ProfessorAnnette Haworth

I lead a team of physicists, computer scientists, doctors, surgeons and pathologists working together to devise radiation therapy treatments that are tailored to the specific patient. Unlike other treatments where the same radiation dose is delivered to all patients with the same type of tumour, our goal is customise the radiation dose to the specific patient, not the specific tumour. We want to deliver just the right amount of radiation to cure each cancer without causing lasting side effects. Our team is working on methods using AI and medical imaging techniques to define the biological distribution of cells in a cancer. We want to design and deliver radiation treatments whereby only the treatment resistant cells get very large doses of radiation, whilst the less aggressive cells get lower doses. This way we can maximise the chances of effectively treating the cancer whilst minimising the radiation dose, and hence harm, to the healthy surrounding tissue.

Our research aligns with the Faculty of Science Research Strengths - Understanding Disease & Disorder in Humans, Precision and Digital Health, Preventing and Treating Disease & Disorder, Data and Decisions.