Course program, A.Y. 2014-15


Lesson Date Topics Linked slides and useful links
1 February 23rd, 2015 Overview of cell structure. Cell-cycle, and cell proliferation. DNA basics.
Classroom exercises: measurement of the doubling time of leukemic cells. Classroom demonstration: extraction of DNA from cells.
2 March 2nd, 2015 DNA damage and mutations. Basics concepts of radiation damage in cells, and in particular: 
  • Classification of radiation in radiobiology.
  • Mechanisms of energy release in cells.
  • Stopping power and LET.
  • Types of radiation damage.
3 March 9th, 2015 Effects of radiation. Stochastic and non-stochastic effects. Linear quadratic model. Lea's target model. Early and late effects of exposure to radiation. Linear-quadratic model for early- and late-responding tissues. Mortality rate and lethal dose LD50/30. Cell survival curves and dose-response curves. Endpoints. Dose-response curves for low-LET radiation and high-LET radiation. RBE (Relative Biological Effectiveness).
4 March 16th, 2015 Survival curves for different cell types and different LET. Dependence of RBE on LET. Threshold effects. Dependence of survival curves on phase. Oxygen effect. The problematic nature of low-level radiation. Dependence of LD50 on dose-rate. Epidemiological evidence of cancer induction from exposure to low-level radiation. Tumor Control Probability. Normal Tissue Complication Probability. Influence of dose-rate. Fractionation. Biologically Effective Dose. Isoeffect formulas and EQD(2Gy). Radiosensitizers. QUANTEC guidelines.