Current Projects

A Prospective Pilot Study of Urine microRNA as a Biomarker of Urinary Toxicity Following Prostate SBRT (PI: Dr. Jonathan Leeman): Investigating urine microRNA as a potential early biomarker of urinary toxicity for patients receiving prostate SBRT.

Analysis of Set-Up and Planning Target Volume (PTV) Uncertainty for Patients Undergoing SBRT for Bone Metastases (PI: Dr. Mai Anh Huynh): Analysis on the degree of set up uncertainty and how frequently shifts are needed to gain valuable understanding of PTV margins required for optimal treatment delivery while minimizing patient time on treatment table.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Heart Auto-Contouring for Radiotherapy Planning Assistance in Localized Breast Cancer (PIs: Dr. Raymond Mak and Dr. Danielle Bitterman): Exploring whether artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to accelerate the heart contouring process for patients undergoing breast cancer radiation planning, without sacrificing quality of the contour.

Biomarkers in Sarcomas (PI: Dr. Miranda Lam): Investigating whether patients with sarcoma have detectable circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) signatures and detectable metabolic blood markers, and whether these correlate to clinical outcomes and pathology.

Biomarkers of Thoracic Radiation Therapy for Lung Tumors (PI: Dr. David Kozono): Analyzing biomarkers in blood samples in patients receiving radiation treatment to the lungs.

CircUlating Biomarkers in Cervix Cancer (CUBICC) (PI: Dr. Martin King): Searching for potential circulating biomarkers in vaginal, cervical, and endometrial cancers.

Circulating Tumor DNA in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer (PI: Dr. Kent Mouw): Measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from plasma of bladder cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment.

ctDNA in Patients with Oligometastatic Disease Receiving Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (PI: Dr. Mai Anh Huynh): Measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels in patients receiving SBRT to the bone or nodes to establish biomarkers of radiation treatment response.

Detection and evaluation of serum microRNA expression following radiation therapy for pediatric and total body irradiation treatment populations (PI: Dr. Daphne Haas-Kogan): Investigating changes to circulating microRNAs in patients receiving Total Body Irradiation (TBI).

Development of Natural Language Processing of Clinical Notes during Radiotherapy Treatment to Predict Trends and Outcomes (PI: Dr. Danielle Bitterman): Developing an algorithm to extract data from clinic notes for scalable analysis.

Examining Biomarkers in Neoadjuvant Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer (PI: Dr. David Kozono): Researching how molecular markers of lung cancer are impacted by neoadjuvant radiation therapy in conjunction with surgery and chemotherapy.

Effective Radiation Therapy on Spinal Soft Tissues (PI: Dr. David Kozono): Examining intervertebral discs to understand how radiation can affect these tissues and impact overall spine health.

Genomic correlates of radiation necrosis following radiotherapeutic management of brain metastases (PI: Dr. Ayal Aizer): To identify genetic markers that correlate with increased risk of toxicity from radiation therapy to treat brain metastases.

Immune Cell Biomarkers in Radio-Recurrent Prostate Cancer (PI: Dr. Martin King): Investigating systemic changes of the adaptive immune response in patients with recurrent prostate cancer receiving HDR brachytherapy (short-range radiation therapy).

Methods for Biological Age Prediction in Patients who Receive Radiotherapy (PI: Dr. Raymond Mak): Using digital photographs taken to identify patients receiving radiation, to look for features that allow comparisons between biological and chronological age of patients.

Patients with Esophageal Cancer and Brain Metastases (PI: Dr. Harvey Mamon): Characterizing the clinical outcomes of patients with esophageal cancer and brain metastases using clinical and molecular data.

Predicting Fracture Risk in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy for Spinal Cord Metastases (PI: Dr. Tracy Balboni): Utilizing bone remodeling markers to predict the impact of radiation on the spine for patients with spine cancer.

T2 SPACE Sequence for SBRT Spinal Cord Delineation (PI: Dr. Tracy Balboni): Review of spine contours to compare imaging modalities for treatment planning.