Radiation Oncology Speakers

Professor Laura Dawson

MD, FASTRO

Laura Dawson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto, and a practicing radiation oncologist at the Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, in Toronto.

Professor Laura Dawson is an internationally recognised leader in hepatobiliary cancer and in oligo-metastases. Her research has primarily focused on implementation of advanced radiation technologies (e.g., stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and image guided radiation therapy (IGRT)) to improve outcomes and to reduce the risk of toxicity of cancer patients. Prof Dawson has led phase I, II and more recently, phase III clinical trials of radiation therapy to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastases. Prof Dawson has published over 200 scientific papers and has mentored over 50 students from around the world. She has received numerous awards for her teaching, research and impact in oncology. Prof Dawson was the 2018 Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) Gordon Richards lecturer, and the past Chair and past President of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Professor Charlotte Coles

Professor of Breast Cancer Clinical Oncology, University of Cambridge, UK. 

Charlotte Coles is a Professor of Breast Cancer Clinical Oncology at the University of Cambridge in the UK. 

Professor Coles led IMPORT Low, showing partial-breast radiotherapy was non-inferior to whole-breast with similar or reduced toxicity. Professor Coles leads IMPORT High with five-year results showing efficacy and safety of hypofractionated simultaneous integrated boost. Prof Coles is a member of the FAST-Forward Trial Management Group, demonstrating that one-week is non-inferior to three-week radiotherapy with similar side-effects. These trials have informed guidelines and are internationally practice changing. Prof Coles leads PRIMETIME: biomarker-directed omission of breast radiotherapy; and PARABLE, the first UK breast proton beam therapy trial. 

Prof Coles was awarded a NIHR Research Professorship and leads the Cancer Research UK RadNet Cambridge Centre of Excellence, developing a translational pipeline from radiation discovery science to clinical trials. In 2023, Prof Coles was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences and awarded the Royal College of Radiologists’ Gold Medal. Prof Coles chaired the Lancet Breast Cancer Commission, published in 2024, that addresses global health and equity challenges. 

Associate Professor Piet Ost

Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Ghent University and Chair of the EORTC Radiation Oncology Research Council 

Piet Ost is Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Ghent University and Chair of the EORTC Radiation Oncology Research Council. 

A/Prof Ost completed his training to board certified radiation oncologist at Ghent University in 2012. He became a staff member at the department of radiation oncology in Ghent University Hospital, transitioning to the Iridium network, GZA Ziekenhuizen, Antwerp in 2020.  

Following his PhD in 2011, focusing on postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer, he continued his research as a senior clinical investigator of FWO from 2012 until 2021 and is now Associate Professor at Ghent University.  

A/Prof Ost’s main research focus is prostate cancer oriented. He ran several trials in the setting of recurrent prostate cancer and implemented stereotactic body radiotherapy, novel PET-imaging tracers and molecular profiling in the clinic. He also ran several trials combining immunotherapy with stereotactic body radiotherapy.  

Over the past decade, A/Prof Ost has published over 300 peer reviewed articles and received several awards for his work. He is active in several organisations as a member of the steering committees (BMUC and ESTRO) and Chair of the EORTC Radiation Oncology Research Council. 

Professor Matthias Guckenberger

Chairman of the Department for Radiation Oncology at University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and Professor at the University of Zurich (UZH)

Matthias Guckenberger is the Chairman of the Department for Radiation Oncology at University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and Professor at the University of Zurich (UZH)

A major research focus for Prof Guckenberger has been the integration of advanced imaging and radiotherapy into multimodality treatment of lung cancer. In particular, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for early stage NSCLC and oligo-metastatic disease. Safety and efficacy was evaluated in prospective clinical trials, in large multi-institutional and national patterns of care analyses. Mathematical and imaging-based modelling of tumor and normal tissue response to radiotherapy has been another focus.

Prof Guckenberger currently serves as president of the ESTRO society.

Dr Joost Nuyttens

Chairman of the European School of Robotic Stereotactic Radiotherapy

Dr Joost Nuyttens is a radiation oncologist at Ersmus MC. His clinical focus is gastro-intestinal tumours, lung tumours, sarcomas and palliative treatment. Dr Nuyttens is Chairman of the European School of Robotic Stereotactic Radiotherapy.

Professor Billy Loo

Professor of radiation oncology at Stanford.

Professor Loo’s major laboratory research focus has been to co-lead a collaborative effort between Stanford Medicine and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to develop PHASER into a transformative and clinically practical technology. This program comprises both technology development and fundamental research on the radiobiology of extremely rapid FLASH therapy to optimise the biological therapeutic index.

Dr Sushil Beriwal

Vice President Varian Medical Affairs, Wexford, Pennsylvania, United States.

Dr Sushil Beriwal (MD, MBA, FASTRO, FABS, FICRO, FACRO) completed his residency in radiation oncology at PGIMER in 1997, India and Drexel University, USA 2004. He worked as a radiation oncologist at UPMC from 2004 to 2021 in various roles, including medical director at UPMC Magee, Residency program director, Director of Brachytherapy, and Deputy Director for the UPMC Hillman cancer center network. In addition, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr Beriwal specialises in gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, with an emphasis on IMRT/IGRT and MRI-based HDR  Brachytherapy for gynecological cancers. He is actively involved with clinical research and has more than 325 peer-reviewed publications plus book chapters. Served as ABR board examiner and on the editorial board of Brachytherapy as a senior editor for Red journal and received ABS president award, ARRO teacher of the year award, and fellowship from ABS and ASTRO.