David Joel Carlson PhD
Assistant Professor of Therapeutic Radiology
Research Interests
Biological optimization of treatment planning; Tumor hypoxia and reoxygenation effects; Heavy ion radiotherapy; Functional imaging; DNA damage and repair; Motion management; 4D imaging and treatment strategies; Prostate cancer; Lung cancer
Current Projects
Agency: Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center
Grant Name: Non-invasive imaging of tumor hypoxia in non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing stereotactic body radiotherapy
Agency: American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant
Grant Name: Modeling relative biological effectiveness and oxygen effects in x-ray, proton, and carbon ion radiotherapy
Research Summary
The overall goal of my research is to develop more accurate radiobiological dose-response models that will advance biologically-guided radiation therapy (BGRT) for cancer patients. I hope to make scientific contributions to improve our basic understanding of the underlying physical and biological mechanisms that govern radiation response. Specifically, in my recent research, I have quantified the effects of the spatial pattern of energy deposition by different types of radiation on the relative biological effectiveness of x-rays, protons, and carbon ions in achieving local tumor control. I have also examined the combined effects of cellular oxygen concentration and spatial energy deposition on DNA damage formation and processing and cell death. I have a broad background in radiation physics and radiation biology. As a doctoral candidate at Purdue University, I conducted research on the mechanisms of intrinsic radiation sensitivity and examined the effects of DNA damage repair, oxygen, and radiation quality (particle LET) on biological endpoints such as double-strand break formation and cell killing. As a physics resident at Stanford University, I obtained a comprehensive understanding of the clinical application of radiation for the treatment of malignant and benign disease. I continued my research in radiobiological modeling to develop more realistic models of tumor hypoxia based on radial oxygen diffusion from tumor vasculature and the impact on radiation response. I am currently focused on (1) developing non-invasive functional imaging tools to quantify the spatial and temporal distributions of tumor hypoxia in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer and (2) implementing methods of biological optimization in heavy ion radiotherapy.
Selected Publications
- Brown JM, Brenner DJ, Carlson DJ. Dose escalation, not “new biology”, can account for the efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [editorial]. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 85: 1159-1160 (2013).
- Frese MC, Yu VK, Stewart RD, Carlson DJ. A mechanism-based approach to predict the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of protons and carbon ions in radiation therapy. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 83: 442-450 (2012).
- Carlson DJ, Keall PJ, Loo BW, Chen ZJ, Brown JM. Hypofractionation results in reduced tumor cell kill compared to conventional fractionation for tumors with regions of hypoxia. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 79: 1188-1195 (2011).
- Carlson DJ, Yenice KM, Orton CG. Point/Counterpoint: Tumor hypoxia is an important mechanism of radioresistance in hypofractionated radiotherapy and must be considered in the treatment planning process. Med. Phys. 38: 6347-6350 (2011).
- Stewart RD, Yu VK, Georgakilas AG, Koumenis C, Park JH, Carlson DJ. Effects of Radiation Quality and Oxygen on Clustered DNA Lesions and Cell Death. Radiat. Res. 176: 587-602 (2011).
- Gupta S, Wu X, Carlson DJ, Kolesnick R, Mohiuddin M, Pollack A, Ahmed MA. Radiobiological concepts of high-dose hypofractionated radiation therapy. In Hypofractionation: Scientific Concepts and Clinical Experiences, eds. Pollack A and Ahmed MA, LumiText Publishing, p. 19-38 (2011).
- Stewart RD, Park J, Carlson DJ. Isoeffect Calculations in Adaptive Radiation Therapy and Treatment Individualization. In Adaptive Radiation Therapy, a volume in a series of books on Imaging in Medical Diagnosis and Therapy, ed. X. Allen Li, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, p. 105-123 (2011).
- Zimmerman J, Korreman S, Persson G, Cattell H, Svatos M, Sawant A, Venkat R, Carlson D, Keall P. DMLC motion tracking of moving targets for intensity modulated arc therapy treatment: a feasibility study. Acta Oncol. 48: 245-250 (2009).
- Sawant A, Venkat R, Srivastava V, Carlson D, Povzner S, Cattell H, Keall P. Management of three-dimensional intrafraction motion through real-time DMLC tracking. Med. Phys. 35: 2050-2061 (2008).
- Carlson DJ, Stewart RD, Semenenko VA Sandison GA. Combined use of Monte Carlo DNA damage simulations and deterministic repair models to examine putative mechanisms of cell killing. Radiat. Res. 169: 447-459 (2008).
Selected Publications
- Brown JM, Brenner DJ, Carlson DJ. Dose escalation, not “new biology”, can account for the efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [editorial]. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 85: 1159-1160 (2013).
- Frese MC, Yu VK, Stewart RD, Carlson DJ. A mechanism-based approach to predict the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of protons and carbon ions in radiation therapy. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 83: 442-450 (2012).
- Carlson DJ, Keall PJ, Loo BW, Chen ZJ, Brown JM. Hypofractionation results in reduced tumor cell kill compared to conventional fractionation for tumors with regions of hypoxia. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 79: 1188-1195 (2011).
- Carlson DJ, Yenice KM, Orton CG. Point/Counterpoint: Tumor hypoxia is an important mechanism of radioresistance in hypofractionated radiotherapy and must be considered in the treatment planning process. Med. Phys. 38: 6347-6350 (2011).
- Stewart RD, Yu VK, Georgakilas AG, Koumenis C, Park JH, Carlson DJ. Effects of Radiation Quality and Oxygen on Clustered DNA Lesions and Cell Death. Radiat. Res. 176: 587-602 (2011).
- Gupta S, Wu X, Carlson DJ, Kolesnick R, Mohiuddin M, Pollack A, Ahmed MA. Radiobiological concepts of high-dose hypofractionated radiation therapy. In Hypofractionation: Scientific Concepts and Clinical Experiences, eds. Pollack A and Ahmed MA, LumiText Publishing, p. 19-38 (2011).
- Stewart RD, Park J, Carlson DJ. Isoeffect Calculations in Adaptive Radiation Therapy and Treatment Individualization. In Adaptive Radiation Therapy, a volume in a series of books on Imaging in Medical Diagnosis and Therapy, ed. X. Allen Li, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, p. 105-123 (2011).
- Zimmerman J, Korreman S, Persson G, Cattell H, Svatos M, Sawant A, Venkat R, Carlson D, Keall P. DMLC motion tracking of moving targets for intensity modulated arc therapy treatment: a feasibility study. Acta Oncol. 48: 245-250 (2009).
- Sawant A, Venkat R, Srivastava V, Carlson D, Povzner S, Cattell H, Keall P. Management of three-dimensional intrafraction motion through real-time DMLC tracking. Med. Phys. 35: 2050-2061 (2008).
- Carlson DJ, Stewart RD, Semenenko VA Sandison GA. Combined use of Monte Carlo DNA damage simulations and deterministic repair models to examine putative mechanisms of cell killing. Radiat. Res. 169: 447-459 (2008).
- Carlson DJ, Stewart RD, Semenenko VA. Effects of oxygen on intrinsic radiation sensitivity: A test of the relationship between aerobic and hypoxic linear-quadratic (LQ) model parameters. Med. Phys. 33: 3105–3115 (2006).
- Carlson DJ, Stewart RD, Li XA, Jennings K, Wang JZ, Guerrero M. Comparison of in vitro and in vivo a/ß ratios for prostate cancer. Phys. Med. Biol. 49: 4477–4491 (2004).
