Cancer conference held at Queen's

Around 200 world-leading scientists have today descended upon Queen's University in Belfast, to discuss the cutting-edge advances in cancer tumour therapy, new energy sources and our understanding of some of the drivers of global climate change.

Delegates from over 20 countries around the world, including many participants from Germany, Japan and the United States, have gathered at Queen’s for the 13th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions.

The prestigious event, which will be held on the campus from today until to Friday September 1, is taking place in Ireland for the first time.

Keynote speakers include Professor John D Gillaspy from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland, along with Professor Melvyn Folkard from the Gray Cancer Institute in England.

Professor Gillaspy will discuss how the use of highly charged ions in radiotherapy can lead to more effective cancer treatment, while Professor Folkard will present the latest research findings on the effects of exposure of cells and tissue to cancer-causing ionising radiation.

The speakers will also discuss how radiobiological research seeks to improve our understanding of how ionising radiation interacts with living systems and to assess the risks associated with occupational and environmental levels of radiation, which are presently not well understood.

The conference has been organised by academics from Queen's in partnership with colleagues from University College Dublin and Dublin City University.

Co-chair of the organising committee Queen's Professor Bob McCullough said: "At Queen’s research in the field of highly-charged ions is a major part of the research programme of our new International Research Centre for Experimental Physics, IRCEP, which was opened just last year and we are therefore delighted to be hosting this conference.

"International collaborative research in highly charged ions is playing a major role in extending the frontiers of knowledge and generating exciting new discoveries and avenues of investigation. This is illustrated by our programme here at Queen's University which is now part of a major EU programme on the applications of highly charged ions in medicine and engineering."

The event has been part-funded by the International Fund for Ireland through financial assistance administered by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and is supported by the Journal of Physics B: a journal of the Institute of Physics.

(EF/KMcA)