Institut Curie is a major player in the research and fight against cancer. It consists of a Hospital group and a Research Center of more than 3000 employees with a strong international representativeness. The objective of the Research Center is to develop basic research and to use the knowledge produced to improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics of cancers as part of the continuum between basic research and innovation serving the patient.

The Orsay Proton therapy Center (CPO) founded in 1991 is part of the radiation oncology department at Institut Curie hospital group, which is one of the European-wide recognition as a Comprehensive Cancer Center of excellence. This position will be associated with a research project at Institut Curie whose goal is to develop new treatment delivery methods for very-high energy electrons (VHEE) treatments, and their application to FLASH radiotherapy, and is an exciting opportunity to join the radiation therapy research activities in Orsay, within the hospital and the research center.

Laboratory

The Laboratory of Translational Imaging in Oncology (LITO) is a research unit (U1288) supported by Inserm (= French NIH) and Institut Curie, the first cancer center in France (https://www.lito-web.fr/). LITO has approximately 30 researchers, including physicists, engineers, physicians, pharmacists, and technologists.

Context

Radiation therapy is currently one of the main techniques used for cancer treatment. More than 50% of patients treated for cancer - about 180,000 per year in France - benefit from it. Over the last thirty years, numerous technical advances have made it possible to considerably improve the conformation of irradiation to the specific characteristics of each tumour and to reduce their side effects. Nevertheless, the tolerance of healthy tissues remains the main limitation of this type of treatment, particularly in the case of particularly radiosensitive patients, such as children, for whom controlling the side effects of radiotherapy remains a major therapeutic challenge. Recently, pioneering work conducted at Institut Curie has shown that ultra-high dose rate irradiation (known as FLASH) has a major effect in sparing healthy tissue - while preserving anti-tumor efficacy (Favaudon et al 2014).

VHEE radiotherapy (very-high energy electrons, in the energy range of 100 to 250 MeV), first proposed in the 2000s, would be particularly accurate and independent of tissue heterogeneities (unlike low energy electrons or protons), and could be applicable in a large number of deep anatomical localizations. It is also potentially much less expensive than other radiotherapy techniques, and would allow accelerated treatment, for example through magnetic scanning of particle beams, with high doses per fraction, thereby improving its effectiveness. It is also possible to take advantage of recent work on FLASH - in which a high dose is administered to the tissues in an extremely short time - allowing the simultaneous reduction in the occurrence and severity of early and late complications affecting normal tissues, while maintaining control of the tumour (Ronga et al 2021).

It is however important for the clinical development of VHEE electron beams to consider the contribution to the equivalent dose received by the patient of neutrons, photons and induced radioactivity at very high energy, and to evaluate the production of neutrons, photons and radioactivity from the radiation protection point of view (patients and workers). As Monte Carlo techniques are the golden standard for radiation transport calculations, the applicant will therefore simulate the irradiation and possible contribution from secondary particles during VHEE treatments, and assess the feasibility of VHEE irradiation within standard radioprotection levels in a conventional bunker.

Candidate Profile

 The candidate must hold a PhD or Master degree in radiation physics, medical physics or detection physics • Radiation­ matter interactions / radiation therapy / dosimetry • Preferred expertise and experience in one or more of the following areas: programming skills (MATLAB, Python, C++) – Monte Carlo simulations (ex: Geant4/TOPAS) – Measurements – Treatment planning. You will also be expected to have experience in working as part of a multidisciplinary team.

All our opportunities are open to people with disabilities 

Contract information

 Type of contract: Fixed-term contract.

Starting date:  as soon as possible

Duration: 24-36 months

Working time: full time- number of days

Remuneration: according to the current grids

Benefits: Collective catering, reimbursement of transportation fees up to 70%, supplementary health insurance

Location of the position: Orsay

Reference: NA

Contact

Please apply by e-mail (CV + application letter + references/support letter) to

Publication date: April 4, 2025

Deadline for application: June 30, 2025

References

V. Favaudon, L. Caplier, V. Monceau, F. Pouzoulet, M. Sayarath, C. Fouillade, M. F. Poupon, I. Brito, P. Hupe, J. Bourhis, J. Hall, J. J. Fontaine, M. C. Vozenin, Ultrahigh dose-rate FLASH irradiation increases the differential response between normal and tumour tissue in mice, Sci Transl Med 6 (2014) 245ra93.

Ronga, M. G., Cavallone, M., Patriarca, A., Leite, A. M., Loap, P., Favaudon, V., Créhange, G., & De Marzi, L. (2021). Back to the Future: Very High-Energy Electrons (VHEEs) and Their Potential Application in Radiation Therapy. Cancers, 13(19), 4942.

Lagzda, A. VHEE Radiotherapy Studies at CLARA and CLEAR Facilities (The University of Manchester, 2019).

Institut Curie is an inclusive, equal opportunity employer

and is dedicated to the highest standards of research integrity.

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/brochures/eur_21620_en-fr.pdf