The upcoming ICTR-PHE conference will be held from 10-14 February 2014 at the International Conference Centre of Geneva (CICG). This event is a joint conference that attracts experts in physics, engineering, medicine, computer science and biology, creating a unique opportunity to discuss the latest advances in all these disciplines and to catalyse new collaborations.

The International Conference on Translational Research in Radiation Oncology (ICTR) was first held in 2000, and then once every two years, to bring together the radiation oncology community of clinicians, biologists and medical physicists to discuss progress in translational research in medicine. As a CERN initiative, the first Physics for Health (PHE) workshop was held in 2010 to review the progress of applications of physics technologies in life sciences (disease prevention, diagnosis, therapy and prognosis), involving physicists and medical doctors.

Physics, biology and medicine are three different disciplines with different methodologies and scientific approaches. However, concerted developments in these three fields are crucial to improve healthcare. State-of-the-art technologies from accelerator and detector physics are increasingly used in the medical field both for diagnosis and treatment of tumours, as are data management and computer assisted imaging techniques. To fully exploit the applications of such technologies, a synergy among high-energy physicists, engineers, computer scientists, biologists and clinicians needs to be developed and maintained.

Chaired by Profs Manjit Dosanjh (CERN) and Jacques Bernier (Genolier & Geneva), ICTR-PHE 2014 will bring together leading international experts as well as young researchers in the context of both diagnosis and treatment. The diverse mix of researchers – both young and experienced, from different backgrounds and perspectives will provide an excellent environment for innovative thought and ideas in this cutting-edge field.

The topics to be covered include biology, clinical and pre-clinical strategies, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, detectors, imaging and new technologies. Abstracts are accepted until 31 October. For more information visit the conference website: http://cern.ch/ictr-phe14