Felix Mathew wins the Anthony J. MacKay Best Student Paper Award, Canadian category
Felix Mathew, a doctoral student in medical physics, is earning recognition for his research on a novel biological radiation dosimetry technique. He is the winner of the Anthony J. MacKay Best Student Paper Award from the 2022 joint conference of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the Canadian Radiation Protection Association. A student in the Biological and Biomedical Engineering Program at McGill University and trainee in the Cancer Research Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), Felix Mathew received the award this month in Vancouver. The award recognizes a Canadian student’s work in the field of radiological protection, judged by presentation, methodology, results and conclusions.
The topic of Felix Mathew’s presentation was “Using single-cell DNA sequencing as a dosimetric tool ─ an exploratory study.” As he explains, “The aim of the study is to identify mutational differences introduced by different types of radiation in human cells, and to understand why the biological risks – mainly the risk of cancer – associated with each radiation type are different. This study is the first to use single-cell whole-genome DNA sequencing to correlate radiation damage at the genome level with radiation dose.”
“This prestigious award recognizes Felix’s hard work and dedication in moving our challenging research project forward,” says his supervisor, RI-MUHC researcher John Kildea, PhD, “and it is a testament to the valuable contributions of our collaborators, Prof. Patricia Tonin at the RI‑MUHC and Prof. Ioannis Ragoussis at the McGill Genome Centre.”
Learn more about research projects in the Kildea lab.