Medical Physics Prizes

In most developing countries, medical digital imaging devices and techniques such as CAT scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are scarce. Knowledge of and training for these advanced medical tools are of utmost importance for the future health of these countries, which is why Nigerian medical physicist Rachel Obed came to the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). The Centre's Training and Research in Italian Laboratories (TRIL) programme, as well as its bi-annual College on Medical Physics, offered the right mix of theory and applied training for her to advance her knowledge of the field.

Her research achievements as a TRIL fellow working with Professor Gianrossano Giannini at the University of Trieste have earned her the top prize at this year's College on Medical Physics, which was held from 13 September to 1 October at ICTP. The prize, which includes a Euro 500 award, was donated by Ali Binesh, a medical physicist from Iran and a participant in the last two ICTP medical physics colleges, in memory of his father, who was also a medical physicist.

Obed's TRIL work focussed on an experimental form of radiotherapy known as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The technique uses neutrons to target cancer cells that have concentrations of boron. The idea is to selectively destroy the cancer cells without damaging normal tissues surrounding the cells.

Another TRIL fellow, Ali Asghar Molavi, received a prize from the TRIL programme in recognition of his quality fellowship work at the Medical Physics Department of the Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria in Trieste.

The College on Medical Physics also recognised the best posters at the conference. Posters from 25 countries were presented; the one produced by A.K.M. Saiful Islam Bhuian of Bangladesh won the award (a Euro 500 cash stipend also donated by Dr. Binesh) for top poster. Awards of merit were given to the following participants:

• Pakistan (presented by Shakera Khatoon Rizvi and Muhammad Asif)
• China (presented by Li Zhou)
• Vietnam (presented by Cuong Tran)
• Nigeria (presented by Rachel Obed, Omo Esien, O. P. Abodunrin, and H.U. Ugwu)
• Cuba (presented by Marlenin Diaz Barreto, Rafael Rodriguez Rojas, Jose Ernesto Dieguez, Andres Fernandez Herrera)

For more information about the College, visit its website.