Radiation Oncology Program

Research: The Radiation Oncology Research Laboratory (RORL)

Research Overview | Radiation Oncology Research Laboratory (RORL)

RORL is the multi-disciplinary research arm of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. The scientific faculty is primarily research oriented with some teaching responsibilities. They have joint appointments in The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, as well as the Graduate Programs in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Human Genetics, and Toxicology.

The laboratory suites are located on the 6th floor of the Bressler Research Building and Howard Hall and there are facilities for cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, brightfield and fluorescence microscopy plus two radiation sources.

Radiation is a unique modality. One one hand, it can cause cancer and there is considerable public concern about possible health risks from low level radiation exposures around potentially contaminated nuclear weapons sites in the United States and abroad. On the other hand, radiation has widespread public health applications, including diagnostic radiology, cancer detection, food sterilization and nuclear power.

At RORL, radiation is used as a research tool for inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis), cell cycle checkpoints, and to damage the genetic material for studies of DNA repair. The Department of Radiation Oncology physicians use radiation to treat cancer patients.

Our research goals are to better understand the biological effects of radiation exposure, with the ultimate objective of providing a rational scientific basis to improve radiation therapy for cancer patients. The research laboratories have strong ties to both the clinical and physics programs within the Department, which considerably strengthens the translational component of our research emphasis.

There are 6 faculty members at RORL:

Elizabeth Balcer-Kubiczek, PhD
Associate Professor
Research Interests: late effects of radiation exposure, gene induction

James P. Carney, PhD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: biochemistry of DNA repair proteins

William F. Morgan, PhD
Professor and Director
Research Interests: radiation-induced genomic instability, radiation sensitivity

Juong G. Rhee, PhD
Associate Professor
Research Interests: combinational radiation and gene therapy, hypoxia

Teresa Wilson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: colo-rectal cancer and mismatch repair

Alan Tomkinson, PhD
Professor and Assistant Director
Research Interests: mechanisms of DNA replication and repair

Address:
Radiation Oncology Research Laboratory
University of Maryland, Baltimore
655 West Baltimore Street
Bressler Research Building
Baltimore, MD 21201


This page was last updated on: January 29, 2007.

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