 | Dr Andrew Wroe (foreground) holds aloft his AINSE Gold Medal presente... Dr Andrew Wroe (foreground) holds aloft his AINSE Gold Medal presented to him during the recent Centre for Medical Radiation Physics conference held at UOW. Pictured in the background (from left) are Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld, Associate Professor Reinhard Schulte and UOW’s Professor Allan Chivas (Professor Chivas is currently AINSE President and he shared in presenting the medal) |  | Keynote speaker Associate Professor James Morris (centre) from the Un... Keynote speaker Associate Professor James Morris (centre) from the University of British Columbia is pictured with UOW Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton (left) and UOW’s Director of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld |
Third AINSE Gold Medal goes to UOW
15 Apr 2008 | Bernie Goldie
UOW’s Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) recently hosted a two part four-day conference attracted a range of international specialist researchers.
The first international workshop was conducted on 7 and 8 April and focused on Micro and Mini-Nano Dosimetry (MMD).
MMD 2008 discussed the current status of sensors for modelling the response of biological cells to mixed radiation fields typical of radiation protection in space and avionics and radiation therapy applications as well as simulation of DNA damage in radiation fields.
The Centre for Medical Radiation Physics is a world leading institution in development of such silicon sensors-microdosimeters and simulations. Together with partners in Australia (ANSTO and UNSW) and in the USA, the centre has embarked on new challenges of radiation measurements for space missions which was discussed at the MMD 2008.
This workshop brought together clinicians, radiobiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists and NASA scientists.
The second international workshop was held on 9 and 10 April and focused on the latest technologies for treating prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer that afflicts Australian men.
The workshop addressed developments in areas such as brachytherapy, proton therapy (not yet available in Australia), C-12 therapy (not yet available in Australia), image guided radiotherapy, tomotherapy, and targeted alpha therapy.
It was hosted by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics in collaboration with the Illawarra Cancer Care Centre, St George Cancer Care Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital, the NSW Prostate Cancer Institute and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.
Two keynote speakers who attended the conference were Professor John Dicello who is Professor of Radiation Oncology and Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (with a joint appointment at the Bloomberg School of Public Health) and the US Naval Academy and Associate Professor James Morris from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
During the conference proceedings Dr Andrew Wroe was awarded the AINSE (Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering) Gold Medal for the best PhD thesis 2007. Dr Wroe completed the thesis under the supervision of CMRP Director, Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld.
It is the third AINSE medal awarded to Professor Rozenfeld’s students.
Dr Wroe’s PhD involved mapping radiation’s effect on DNA in the body during space travel and cancer treatment. It was a collaborative effort between the CMRP and ANSTO where Dr Wroe held a scholarship through AINSE to use ANSTO’s special equipment for some of his experiments. The other equipment he required to conduct his research is based at the Loma Linda University Medical Centre in California.
Dr Wroe is currently working with US collaborator Associate Professor Reinhard Schulte at Loma Linda University as a postdoctoral fellow where he is able to spend time on research using their proton therapy accelerator facility. He is also continuing his collaboration with Professor Rozenfeld.
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