ESTRO 2023
From 12th to 16th May 2023, representatives from the MCRC attended ESTRO 2023 in Austria, Vienna, alongside many esteemed radiotherapy colleagues for Europe’s largest industry exhibition in radiation oncology. This year’s congress theme, From innovation to action, focused on how we can translate and implement research into practice. The conference boasted numerous erudite speakers with a strong and extensive Manchester cohort.
“The quantity and calibre of our researchers representing Manchester research at ESTRO 2023 truly reflected our strengths and research expertise in Radiotherapy Related Research. It was a pleasure to attend these talks and watch our experts discuss their research on this international stage. I was also proud to share research from my own lab about genomics-specific selection of radiotherapy patients focusing specifically on hypoxia and genetic instability.”– Professor Robert Bristow, Director of the MCRC
Awards
Professor Catharine West
The formidable Professor Catharine west made her mark at ESTRO 2023 by receiving an ESTRO Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her extensive work in radiobiology and radiotherapy biomarkers.
“It is a great honour to be recognised for the contributions to the field of radiotherapy related research made by me, the Translational Radiobiology group and Manchester.” ~ Professor Catharine West
Dr Azadeh Abravan
The brilliant Dr Azadeh Abravan was awarded the Elsevier Young Researcher award at ESTRO 2023. She was also appointed as a new member of the yESTRO committee.
“Receiving the Elsevier Young Researcher Award at the ESTRO2023 conference was an incredibly gratifying experience. The recognition of this work filled me with immense pride and motivation. Following my previous recognition by ESTRO and being given the opportunity to deliver the highest scoring abstract under the physics track as my award lecture in ESTRO 2019, this prestigious award not only validates my contributions to the scientific community but also serves as an affirmation of the impact my research has on improving patient outcomes. I am grateful for the support of my team in Manchester and my international collaborators, as their contributions were vital to the success of this work. The honour bestowed upon me by Elsevier and ESTRO has further fuelled my passion for pushing the boundaries of knowledge in cancer treatment. I am truly grateful for this acknowledgment, and it inspires me to continue my pursuit of excellence in my research endeavours.” ~ Dr Azadeh Abravan
Professor Marcel Van Herk
Professor Marcel Van Herk will be presented at ESTRO 2024 with the Van der Shueren Award for his continuous commitment to the education and training of Radiotherapy Professionals.
“I was honoured but rather surprised to be given this award for my teaching contribution as I only thought of teaching as a small part of my career. But in hindsight, I have taught many thousands of students, mostly in ESTRO courses that I have been doing since 1999. I especially like bringing in computer software originally developed for research such as the Big Brother software in the Target Volume Delineation course. Recently, I developed bespoke software to compare dozens of plans in the Advanced Treatment Planning course.” ~ Professor Marcel Van Herk
Nominations
Professor Marianne Aznar
Professor Marianne Aznar has been appointed as the new Physics Representative on the ESTRO board in the ESTRO 2023 elections.
“Being elected to the board of ESTRO is a unique opportunity to represent medical physics within radiation oncology and multidisciplinary cancer care and research. I feel honoured that my ESTRO colleagues have trusted me with this important role. ‘Team Science’ is a core value of the MCRC and The University of Manchester, and this strongly aligns with ESTRO’s vision.” ~ Professor Marianne Aznar
Peter Hoskin, Catharine West, Marcel Van-Herk
Azadeh Abravan
Networking
ESTRO 2023 facilitated many important discussions for our researchers and was used to establish more collaborations and partnerships. Our researchers used this international gathering of radiotherapy experts to discuss ongoing and prospective collaborations with colleagues from Dresden, Toronto, Melbourne and Sydney. We look forward to progressing these discussions in the near future.
Marcel Van Herk, Steffen Loeck (Dresden), Anna Dubroska (Dresden), Robert Bristow, Esther Troost (Dresden), Peter Hoskin, Christian Richter (Dresden)
MCRC – Christie ESTRO 2023 Academic Reception
One of our highlights of ESTRO 2023 was our Academic Reception hosted with The Christie School of Oncology. The event was an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and alumni from our fellowship programmes who have since gone on to lead clincial laboratories across the globe. Taking place on Sunday 14th May, our Reception boasted a brilliant selection of attendees from here in Manchester as well as our international colleagues from places such as Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia and Oncoray in Germany.
The event offered a large space at Zoku Vienna where a comprehensive range of food and drink was provided for our attendees. It was a valued opportunity for networking with our Christie fellows, former colleagues, collaborators and alumni from our programmes.
After the success of this event, we hope to follow on with future events at some other of our main conferences.
