Physics/Engineering: Dr Petra Kok
Petra Kok (*1979) received her MSc degree in Computational Science at Utrecht University in 2002. Her graduation project focussed on adaptive moving mesh computations for reaction–diffusion systems.
Thereafter, she worked as a PhD student at the Department of Radiation Oncology of the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam. Her research focussed on the development of a dual modality heating technique for hyperthermia treatment of oesophageal cancer, combining intraluminal heating and locoregional hyperthermia using the AMC-4 system. She was involved in the treatment planning part of the project, which included the following:
A hyperthermia treatment planning system expanded to include a high resolution temperature based phase/amplitude optimisation tool.
Prospective treatment planning using high-resolution-temperature-based optimisation for patients with oesophageal cancer.
A treatment planning verification study has been performed for cervical carcinoma patients, performed at the clinical and theoretical level.
Design and modelling of intraiuminal heating applicators.
Dr Kok received a Young Investigators Award during the 22nd ESHO meeting in 2005. She received her PhD degree in April 2007.
Currently, she is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Radiation Oncology of the Academic Medical Center.
Medicine: Dr med. Michail Plotkin
Dr med Michail Plotkin was born in Saporoshje, Ukraine in 1972. During 1990–1996, he studied in the Medical University Saporoshye. After emigration to Germany in 1996, Dr Plotkin studied nuclear medicine at the University Clinic Lübeck (1998–1999, the research centre Jülich (1999–2001) and the University Clinic Charité Berlin, Campus Virchow. He received his MD degree in 1999 from the University of Hamburg with a dissertation on the implication of 18F-FDG-PET in thyroid cancer. Dr Plotkin has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers and qualified as a university lecturer in 2007 in the Humboldt University Berlin with a professorial dissertation on nuclear medicine imaging using radioactively labelled amino acids.
His main fields of teaching in research center on nuclear medicine applications are neurooncology and imaging of neurotrasmitter systems. In the clinic of radiology and nuclear medicine, he is a senior physician in the PET/CT center. Dr Plotkin would like to thank Prof. Wust, his academic teacher, Prof. Felix, Prof. Meler-Hauff and Dr Gnevekow, who crucially contributed to his work.
Biology: Dr Farzan Siddiqui
Dr Farzan Siddiqui began his professional career in India and continued his training in the United States. Following general medical training at the venerable Grant Medical College (GMC) in Mumbai, he completed a residency in Radiation Oncology at the largest cancer hospital in South-East Asia, namely, the Tata Memorial Hospital & Cancer Research Institute, also in Mumbai. During his residency, his research interests were focused on treatment issues related to head and neck cancer. He received national peer recognition for his research thesis as well as international attention for his landmark publication on childhood head and neck cancer. His work established the standard of care for this rare form of cancer in India as well as in the United States.
Dr Siddiqui's formal training in radiobiology continued in the PhD program at Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, CO under the tutelage of Dr Robert L. Ullrich. Dr. Siddiqui's project involved hyperthermia-controlled gene-therapy which was carried out at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in collaboration with Duke University and North Carolina State Veterinary Teaching Hospital. He reported results of a Phase I clinical trial in spontaneously arising feline soft tissue sarcomas which formed the basis of his thesis. His studies were funded by a grant he obtained through the Winn Feline Foundation. As a graduate student, Dr Siddiqui was awarded the Kirke L. Martin Scholarship in recognition of his accomplishments and ‘outstanding potential for problem-solving in multidisciplinary applications in the practice of environmental health’. He received the Radiation Research Society Scholars-in-Training Travel Awards in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Dr Siddiqui completed his PhD studies in 2005. He then moved to the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Radiation Oncology where he continued his interest in gene-therapy. He has recently started his residency in Radiation Oncology at Henry Ford Hospital. On a personal note, Dr Siddiqui attributes a large part of his success to his wife, family and friends from whom he draws support and whose contributions he graciously acknowledges.