Look Back into the Future

Dr. Simon Kramer, the founding chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology, established the Division of Radiation Biology in 1970 when he hired Dr. Dennis Leeper to create a research division. At the time it was one of a few such divisions in the United States. Under the leadership of first Dennis Leeper, and later George Iliakis, it became a unique resource. Two P01 program project grants (12 yr), a T32 training grant (27 yr) and numerous R01s were obtained, establishing the division’s leadership position within the United States in the fields of hyperthermia, DNA damage/repair and cell cycle control. Dr. Leeper founded and served as president of the Society of Thermal Medicine, and Dr. Iliakis served as president of the Radiation Research Society. Both received their respective society’s highest research award and accommodation, the Eugene Robinson Award and the Failla Award, respectively.

The areas of research in the division included: radiation-induced DNA damage and mechanisms of repair; mechanisms of hyperthermia damage, interaction with radiation and chemotherapy and integration into clinical treatment protocols; understanding radiation repair and it’s role in fractionation and enhancing therapeutic gain; radiation-induced activation of cell cycle checkpoints, cell cycle delay and induction of apoptosis; role of inhibition of angiogenesis in tumor radiosensitization and the role of the tumor microenvironment and metabolism in developing new patient tailored therapeutic modalities.