The 11th International Workshop on Radiation Damage to DNA brings together the various disciplines, including physics, chemistry, and biology, that collectively comprise the fields of radiation damage to DNA and its biological consequences. The previous workshops have been held every two to three years in Europe, Asia, and North America, and most recently in Japan in 2008.

The workshop will explore recent advances in the understanding of a sequence of complex and interdependent events associated with DNA molecules that have been expposed to various types of radiation and radiomimetic agents. Topics that will be covered include: The invited speakers, who are at the forefront of their fields, come from a variety of disciplines including chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, and evolutionary biology. The program is comprised of oral presentations and poster sessions, and time for open discussion. The topics of the workshop include track structure, microdosimetry, direct and indirect actions of radiation, measurement of DNA damage, complex lesions, DNA damage at low doses and by low and high LET radiations, repair of base damage and strand breaks, role of chromatin in DNA damage induction and repair, bystander effects, and structural biology in understanding DNA damage and repair. We will also provide a platform for junior investigators to present short talks and these will be selected from the abstracts.

We expect that the scientific exchange at the conference will impact cancer research in significant ways and result in establishing new multi-disciplinary collaborative efforts. This workshop should be an opportunity for all attendees to develop and maintain new and fruitful collaborations.

Sincerely,
Paul W. Doetsch, Ph.D. and Walter J. Curran, Jr., M.D.