RADIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ACCELERATOR FACILITY (RARAF)

Summary

Principal Investigator: DAVID JONATHAN BRENNER
Affiliation: Columbia University
Country: USA
Abstract: The technology development component focuses on four areas which our users have identified as ripe for enhancement: improved accuracy, enhanced imaging capabilities, extension of the charged-particle microbeam to X rays; and development of a simple stand-alone microbeam that can be used without physics support and can be potentially exported to other labs. A highlight regarding improved accuracy and reliability is that we have just received a $2M NIH high-end equipment grant (plus institutional support) for a new particle accelerator, central to the microbeam facility, which will be installed under the auspices of this P-41 grant. Highlights regarding enhanced imaging and sensor technology will be an on-line custom multi-photon imaging system to allow time-lapse fluorescent imaging of early (scale of seconds to minutes) radiation events in individual live cells, a new imaging system based on quantitative phase microscopy to image live cells and cell nuclei without use of potentially cytotoxic stains, and a system for single-cell microsensors to monitor the flux of molecules such as oxygen and NO, in microbeam-irradiated individual cells. In collaboration with a variety of investigators from outside and within Columbia University, 20 collaborative and service-based research projects are described, which both drive and utilize the new resources. All are logical outgrowths of current federally funded research In addition to the ongoing training of undergraduates, graduate students, and post docs, training will be enhanced through formal programs for high school students, high school teachers, and undergraduates. In addition to dissemination of material through talks, our website, and peer-reviewed publications, we will run a 2nd International Workshop "Imaging and Probing Individual Cells: Application to Signaling, Structure and Function", as well as the biannual "International Workshop on Microbeam Probes of Cellular Radiation Response".
Funding Period: 1996-09-30 - 2009-08-31
more information: NIH RePORT

Top Publications

  1. ncbi Stress-specific signatures: expression profiling of p53 wild-type and -null human cells
    Sally A Amundson
    Gene Response Section, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
    Oncogene 24:4572-9. 2005
  2. ncbi Investigation of the ionisation density dependence of the glow curve characteristics of LIF:MG,TI (TLD-100)
    Y S Horowitz
    Physics Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel
    Radiat Prot Dosimetry 131:406-13. 2008
  3. ncbi Microbeam-integrated multiphoton imaging system
    Alan W Bigelow
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA
    Rev Sci Instrum 79:123707. 2008
  4. ncbi Expanding the question-answering potential of single-cell microbeams at RARAF, USA
    Alan Bigelow
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, Irvington, New York 10533 0021, USA
    J Radiat Res 50:A21-8. 2009
  5. ncbi Microbeam irradiation of the C. elegans nematode
    Antonella Bertucci
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
    J Radiat Res 50:A49-54. 2009
  6. ncbi Advances in radiobiological studies using a microbeam
    Tom K Hei
    Center for Radiological Research, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
    J Radiat Res 50:A7-A12. 2009
  7. ncbi Is there a place for quantitative risk assessment?
    Eric J Hall
    Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
    J Radiol Prot 29:A171-84. 2009
  8. ncbi A new view of radiation-induced cancer: integrating short- and long-term processes. Part II: second cancer risk estimation
    Igor Shuryak
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Radiat Environ Biophys 48:275-86. 2009
  9. ncbi A new view of radiation-induced cancer: integrating short- and long-term processes. Part I: approach
    Igor Shuryak
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Radiat Environ Biophys 48:263-74. 2009
  10. ncbi Reduction of the secondary neutron dose in passively scattered proton radiotherapy, using an optimized pre-collimator/collimator
    David J Brenner
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Phys Med Biol 54:6065-78. 2009

Scientific Experts

  • DAVID JONATHAN BRENNER
  • Igor Shuryak
  • TOM HEI
  • Rainer Sachs
  • Olga A Sedelnikova
  • Alan Bigelow
  • Antonella Bertucci
  • Eric J Hall
  • Stephen A Marino
  • Sally A Amundson
  • Y S Horowitz
  • G Jeff Sykora
  • Eli S Williams
  • G Garty
  • L B Smilenov
  • Aiping Zhu
  • Charles R Geard
  • Oleg V Belyakov
  • Mykyta V Sokolov
  • S Marino
  • M Margaliot
  • A Horowitz
  • H Datz
  • L Oster
  • Jeroen Essers
  • Martijn S Luijsterburg
  • Brian Ponnaiya
  • Mark S Akselrod
  • Jacob A Aten
  • Przemek M Krawczyk
  • M Salasky
  • Jan Stap
  • Susan M Bailey
  • Robert L Ullrich
  • W M Bonner
  • G Randers-Pehrson
  • E J Hall
  • G J Ross
  • Igor G Panyutin
  • Paul Meltzer
  • Howard B Lieberman
  • Stephen A Mitchell
  • Jeffrey M Trent
  • Albert J Fornace
  • Gerhard Randers-Pehrson
  • Christine A Koch-Paiz
  • Michael L Bittner
  • S A Amundson
  • William M Bonner
  • Lisa Vinikoor
  • Corinne Leloup
  • Lubomir B Smilenov
  • Deep Parikh
  • Khanh T Do
  • Hongning Zhou

Detail Information

Publications23

  1. ncbi Stress-specific signatures: expression profiling of p53 wild-type and -null human cells
    Sally A Amundson
    Gene Response Section, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
    Oncogene 24:4572-9. 2005
    ..A set of 16 genes did exhibit a robust p53-dependent pattern of induction in response to all nine DNA-damaging agents, however...
  2. ncbi Investigation of the ionisation density dependence of the glow curve characteristics of LIF:MG,TI (TLD-100)
    Y S Horowitz
    Physics Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel
    Radiat Prot Dosimetry 131:406-13. 2008
    ....
  3. ncbi Microbeam-integrated multiphoton imaging system
    Alan W Bigelow
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA
    Rev Sci Instrum 79:123707. 2008
    ..Design details and biology applications using this enhanced 3D-imaging technique at RARAF are reviewed...
  4. ncbi Expanding the question-answering potential of single-cell microbeams at RARAF, USA
    Alan Bigelow
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, Irvington, New York 10533 0021, USA
    J Radiat Res 50:A21-8. 2009
    ..Additionally, an update on the status of the other biology oriented microbeams in the Americas is provided...
  5. ncbi Microbeam irradiation of the C. elegans nematode
    Antonella Bertucci
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
    J Radiat Res 50:A49-54. 2009
    ..We used the RARAF microbeam to site specifically deliver 3 MeV protons to a site in the tail of young worms. GFP expression was enhanced after 24 hours in a number dependent manner at distances > 100 microm from the site of irradiation...
  6. ncbi Advances in radiobiological studies using a microbeam
    Tom K Hei
    Center for Radiological Research, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
    J Radiat Res 50:A7-A12. 2009
    ..The identification of specific signaling pathways provides mechanistic insight on the nature of the bystander process...
  7. ncbi Is there a place for quantitative risk assessment?
    Eric J Hall
    Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
    J Radiol Prot 29:A171-84. 2009
    ..These three examples, where uncertainties in quantitative risk estimates result in important practical problems, will be discussed...
  8. ncbi A new view of radiation-induced cancer: integrating short- and long-term processes. Part II: second cancer risk estimation
    Igor Shuryak
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Radiat Environ Biophys 48:275-86. 2009
    ..Potentially, the model can be incorporated into radiotherapy treatment planning algorithms, adding second cancer risk as an optimization criterion...
  9. ncbi A new view of radiation-induced cancer: integrating short- and long-term processes. Part I: approach
    Igor Shuryak
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Radiat Environ Biophys 48:263-74. 2009
    ....
  10. ncbi Reduction of the secondary neutron dose in passively scattered proton radiotherapy, using an optimized pre-collimator/collimator
    David J Brenner
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Phys Med Biol 54:6065-78. 2009
    ....
  11. ncbi Biophysical models of radiation bystander effects: 1. Spatial effects in three-dimensional tissues
    Igor Shuryak
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
    Radiat Res 168:741-9. 2007
    ..These assumptions are implemented by a mathematical formalism and computational algorithms. The model adequately describes data on bystander responses in the 3D system using a small number of adjustable parameters...
  12. ncbi Reducing second breast cancers: a potential role for prophylactic mammary irradiation
    David J Brenner
    Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
    J Clin Oncol 25:4868-72. 2007
  13. ncbi Second cancers after fractionated radiotherapy: stochastic population dynamics effects
    Rainer K Sachs
    Departments of Mathematics and of Physics, University of California, 970 Evans Hall, MC 3840, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
    J Theor Biol 249:518-31. 2007
    ....
  14. ncbi Biological effects in unirradiated human tissue induced by radiation damage up to 1 mm away
    Oleg V Belyakov
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102:14203-8. 2005
    ....
  15. ncbi Ionizing radiation induces DNA double-strand breaks in bystander primary human fibroblasts
    Mykyta V Sokolov
    Department of Nuclear Medicine, Clinical Center, NIH, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
    Oncogene 24:7257-65. 2005
    ..These studies show that H2AX phosphorylation is an early step in the bystander effect and that the DNA DSBs underlying gamma-H2AX focus formation may be responsible for its downstream manifestations...
  16. ncbi Differential impact of mouse Rad9 deletion on ionizing radiation-induced bystander effects
    Aiping Zhu
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA
    Radiat Res 164:655-61. 2005
    ..Results are presented in the context of defining the function of Rad9 in the cellular response to radiation and its differential effects on individual bystander end points...
  17. ncbi A microbeam study of DNA double-strand breaks in bystander primary human fibroblasts
    L B Smilenov
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Radiat Prot Dosimetry 122:256-9. 2006
    ..The delay and persistence of the bystander response suggests a different mechanism of DSB induction in bystander cells than in directly irradiated cells...
  18. ncbi Radiation-induced leukemia at doses relevant to radiation therapy: modeling mechanisms and estimating risks
    Igor Shuryak
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West 168th St, New York, NY 10032, USA
    J Natl Cancer Inst 98:1794-806. 2006
    ....
  19. ncbi Testing the stand-alone microbeam at Columbia University
    G Garty
    Columbia University, Radiological Research Accelerator Facility, 136 S Broadway, Irvington, NY 10533, USA
    Radiat Prot Dosimetry 122:292-6. 2006
    ..It also makes the microbeam simple and cheap enough to be realised in any large lab. The Microbeam design as well as first tests of its performance, using an accelerator-based beam are presented here...
  20. ncbi DNA double-strand breaks form in bystander cells after microbeam irradiation of three-dimensional human tissue models
    Olga A Sedelnikova
    Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
    Cancer Res 67:4295-302. 2007
    ..Thus, this study points to the importance of considering the indirect biological effects of radiation in cancer risk assessment...
  21. ncbi Novel Al2O3:C,Mg fluorescent nuclear track detectors for passive neutron dosimetry
    G Jeff Sykora
    Landauer, Inc, Stillwater Crystal Growth Division, Stillwater, OK 74074, USA
    Radiat Prot Dosimetry 126:278-83. 2007
    ..A specially developed image processing technique allows for fast fluorescent track identification and counting. The readout method is non-destructive, and detectors can be reused after thermal annealing...
  22. ncbi DNA double-strand breaks are not sufficient to initiate recruitment of TRF2
    Eli S Williams
    Nat Genet 39:696-8; author reply 698-9. 2007
  23. ncbi Extrapolating radiation-induced cancer risks from low doses to very low doses
    David J Brenner
    Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Health Phys 97:505-9. 2009
    ....