This seminar is organised by Fieke Dekkers of the RIVM (the National Institute for Public Health and Environment.
Ionizing radiation is everywhere. Even while you are reading this, you are being exposed to natural background radiation. Despite decades of research, the effects of exposure to such low doses of radiation remain ill understood. In this seminar we will see why this is the case and what research is currently being carried out to improve our understanding of the long-term health effects of exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation.
You will read recent scientific papers on aspects of radiation research and link these to your own expertise in mathematics. The seminar is strongly multidisciplinary by nature: for example, studies of the interaction of radiation with matter are mostly linked to physics but understanding the effects these interactions have on living tissue requires knowledge from biology. Epidemiological studies are often used to estimate the subsequent health risks associated with these interactions. A solid understanding of mathematics is helpful in understanding current research in all of these fields.
Other examples of possible topics in the seminar are mathematical models of carcinogenesis after exposure to ionizing radiation, repair of DNA, dispersion of radioactive material in the atmosphere following a radiological accident, reconstruction of the doses of radiation received by the survivors of the atomic bombs in Japan and analysis of the enormous datasets obtained in new experiments in molecular biology. This list is by no means limiting: many other subjects are possible, provided they allow for links to applied mathematics.
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The seminar will start with an introduction to radiation research and an overview of suggestions for topics and papers on these topics. Topics will be assigned to students based on their interests and background. In subsequent lectures students will give presentations on the research papers they have read.
Prerequisites: basic knowledge of calculus, linear algebra and differential equations. Prior knowledge in radiation research is not needed.
Students from other masters than Mathematical sciences or Physics (such as Biology, Computer Science, Medicine) are also welcome, if they do not fear mathematical formulas and have basic knowledge of the prerequisites.
The seminar will be led by Fieke Dekkers from RIVM (the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment). For more information, send an email to s.a.j.dekkers@uu.nl.
Internships at RIVM may be available to students participating in the seminar.
References:
- Modeling dose deposition and DNA damage due to low-energy β(-) emitters.
Alloni D, Cutaia C, Mariotti L, Friedland W, Ottolenghi A.
Radiat Res. 2014 Sep;182(3):322-30. doi: 10.1667/RR13664.1. Epub 2014 Aug 12.
- A two-mutation model of radiation-induced acute myeloid leukemia using historical mouse data. Dekkers F, Bijwaard H, Bouffler S, Ellender M, Huiskamp R, Kowalczuk C, Meijne E, Sutmuller M.
Radiat Environ Biophys. 2011 Mar;50(1):37-45. doi: 10.1007/s00411-010-0328-7. Epub 2010 Sep 15.
- Ionizing radiation and leukemia mortality among Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors, 1950-2000.
Richardson D, Sugiyama H, Nishi N, Sakata R, Shimizu Y, Grant EJ, Soda M, Hsu WL, Suyama A, Kodama K, Kasagi F.
Radiat Res. 2009 Sep;172(3):368-82. doi: 10.1667/RR1801.1.
- Radiation exposure and circulatory disease risk: Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivor data, 1950-2003. Shimizu Y, Kodama K, Nishi N, Kasagi F, Suyama A, Soda M, Grant EJ, Sugiyama H, Sakata R, Moriwaki H, Hayashi M, Konda M, Shore RE. BMJ. 2010 Jan 14;340:b5349. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b5349.
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presentation, 85% |
exercises (set by student) 10% |
take home excercises 5% |
| is able to read and understand a scientific paper (chosen by the student or suggested) on radiation research with applications of mathematics in a limited time period |
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| is able to identify the mathematics relevant to the paper |
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| is able to present the content of the paper at a level accessible to other students |
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| is able to design exercises linked to a presentation he/she has given for other students |
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| is able to answer exercises set by other students on the topic of these students’presentations |
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