PHYSICS 7550 - Radiation Biology, Protection & Epidemiology

The aim of this on-line course is to provide an understanding of the effects of radiation in vivo, operational health physics, radiation protection and epidemiological methods appropriate for practice as a medical or health physicist. The reading-tutorial course consists of 25 topics covering various aspects of Radiation Biology, Protection and Epidemiology. Lecture notes are available on the internet. Topics include: radiation protection quantities, risk and exposure, radiation chemistry, biological effects of radiation on cells and tissues, dose fractionation, Linear Energy Transfer, Relative Biological Effectiveness, clinical radiobiology, sources of radiation, Radon-222 and its daughters, medical exposure, man-made & industrial sources of radiation, survivors of radiation exposure, health effects of low levels of ionising radiation, early and late effects from high doses of radiation, shielding calculations in medical equipment installations, radiation safety in the laboratory and clinical environment, personnel protection and monitoring, radiation protection legislation, genetic effects and risks, introduction to epidemiology, association vs causation, non-ionising radiation risks and radiation epidemiology.