Aleksei Smirnov
German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) & Heidelberg University Hospital
Heidelberg, Germany
Aleksei Smirnov is a medical student at Heidelberg University and doctoral researcher in the Division of Molecular Radiooncology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospital. His research focuses on the biological effects of ionizing radiation, with particular emphasis on DNA damage induction and genome-wide characterization of radiation-induced double-strand breaks following photon and particle irradiation.
As part of his doctoral thesis under the supervision of Prof. Peter E. Huber, he investigates the genomic landscape of DNA damage using Linear Amplification-Mediated High-Throughput Genome-Wide Translocation Sequencing (LAM-HTGTS). His work combines molecular biology, radiation biology, and bioinformatics to compare the biological effects of carbon ion and photon irradiation at nucleotide resolution. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center (HIT) and researchers from multiple DKFZ divisions.
In addition to his research activities, Mr. Smirnov underwent clinical training in radiation oncology, oncology, dermatology, and surgery in Germany, Switzerland, and France, including placements at Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou in Paris and Universitätsspital in Zürich. He is a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes).
At ASTRO 2026, he presents his work entitled “Mapping the Genomic Landscape of Particle Therapy: Nucleotide-Resolution DSB Patterns Following Carbon Ion vs. Photon Irradiation.”
Disclosures:
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