Indra Das
Professor of Clinical Radiation and Chief of Radiotherapy Physics, IU School of Medicine-Indianapolis, Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute-Bloomington
The Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute is one of only five centers in the United States. As such, it isn't merely a place where doctors treat the sick, but it also a center of burgeoning research, where medical scientists and physicists can fine-tune and innovate proton radiotherapy techniques for the benefit of patients.
Indra Das left the University of Pennsylvania last year to assume leadership of MPRI's technical and research physics operations. Pennsylvania's school of medicine is excellent, of course, but it lacks something Indiana possesses-unique, uniform scanning, cyclotron-based proton radiotherapy.
"Access to the proton beam is incredibly valuable," Das said. "Compared with traditional radiation therapies, proton therapy is still relatively new. There is much we still can learn."
Das intends for MPRI's research activities to grow still. He is currently working with IU School of Medicine and MPRI staff to attract grant support for new projects and recruit the best radiation oncologists, scientists, medical physicists and dosimetrists to Indianapolis and Bloomington.
One of Das' several research projects is investigating whether and how proton therapy can be used to reduce a breast cancer patient's radiation dose. He has studied breast cancer for nearly 20 years (based on publications) and has a strong interest in accelerated partial breast treatment using proton beam. SBRT, or stereotactic body radiation therapy, is commonly used in conjunction with traditional X-ray radiotherapy, but SBRT hasn't been tried extensively with proton radiotherapy. SBRT offers two possible benefits. It alleviates stress on patients by breaking long treatment sessions into a series of shorter ones, and it reduces damage to healthy tissue through a careful repositioning of the proton beam each time the patient visits.
While MPRI serves a vital need in national health care and is unlikely to suffer through the current financial (and funding) crisis, Das says MPRI's own health can only be improved through the broadening of its research operations to provide best treatment to its patients.
"The two must go together," Das said. "My motto has always been, 'Research supports and improves patient care.'"
MPRI is programmatically integrated into the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis and is a Clarian Health Partner.
For more information about MPRI, go to this web site: http://www.mpri.org.
