New yESTRO committee member: Steven Petit - PDF Version

What is your current position?

Medical physicist and Assistant Professor at Erasmus MC Cancer Institute in Rotterdam, The Netherlands­­­

What is your educational background?

Medical physics.

What is your area of research?

Biological image-guided radiotherapy, and workflow in automation-related topics such as magnetic resonance-only radiotherapy, a one-stop-shop for palliative patients in which the consultation, CT scanning, treatment planning and treatment delivery are all performed within a couple of hours. Also, I work in automated treatment planning and quality assurance.

How long have you been a member of the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)?

I think I joined ESTRO as a student in 2005, and then reupped every time I went to the annual meeting. Since 2009 I’ve been a member non-stop.

What role has ESTRO played in your career?

A big role. It has helped me to gain knowledge through teaching courses and annual meetings, to present my research concisely, to gain committee experience, to start new research projects with other ESTRO members, to meet a lot of people from all over Europe and to stay in contact with former colleagues.

What ESTRO activities have you been involved in so far? And in the future, are there some specific missions within the Society that you would like to participate in?

I have participated in teaching courses and annual meetings, reviewed abstracts and chaired sessions at ESTRO meetings. I attended sessions of the Conference on Experimental Research in Radiation Oncology (CERRO) and the 2016 Agora retreat, and I have been a member of the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR) taskforce. I have just joined the young (y)ESTRO committee and am enjoying it. Together with Jolien Heukelom, I am chairing the young track section for ESTRO 2020 (39) in Vienna.

Why did you want to join the Committee?

I think it is a very nice way to get to know other motivated European colleagues, and work together in an informal setting to contribute to the European radiotherapy community.

Why would you recommend that students and young radiation oncology professionals should become members of ESTRO?

ESTRO is THE organisation to promote the interest of radiation oncology professionals in Europe. It organises great courses, interesting conferences where you can present your work and learn from others, and it provides ample opportunities to meet your European peers.

 

Steven Petit
Erasmus MC Cancer Institute
Rotterdam, The Netherlands