The RadExIORSBoost Twinning Horizon Europe Project was honored to welcome Professor Emerita of Radiation Biology Catharine West from the University of Manchester, UK, for an expert visit that significantly enhanced our knowledge and understanding of individual radiosensitivity and radiogenomics. This visit, a key part of the project’s goal to increase expertise and scientific excellence by working and knowledge transfer with distinguished experts in the field of radiobiology, was very successful. Professor West gave an outstanding lecture entitled “Radiosensitivity and Radiogenomics” at the National Library of Serbia. The lecture was opened to the broader scientific and academic community, including members of the RadExIORSBoost Project team, researchers from IORS and other scientific institutions, radiation oncologists, and healthcare professionals. Professor West’s lecture showed her important role in founding the Radiogenomics Consortium, and her pioneering work in this field. She shared what she has learned from her extensive research within the Translational Radiobiology Group, which she established. The inspiring lecture provided a comprehensive overview of biological mechanisms underlying normal tissue reactions to radiotherapy and genome-wide association studies of polymorphic gene variants in association with radiotherapy toxicity, in addition to perspectives and future directions in radiogenomics for predicting individual radiosensitivity and personalized radiotherapy approach. Her long-term research work in radiobiology was recognized internationally, especially her Lifetime Achievement award from the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) in 2023.
Prof. West generously dedicated her time to valuable meetings with our project team members, providing expert advice on project and research management and actionable steps to ensure our project’s success and excellence. Professor West’s visit provided the RadExIORSBoost project team members a unique opportunity to learn more about the latest progress in radiogenomics, acquire new state-of-the-art knowledge from a distinguished expert, widen the project’s research perspectives, and obtain precious advice to increase collaboration with international experts and visibility at national and international level. This visit will have a lasting impact on our current and future radiobiology research.
The RadExIORSBoost project team would like to express sincere gratitude to Prof. Catharine West for sharing her time, knowledge, expertise, and vision with us.
