Clinical and Experimental Radiobiology Course

Program Award

We're pleased to announce that under Dr. Koritzinsky's leadership, the Radiobiology Course at UTDRO has received the Colin Woolf Award for Excellence in Program Development and Coordination, 2020-2021.

Program Overview

Clinical and Experimental Radiobiology is an award-winning five-day course that takes place at the University of Toronto in the Spring every year.

This program provides a comprehensive overview of radiation biology with a particular emphasis on aspects of direct relevance to the practice of radiation oncology. It addresses the molecular and cellular responses to radiation-induced damage that influence cell death in both tumors and normal tissues. Quantitation of radiation effects and the underlying biological basis for fractionation of radiotherapy and dose-response relationships in the clinic are covered in depth. The biological basis for current approaches to improve radiotherapy will be described including novel fractionation schemes, retreatment issues, targeting hypoxia, biological modifiers and combined radiotherapy/chemotherapy.

The suggested textbook for this course is Basic Clinical Radiobiology. It is strongly recommended that you read specified sections of this book before attending the course.

Dates and Registration

Course date & time: April 24, 2023 to April 28, 2023, Time 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET.

Final Question Period (Optional): TBD.

Exam: May 5, 2023, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (see details below)

Registration is open!

Location

This course will be offered in-person at the University of Toronto St. George campus for Toronto learners, and online via Zoom for those who cannot attend in person.

Program Schedule

You will find the 2023 Program Schedule web page here.

Online Exam

Canadian Learners: The exam will be held online on May 5, 2023 at 9:00am - 12:00pm at your local time in Canada.
International Learners: The exam time for international students will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Exam proctored locally - details will be sent directly to course participants and local coordinators.

Professional Accreditation

2023 credit breakdown is TBD.

Continuing Professional Development has awarded the 2022 Clinical and Experimental Radiobiology Program (via synchronous online learning) with the following credits:

Royal College Maintenance of Certification Section 1: 23.0 hours
Royal College Maintenance of Certification Section 3 Self-Assessment: 6.5 hours
American Medical Association Category 1: 29.5 credits

** Please read the next section carefully to understand if you need to take the exam to receive your preferred credits.

Who needs to take the exam?

The exam is mandatory for students seeking course credit at their educational institution. Learners who are taking this course for other reasons are not required to take the exam.

Learners who take and pass the exam will receive:

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – Section 1 credits
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – Section 3 credits
The American Medical Association - AMA PRA Category 1 credits
University of Toronto Certificate of Completion

Learners who do not take the exam or do not pass, will get:

University of Toronto's Certificate of Attendance
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – Section 1 credits.

Exam Passing Grade

70%

Program Goals and Learning Objectives

Apply novel forms of therapy, including combination therapy with chemotherapy and targeted agents to improve patient outcomes;
Improve the safety of radiation therapy and reduce side effects through an understanding of the biological principles involved;
Describe the key aspects of radiation biology that are of particular relevance to the practice of radiation oncology;
Predict the molecular and cellular responses to radiation-induced damage that influence cell death in both tumors and normal tissues;
Quantify the radiation effects and the underlying biological basis for fractionation of radiotherapy and dose-response relationships in the clinic;
Evaluate the biological basis for side effects that limit safe doses of treatment and retreatment.

Target Group

The course is designed primarily to address the needs of radiation oncology residents and physics residents who are in radiation oncology departments. In addition, the course will be valuable to new researchers in radiation biology and to radiation oncology fellows or practicing oncologists who recognize a lack of basic science or want to update their knowledge.

Course Faculty (2023)

University of Toronto Faculty

Dr. Marianne Koritzinsky, Course Director
Dr. Andrew Hope
Dr. Bradly Wouters
Dr. Craig Tim
Dr. David Hodgson
Dr. David Shultz
Dr. Fei-Fei Liu
Dr. Gerard Morton
Dr. Kathy Han
Dr. Patricia Lindsay
Dr. Scott Bratman
Dr. Stan Liu
Dr. Sten Myrehaug
Dr. Sylvia Ng

International Faculty

Dr. Michael Joiner (Wayne State University, Detroit, MI)
Dr. Albert van der Kogel (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI)

Textbook