RDONC 7080 - Radiation Biology

The interaction of ionizing radiations with biological materials, including a brief description of the initial processes of ionization, the generation of reactive molecular species, DNA damage, whole cell effects and tissue-specific and whole animal responses. Emphasis is placed on the continuity between initial insult, molecular processing (sensitizer/protector effects, repair), the consequences for whole cells (death, apoptosis, cell cycle delays, mutation induction, transformation) and the organism (acute response syndromes, somatic and inheritable mutations, tumor cell kinetics, and late effects such as the development of malignancy and tissue fibrosis). Students are familiarized with quantitative assays of radiation effects, comprising the classical radiobiological aspects of the course, but also with current concepts of molecular mechanisms that have derived from studies of both lower and higher Eukaryote biology.