Nesteruk Lab -

Lab for Dose Delivery Technology R&D in Particle Therapy

Full-time postdoctoral Research Fellow position in the Nesteruk Lab

We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow to join the Nesteruk Lab (Dose Delivery Technology R&D in Particle Therapy) at the Physics Division in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

The successful candidate will work on developing a compact fixed beamline solution incorporating Fixed-Field Alternating Gradient (FFA) technology and a novel ultra-fast energy degrader for ultra-rapid dose delivery in proton therapy. The main goals of the project are to: (a) enable effective and more efficient treatment of moving targets, (b) increase the patient throughput, (c) reduce overall costs of proton therapy facilities. The latter two goals have an overarching aim to improve worldwide accessibility of proton therapy.

The project is funded by the National Cancer Institute and will be realized in an international academic-industrial consortium that includes the University of Melbourne (Australia) and Pyramid Technical Consultants, Inc. The successful candidate will be appointed as a Research Fellow at the Harvard Medical School.

The responsibilities fall in the following areas:

Designing the ultra-fast energy degrader system;

Designing and optimizing beam transport for ultra-fast dose delivery;

Incorporating fast pencil beam scanning in the design and complete simulation of dose delivery;

Optimizing beam extraction segment connecting the beamline with an accelerator for a compact single-room facility;

Technology validations at the MGH’s experimental proton beamline and the University of Melbourne’s Pelletron facility.

Qualifications:

Required

Ph.D. in physics, engineering, or a related area

Basic knowledge of accelerator physics with a focus on beam dynamics

Strong programming and computing skills

Interest in radiation therapy

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Willingness to collaborate closely with project partners and to travel internationally

Desired

Experience with Monte Carlo simulations and/or beam optics calculations

Experience with electromagnetic modelling

Basic knowledge of proton therapy physics

Experimental background

Environment:

The postdoctoral fellow will primarily work in the Radiation Biophysics Division of Massachusetts General Hospital and will be part of an inspiring research environment as a member of a diverse research team. MGH is an equal opportunity employer. We highly value diversity and encourage international and minority candidates to apply.

To Apply:

A 1-page statement describing areas of research interest and career goals

Curriculum vitae with a complete list of publications

Contact information of 3 persons serving as references

Please email these documents to:

Konrad Nesteruk, Ph.D.

knesteruk@mgh.harvard.edu

Application deadline: April 15, 2024

Nesteruk Lab – Our mission

The mission of our lab is to improve the precision and efficiency of dose delivery in particle therapy through technology. It is at the intersection of physics and engineering to develop technology that will contribute to better treatment outcomes and improved accessibility of particle therapy. This involves accelerator and detector physics, beam instrumentation, and image guidance innovations. New developments aim to optimize dose delivery with particular emphasis on moving targets, reduce the overall treatment time and size of future facilities, and enable new dose delivery techniques.