Department of Physics

PHY 552: Basic principles of radiation biology

Course Information

Please note that exact details of the course can vary

Professor: Michael Antosh
Semester: Spring

Credits: 3

 Prerequisites: PHY210 or permission of instructor

Catalog Description:

Basic principles of radiation biology: factors that modify radiation response; linear energy transfer; relative biological effectiveness; tissue radiosensitivity; time-dose and fractionation; radiobiological modeling.

Course Goals & Outcomes

Upon completion, successful students will be able to: i) explain the biological functions of cells, tissues, and organisms in terms of the structure and behavior of biological molecules; ii) review problems of modern biological physics; iii) obtain physical understanding of biomolecules structure, organization and function

Course Description

This course will follow the deposition of ionizing radiation in DNA, in cells, organs, and populations. We will discuss features which influence outcomes, such as the “size” of the target, repair of the target, and how epigenetic effects might modify outcomes (e.g., signaling processes from the membrane to the DNA). Focus will be placed on how the “quality” of the physical radiation exposure affects biological outcomes.

Required: E.J. Hall, Radiobiology for the Radiologist, 5th Edition, Philadelphia, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2000.

Optional: A.H.W. Nias, An Introduction to Radiobiology, Second Edition, John Wiley and Sons, 1998 (reprinted in 2000). B. Alberts, A. Johnson, J. Lewis, M. Raff, K. Roberts, P. Walter, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th Edition, Garland Science, a member of the Taylor & Francis Group, New York, NY 2002.

Topics covered in this course include:

• Introduction. What is expected in this course. History of radiation injuries in humans.
• Radiation Chemistry, Indirect effects of radiation. Free radicals and Reactive oxygen species.
• Radiation injury to DNA, Repair of DNA damage. Direct effects of radiation.
• Chromosomal damage and repair
• Target theory and cell survival curves. Single-hit, multitarget and linear-quadratic formalisms.
• Reproductive (clonogenic) cell death, cell cycle effects, molecular recovery, Apoptosis
• Radioprotectors, radiosensitizers
• Quality of ionizing radiations (linear energy transfer, LET). Effects of molecular oxygen.
• Tissue injuries: acute and delayed effects of radiation. Radiation carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, teratogenesis and other embryo/fetal effects.
• Risk estimates of radiation. History of linear no-threshold theory
• Predictions of cancers in populations, Radiation epidemiology. Evidence of cancers in populations.
• Tumor vs. normal tissue radiobiology. Time, dose, fractionation. Radiation hormesis.

Contact Information:  Michael Antosh

LEC: (3 crs.) Basic principles of radiation biology: factors that modify radiation response; linear energy transfer; relative biological effectiveness; tissue radiosensitivity; time-dose and fractionation; radiobiological modeling. Pre: PHY 210 or permission of instructor.