ESTRO 2022 - Abstract Book

S753

Abstract book

ESTRO 2022

Young lunch symposium + networking: Increasing the impact of your research

SP-0035 A. Nisbet (UK) - Abstract not available SP-0036 H. McNair (UK) - Abstract not available SP-0037 W. van Elmpt (The Netherlands) - Abstract not available SP-0038 L. Muren (Denmark) - Abstract not available

SP-0839 Acing that grant application

M. Bogowicz 1

1 Department of Radiation Oncology (Maastro), GROW School for Oncology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands Abstract Text It is not easy to convince somebody to invest their money in you. It is no different for acquiring money for your research project. Writing a grant application is a long process, which requires knowledge and creativity, but also a lot of administrative work. Additionally, as a young researcher you need to convince the reviewers not only that your project is interesting and impactful, but also that you are the person they should invest in and this project is important for your career development. In this presentation, I will give some tips on: how to organize your work during application preparation; how to present your ideas in a convincing and structured way; and finally which mistakes to avoid.

Symposium: Lethal DNA double strand breaks production: Quality over quantity?

SP-0840 Modelling the production of lethal DSBs

S. McMahon 1

1 Queen's University Belfast, Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Belfast, United Kingdom

Abstract Text It is widely acknowledged that DNA Double Strand Breaks (DSBs) are the key driver of the cellular lethality following ionising radiation. Improved understanding of how these breaks are generated, how the cell responds to them and their eventual fate are key to improving our understanding of radiotherapy and other radiation exposures. As a result, DSB induction and repair have been a major focus of radiobiological modelling, as investigators seek to understand both radiation responses in general, as well as specific effects such as the greater Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation. Models of DSB induction have evolved from early phenomenological approaches into modern Monte Carlo modelling based approaches which simulate in full detail how energy is deposited within the cell, and the subsequent radiochemistry. These interactions take place in simulations of realistic cellular geometries incorporating the full structure of DNA including individual bases, nucleosomes and higher-order chromosome territories. This allows for realistic predictions of DNA damage, in particular single- and double-strand breaks, with a minimum of free parameters. These approaches have been shown to effectively reproduce trends in DSB quantity across a range of experimental systems and measurement approaches, indicating they effectively reproduce the underlying trends in total yields of DSBs. Moreover, modern DNA damage simulations enable a detailed classification of the quality of DSBs. These range from ‘simple’ DSBs which consist only of two individual strand breaks, to ‘complex’ DSBs which also involve additional nearby strand breaks or base modifications, and ‘clustered’ DSBs which involve DSBs in proximity. However, how these features combine to give rise to lethality remains an outstanding question. The lethality of a given break depends on a number of factors, including both the cell’s genetic background and its current environment, indicating