Patrick Tang receives Mosaic grant for PhD research into precision irradiation of brain tumours

Thirteen PhD students will start their PhD research with a NWO Mosaic 2.0 grant. One of them is Patrick Tang MSc. He is doing research at Erasmus MC, within the scientific programme Medical Delta Cancer Diagnostics 3.0: Big Data Science of in & ex vivo Imaging.

Glioblastomas (highly malignant brain tumors) are notorious for their tumor infiltration, where tumor extends into adjacent normal-appearing brain tissue. As tumor infiltration is not visible on conventional MRI-scans, a safety margin of 1.5cm is always added to the visible tumor when the target area for radiotherapy is defined. In this way, normal brain tissue is radiated as well.

With his research, Patric Tang aims to eliminate this one-size-fits-all approach and assess the potential of artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art MRI techniques to more accurately define the target area (including the area in which tumor infiltration is present) for each individual patient. By only targeting what needs to be targeted, normal brain tissue can be avoided, such that the development of side-effects caused by radiotherapy could be reduced.

Mosaic 2.0

The Mosaic 2.0 PhD scholarship program is aimed at the group of graduates with a migration background from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Turkey, who are underrepresented in the Netherlands. With this, Mosaic 2.0 aims to promote the further development of an inclusive work environment within Dutch universities.

Please read more here.