Mario Carante

Background

About Mario Carante

I got my M.Sc. title in Physics in 2013 at the University of Pavia (110/110) with a computational thesis in the framework of the AEgIS experiment at CERN, for which I developed an artificial neural network. I got my PhD in Applied Physics in 2017 at the University of Pavia, with Prof. Francesca Ballarini as Supervisor, and currently I have a post-doc research position. During the PhD I have been working on the development of a biophysical model, implemented as a Monte Carlo code, to simulate the effects of ionizing radiation on biological tissues. I applied the model in the framework of cancer hadrontherapy, focusing on the evaluation of the biological effectiveness of protons and carbon ions along therapeutic beams, and I contributed to make the model suitable for an interface with radiation transport codes; to this aim, a collaboration is ongoing with the FLUKA group. In parallel, I contributed to further improving and refining the BIANCA model, with focus on radiation-induced chromosome aberrations. I have also recently contributed to the first in vivo application of the BIANCA model. The research activity has been performed in collaboration with institutions like CNAO, CERN, ENEA, HIT, University of Campinas and within different INFN experiments. In parallel, I am working on theoretical investigations for the optimization of the production of particular radioisotopes, in view of medical applications: an example is represented by 52gMn, which could be used in the innovative field of PET/MRI MultiModal Imaging. Starting from 2013, I published 30 articles (22 of which in peer-reviewed international journals) and I delivered 17 conference presentations, for which I received one best oral presentation award and four travel awards. Furthermore, I am currently Editor for the peer-reviewed international journal Journal of Radiation Oncology and Chemotherapy, I am Guest Editor for a special issue of the peer-reviewed international journal International Journal of Molecular Sciences, I served as a Referee for the international journals Radiation and Environmental Biophysics and Translational Cancer Research, and I have been member of the Organizing Committee of three conferences. Finally, I was co-supervisor for 4 Theses in Physics (two MSc and two BSc) and I carried out several teaching activities in different courses at the University of Pavia, as well as outreach activities.