and normal cells.
These activities will establish the basis for correlating high-resolution biological responses with the precise physical characteristics of therapeutic ion beams. Additionally, the research activity will indicate a methodology, transcriptomic-based, to detect micrometric biomarkers in a defined co-culture 2D cell model.
Secondments at leading international institutions will step-wise strengthen both technical and interdisciplinary expertise of the candidate:
- Hands-on experience with radiobiological experiments in a clinical environment at Medical University of Vienna (Austria)
- Detector tests across a wide range of carbon-beam intensities at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (Germany)
- Irradiation campaigns for correlating biological responses with measured particle distributions at CNAO – Italian National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy (Pavia, Italy).
The student will be employed at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (Italy) and will be registered for the doctoral program at the University of Torino (UNITO) under the supervision of Dott.ssa Simona Giordanengo. A collaboration with Prof. Ferdinando Di Cunto from Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini” Department of UNITO will provide the candidate with a unique combination of skills in particle-beam physics, radiobiology, molecular analysis, and advanced imaging, contributing to the refinement of biologically informed treatment approaches in particle therapy.
For more information concerning the research project please contact:
Simona Giordanengo
Candidate profile
Doctoral Candidate at INFN
Requirements
- Education: Master’s degree in Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Biology or a related field.
- Motivation: Strong interest in the medical applications of physics and radiobiology, creativity and motivation to pursue interdisciplinary research.
- Experimental aptitude and skills in experimental physics (e.g., detectors characterization, experimental setup and measurements, data analysis, troubleshooting).
- Teamwork: Strong ability to work in teams and collaborate effectively with researchers from Physics, Electronics Engineering and Biology across different career stages.
- Scientific communication: Fluent English knowledge (spoken and written), ability to communicate scientific results clearly.
- Core soft skills: Critical thinking, autonomy, resilience and adaptability in a fast evolving, highly interdisciplinary research environment.
Preferred Qualifications (Nice to have)
- Experience in radiation detection measurements, electronics, radiobiology will be considered a valuable asset.
- Interdisciplinary background: prior involvement in projects bridging physics and biology.
- Experience presenting data and findings in project meetings and conferences.
National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN)
PROJECT BENEFICIARY
INFN is the Italian research agency dedicated to theoretical and experimental research in physics. It promotes the use of fundamental physics instruments, methods and cutting-edge technologies developed at its own laboratories in many fields including medical physics. The INFN Section of Torino (INFN-TO) conducts research in close collaboration with University of Torino (UNITO), within a framework of national and international competition. The medical physics group has a long tradition of research projects on instrumentation for external beam radiation therapy. They provide an ideal environment to merge technological developments with basic science, training and transferable skills.