SBU Radiation Oncology Researcher Receives Top Award From Long Island Technology Hall of Fame

Medical Center / Health Care
SBU Radiation Oncology Researcher Receives Top Award From Long Island Technology Hall of Fame

F. Avraham Dilmanian, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Research, Department of Radiation Oncology, left, received the 2008 Long Island Technology Hall of Fame award for Innovation for the Individual.Dr. Dilmanian is pictured with Allen G. Meek, M.D., Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, during the Long Island Technology Hall of Fame gala in March.

STONY BROOK, N.Y., April 17, 2008 – F. Avraham Dilmanian, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Research, Department of Radiation Oncology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, along with colleagues from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), won the 2008 Long Island Technology Hall of Fame award for Innovation for the Individual. The award is for a patent of a method implementing an experimental radiation therapy to treat cancer, called microbeam radiation therapy (MRT). Dr. Dilmanian and colleagues were selected for the award from among more than 1,600 patents that were granted to Long Island residents in 2007.

Research on MRT was initiated in the early 1990s by Dr. Dilmanian and colleagues at BNL. In 2006, Dr. Dilmanian, with fellow research scientists from Stony Brook University, and scientists at Georgetown University and the IRCCS NEUROMED Medical Center in Italy, created a way to implement the delivery of MRT by using thicker microbeams from what had previously been used for delivery.

The patent describes a way to interlace the arrays of thicker beams to produce an unsegmented radiation field at a target tumor to increase the killing potential there, while sparing healthy tissue. Results from experiments using these thicker beams showed cancerous tumors in small regions of rodent brains were destroyed without damaging surrounding tissues.

“I am very enthusiastic about and supportive of this new technology being developed by Dr. Dilmanian,” says Allen G. Meek, M.D., Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at SBUMC. “The method holds great promise in providing a new modality to treat brain tumors that are difficult to manage due to their proximity to radiosensitive normal tissues.”

“The interlacing method looks very promising for treating other types of tumors, such as spinal cord and head and neck tumors,” adds Dr. Dilmanian. “The dose from this method sharply stops at the edge of the targeted tissue, so surrounding tissue remains intact, which is ideal for radiosensitive organs.”

Dr. Dilmanian shares the Innovation for the Individual award with BNL research scientist James F. Hainfield, Ph.D., and Gerard M. Morris, a guest researcher at BNL, and senior research scientist at Morvus Technology, Ltd., in Wales.

The objective of the Long Island Technology Hall of Fame is to recognize, honor and preserve the contributions, accomplishments, and dedication of historical figures and current leaders in science or technology who have had or have an impact on Long Island. Each year at the organization’s award ceremony, three Most Innovative Patent Awards are given. One of the three categories is Innovation for the Individual, which awards an individual or group for a patent that greatly benefits individuals in society.

Involved in numerous collaborative research projects in radiation oncology, Dr. Dilmanian splits his time between SBUMC and BNL. He is a resident of Yaphank, N.Y.

The Department of Radiation Oncology at SBUMC offers state-of-the-art treatment for cancer patients including complete clinical evaluation and staging, individualized radiation therapy and follow-up care. The mission of the Department is to treat patients in a respectful, compassionate and effective manner; to educate healthcare professionals in the practice of radiation oncology; to pursue knowledge about the practice and science of radiation oncology and to develop innovative approaches in its application.

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