Sawakuchi Laboratory

Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of various types of cancers. There are various types of therapeutic radiation sources including x-ray, proton and C-ion beams. These radiation sources have different physical properties, resulting in different patterns of energy deposition at the nanoscopic level. Consequently, different types of radiation produce different types of DNA lesions.

Our laboratory currently focuses on the study of DNA damage response induced by x-ray, proton and C-ion therapeutic radiations. Our goal is to find weak links in the chain of events of radiation-induced DNA damage response that could be leveraged to radiosensitize tumors as well as stimulate the immune system to combat tumors while minimizing toxicity to healthy tissue. We work at the interface of radiation biology and translational radiation oncology. Particularly, we have been studying how therapeutic proton and C-ion beams damage DNA and how cells repair those damages.

We develop and utilize time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to image biochemical processes in live cells. Additionally, we develop novel experimental techniques to measure radiation at the sub-structure cell level. We utilize Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport to understand the response of biological systems.