Members of research groups that are actively involved in the research lines pursued within ARPG
Giuseppe Battistoni, INFN MILAN
I graduated in Rome in 1977 and I became an INFN staff researcher in 1982. I worked in experiments in particle and nuclear physics at accelerators, in cosmic ray physics and neutrino physics, involving myself in the development of particle detectors and Monte Carlo simulation.
Since 2006 my main interest is the application of nuclear and particle physics to medicine, contributing to the research in hadrontherapy. In particular I contributed to the work for new Treatment Planning Systems and to the development of in-vivo monitoring techniques In this respect I am particularly involeved in all the activities concerning range monitoring with gamma rays and charged particles. After the experience in the Inside project I dedicate myself at the work with the Dose Profiler. At present I am involved in the FOOT and MoVE-IT experiments. I also cooperate on the development of Fred fast Montecarlo and to the MONDO activity
Micol De Simoni, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (Monaco)
I studied particle physics at Rome University "La Sapienza" and I graduated in 2017. I developed my master thesis within the ARPG (Applied Radiation Physics Group) group, working on the characterization of a dose profiler monitor for hadrontherapy treatments. I have done an Accelerator Physics PhD in Rome University "La Sapienza" with the thesis "Development of tools for quality control on therapeutic Carbon beams with a fast MC code (FRED)". During my postDoc activity within ARPG I worked on the improvement of ions interactions in FRED, a fast-MC tool for treatment planning and dose verification in hadrontherapy. Now I am based at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and my research activity is focused on advanced methods of range verification with prompt gamma spectroscopy.
Ilaria Mattei, INFN MILAN
I graduated in 2011 in particle physics at the University of Rome “Sapienza”. In 2011-2014 I was a PhD student in physics at the University of Rome “Roma Tre” and performed the thesis within the ARPG group.
I contributed to the development of a dose profile monitor taking part to several experiments using protons and ions beams as Carbon, Helium and Oxygen: LNS (Catania) in 2011, GSI laboratories (Darmstadt) in 2012 and HIT center (Heidelberg) in 2014. During these experiments I learned how to use hardware and the data acquisition chain, but my specialty is data analysis. I have also developed simulations of the last experiment we performed at the HIT center with the Monte Carlo FLUKA code. My analysis activity is continuing in Milan. Now I also work on the FOOT and MoVE-IT experiments.
Serena Marta Valle, INFN MILAN & Univ. Milan
I graduated in 2015 in Medical Physics at the University of Pavia. My master thesis was about Helium ions Radiobiology and was performed in collaboration with the CNAO. Since October 2015 I am enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Milan. My main activity is about Monte Carlo simulations. In fact, my PhD work focuses in particular on the FLUKA simulation of the FOOT experiment and on the MC data analysis.
I also participate o the MoVE-IT activity. Furthermore, I collaborate in the activity of range monitoring with charged particles with the dose profiler.
Silvia Muraro, INFN Pisa
My activity is focused on simulation with the FLUKA MC code and data analysis.
I worked in cosmic rays and neutrino physics within the ICARUS experiment. By means of the MC simulation, the parameters for the full simulation of the flux of secondary particles in atmosphere were fixed. At a later time I turned to medical application.
I worked on the physical database for a hadrontherapy treatment planning system (TPS project).
Now, in the framework of the IRPT project, I'm focused on dose monitoring by means of secondary particles from the
interaction of the therapeutic beam with the human tissue. In particular I have been involved in the simulation of the dose profiler for charged partcles and, more recently, on the development of devices for PET in-beam.
Yunsheng Dong (Univ. Milano)
I graduated at the University of Milano in April 2017, with a master thesis on the design of a drift chamber for the FOOT experiment and now I am a Ph.D. student in Milano, to continue my research work in FOOT.
Antoni Rucinski (Univ. Krakow)
I obtained master degree at Technical University of Warsaw, Poland in 2009. My master thesis was performed during the Erasmus Programme at the University of Stuttgart, Germany and investigated partial volume effect in diagnostic Positron Emission Tomography (Impact of SUV on defining the planning target volume in PET/CT-based radiotherapy planning). After graduating I moved on to the Doctor Scientiarum Humanorum Program at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. My PhD thesis entitled Organ motion management for optimization of fractionated ion therapy of prostate cancer at HIT have been completed and defended in 2013. During my PhD project I performed clinical work in the Heidelberg University Clinic in the Department of Radiation Therapy and Radiation Oncology and at the Heidelberg Ion Therapy Center (HIT). After the PhD I dedicated one year to work in the clinical routine of photon therapy obtaining the medical physics expert qualification (Fachkunde & Fachanerkennung). From 2015 I am a postdoctoral fellow of Rome section of National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italy and work with Applied Radiation Physics Group (ARPG) of Sapienza University of Rome. My INFN project focuses on the analysis of charged secondary radiation produced by 4He and 12C ion beams impinging on a PMMA target. These measurements have been performed to support development of a dose profiler detector designed for ion beam therapy range monitoring.