Hill, Richard P.

Biography

Hill, Richard P.Professor, PhD, London Ontario Cancer Institute / Princess Margaret Hospital 610 University Avenue, Room 10-113 101 College Street, Room 15-312 Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9 Hill, Richard P.Professor, PhD, London Ontario Cancer Institute / Princess Margaret Hospital 610 University Avenue, Room 10-113 101 College Street, Room 15-312 Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9

Research Interest

Radiation is one of the primary modalities for the treatment of localized cancer and a number of factors can influence the response of tumours and surrounding normal tissues to such treatment. These factors, which can be specific to the individual tumour or normal tissue and to their environment, can vary from patient to patient. One part of the research in our laboratory focuses on understanding how these factors influence tumour and normal tissue response to radiation treatment in individual patients. Our current work involves: 1) Examination of hypoxia and high interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) in animal models of human tumours with a focus on cancer of the cervix. In these studies we are collaborating with the clinical groups at the Princess Margaret Hospital in examining methods to exploit these factors to predict and improve treatment outcome. 2) Studies of the radiosensitivity of normal dermal fibroblasts in vivo. These studies are focusing on measuring DNA damage as a biological dosimeter for potential use in individuals who have been accidentally exposed to irradiation. 3) Examination of the sensitivity of lung tissue to different volumes of irradiation. These studies in rat and mouse lung are investigating mechanisms associated with the response of the lung to radiation damage and drugs that may be useful to mitigate the long term effects of this damage on lung function, when applied after the radiation exposure.