Dr. Doug R. Boreham, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences (Radiation Biology)

Dr. Doug Boreham, along with his team of graduate students and technicians conduct cutting-edge research looking at the biological and health effects of low doses of ionizing radiation. They investigate radiation effects at the microscopic level: cell cultures and DNA changes; and also at the macroscopic level: longevity and cancer. The Boreham Group has three licensed laboratories located in the HLLF to carry out radiation biology research. They are privileged to a suite of state-of-the-art radiation facilities on the McMaster University campus, and make extensive use of the Taylor Source for moderately low dose radiation exposures, as well as radioisotopes produced in the reactor. A significant part of the Boreham Group’s research is striving to definitively answer questions on what effects radiological diagnostic procedures might have on exposed humans. Other research projects conducted by the Boreham Group include investigating the role of radiation-induced free radicals in affecting mutation sensitivity as well as determining genetic modifications in stem cells following radiation exposure. Much of the research conducted to date strongly suggests the existence of protective biological effects from low doses of radiation, in contrast with the “known” harmful effects of large radiation doses.

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