Proton beam therapy offers exciting career opportunities
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The University of Liverpool together with a consortium of European institutions has put out a call for Fellows to join the network ‘Optimisation of Medical Accelerators’ (OMA) which starts in 2016. The new Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) builds on the success of the oPAC project to train 15 Fellows in the design and optimisation of particle beam therapy facilities.
Professor Carsten P. Welsch is the coordinator of the OMA initiative. He says: “The field of particle-beam therapy is still very much in evolution. Although we know that the potential of current proton beam therapy is not fully exploited the results have already been impressive, with patients experiencing extended periods of remission.”
The major benefit of protons over X-rays is the control of the dose. X-ray dose deposition follows on exponential decay which means that treating a deep-seated tumour involves significant entrance and exit doses to healthy tissue around the tumour. In contrast, the proton beam travels through the healthy tissue before depositing most of its energy in a well-defined volume known as the Bragg peak. The beam can also be extremely well controlled to follow the outline of the tumour.
“A growing body of clinical evidence shows that there is great potential for proton and ion treatment, particularly for treatment of cancers in children and where tumours are close to vital organs. The goal now is to maximise the therapeutic efficiency while reducing as much as possible the damage to surrounding tissues” says Prof. Welsch.
The big challenge is to reduce the size and the cost of these accelerators while improving their performance. This will require expanding horizons beyond the current technologies. New types of accelerating structures and beam delivery systems, advanced simulation tools and beyond state-of the-art beam diagnostics for monitoring all important beam parameters are among the approaches being explored in the OMA initiative.
As in oPAC, research Fellows within OMA will have the opportunity to work at the forefront of science whilst gaining experience on complementary skills such as project management and communication. Workshops and conferences help to develop their links and collaborations, building a sense of community.
The network is currently looking for candidates for its 15 vacant Fellowship positions at institutions across Europe.
The deadline for applications is 28th February 2016 and the programme will begin in October 2016.
For more information please see website: www.oma-project.eu