David J. Brenner, PhD

Higgins Professor of Radiation Biophysics (in Radiation Oncology) and of Environmental Health Sciences

Overview

I direct the Center for Radiological Research - now more than 100 years old - at Columbia University Medical Center. I started my career in theoretical physics -- applying quantum mechanics to radiation therapy. While I've forgotten most of what I ever knew about quantum mechanics, I've kept my love for applying hard-core maths and physics concepts to solve biological problems.

We want to understand the effects on people of both high doses and low doses of radiation:

At high radiation doses, radiation therapy is one of main tools to we have to cure cancer, and we are constantly looking for ways to make radiotherapy more effective and with less side effects. We've worked a lot on improving the radiation treatments for cervical cancer and for prostate cancer, and right now we are really excited about the use of charged particle radiation therapy in the fight against pancreatic cancer. The clinical results for carbon-ion therapy from Japan look really promising - but we don't know how it works - and so we are determined to take advantage of all the facilities at our Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF) to find out the mechanisms of how carbon-ion therapy may be curing this deadly disease.

At low radiation doses, radiation is important in many different circumstances, ranging all the way from medical CT scans, to radiological terrorism, to airport scanners, to the future of nuclear power, and even to space travel. We work on all of these, trying to understand the radiation risks, so we can maximize the benefits versus the risk in each case.

Most of our work is with ionizing radiation - x rays, neutrons, alpha particles, carbon ions, but there are many other different types of radiation. Over the past six years, we have been working on a very exciting new approach to killing drug-resistant bacteria - superbugs- , as well as airborne viruses such as influenza, using a unique type of ultra-violet light. We have always known that ultraviolet light can efficiently kill all microbes, but conventional germicidal ultraviolet light is hazardous to our health, causing skin cancer and cataracts. We have identified a particular wavelength of UV light that has the best of both worlds - it's safe and it kills microbes - including superbugs.

Academic Appointments

Higgins Professor of Radiation Biophysics (in Radiation Oncology) and of Environmental Health Sciences

Administrative Titles

Director, Center for Radiological Research (CRR)
Director, Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF)

Gender

Male

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

BA, 1974 Physics, Oxford University (United Kingdom)
MSc, 1976 Radiation Physics, University of London (United Kingdom)
MA, 1979 Physics Philosophy, Oxford University (United Kingdom)
PhD, 1980 Physics, University of Surrey (United Kingdom)

Committees, Societies, Councils

Member, National Academy of Sciences Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
Member, NAS study, Research Directions in Human Biological Effects of Low Level Ionizing Radiation
Member, National Academy of Sciences BEIR VI (Radon) Committee
Director, Radiological Research Accelerator Facility, Columbia University
Member, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements
Member, NCRP Committee 1-6, on Linearity of Dose Response, 1995-2000
Chairperson, Columbia University Radiation Safety Committees, 1992-
Editorial Board, Radiation and Environmental Biophysics, 2002-
Member EPA Science Advisory Sub-Committee on Radon Research, 1993-96.
Associate Editor, International Journal of Radiation Biology, 1991-1996
Member, Columbia University Senate, 1985-1987.
Physics Councilor, Radiation Research Society Executive Council, 1993-1996.

Honors & Awards

Oxford University Weldon Prize for "Development of mathematical methods applied to biology", 2015
Radiation Research Society Failla Gold Medal Award, 2011
Herbert L. Abrams Lecturer, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, 2011
Douglas Lea Lecturer, UK Radiation Oncology Congress, 2009
Selby Lecturer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 2009
G. William Morgan Lecturer, Health Physics Society, 2008
Jean Roy Memorial Lecturer, Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology, 2002
University of California, Berkeley, Miller Professor, 2002-
Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science), Oxford University, 1996.
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Robert D. Moseley Award for Radiation Protection in Medicine 1992
Winner, 1991 Radiation Research Society Annual Research Award.
Oxford University Carter Physics Prize, 1974

Research

Radiation is very much a two-edged sword -- used in the right way it has revolutionized modern medicine -- such as through CT scans and as a cure for many cancers. But radiation used in the wrong way can be harmful. To maximize the benefits of the many different applications of radiation, we need to understand exactly how they affect us -- from our DNA to the whole person.

Selected Publications

Meulepas JM, Hauptmann M, Lubin JH, Shuryak I, Brenner DJ. Is there unmeasured indication bias in radiation-related cancer risk estimates from studies of computed tomography? Radiat Res. Epub: Dec 2017 [Abstract]

Buonanno M, Ponnaiya B, Welch D, Stanislauskas M, Randers-Pehrson G, Smilenov L, Lowy FD, Owens DM, Brenner DJ. Germicidal efficacy and mammalian skin safety of 222-nm UV light.Radiat Res. 2017;187:483-491[PDF]

Welch D, Spotnitz HM, Brenner DJ. Measurement of UV emission from a diffusing optical fiber using radiochromic film. Photochem Photobiol. 2017;93:1509-1512[PDF]

Laiakis EC, Wang YW, Young EF, Harken AD, Xu Y, Smilenov L, Garty GY, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ Jr. Metabolic dysregulation after neutron exposures expected from an Improvised Nuclear Device. Radiat Res. 2017;188:21-34[PDF]

Miller AC, Gilstad J, Brenner DJ. Military global health engagement and low-dose ionizing radiation. Mil Med. 2017;182:1677-1679[PDF]

Nagel ZD, En gelward BP, Brenner DJ, Begley TJ, Sobol RW, Bielas JH, Stambrook PJ, Wei Q, Hu JJ, Terry MB, Dilworth C, McAllister KA, Reinlib L, Worth L, Shaughnessy DT. Towards precision prevention: Technologies for identifying healthy individuals with high risk of disease. Mutat Res.2017;800-802:14-28[PDF]

Welch D, Randers-Pehrson G, Spotnitz HM, Brenner DJ. Unlaminated Gafchromic EBT3 film for ultraviolet radiation monitoring. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2017;176:341-346[PDF]

Repin M, Pampou S, Karan C, Brenner DJ, Garty G. RABiT-II: Implementation of a high-throughput micronucleus biodosimetry assay on commercial biotech robotic systems. Radiat Res. 2017;187:492-498[PDF]

Garty G, Xu Y, Elliston C, Marino SA, Randers-Pehrson G, Brenner DJ. Mice and the A-Bomb: Irradiation Systems for Realistic Exposure Scenarios. Radiat Res. 2017;187:465-475[PDF]

Shuryak I, Fornace AJ Jr, Datta K, Suman S, Kumar S, Sachs RK, Brenner DJ. Scaling human cancer risks from low LET to high LET when dose-effect relationships are complex. Radiat Res.2017;187:476-482[PDF]

Welch D, Turner L, Speiser M, Randers-Pehrson G, Brenner DJ. Scattered dose calculations and measurements in a life-like mouse phantom. Radiat Res. 2017[PDF]

Kramer R, Cassola VF, Andrade ME, de AraÃºjo MW, Brenner DJ, Khoury HJ. Mathematical modelling of scanner-specific bowtie filters for Monte Carlo CT dosimetry. Phys Med Biol.2017;62:781-809[PDF]

Holmes JA, Chera BS, Brenner DJ, Shuryak I, Wilson AK, Lehman-Davis M, Fried DV, Somasundaram V, Lian J, Cullip T, Marks LB. Estimating the excess lifetime risk of radiation induced secondary malignancy (SMN) in pediatric patients treated with craniospinal irradiation (CSI): Conventional radiation therapy versus helical intensity modulated radiation therapy. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2017;7:35-41[PDF]

Radivoyevitch T, Sachs RK, Gale RP, Molenaar RJ, Brenner DJ, Hill BT, Kalaycio ME, Carraway HE, Mukherjee S, Sekeres MA, Maciejewski JP Defining AML and MDS second cancer risk dynamics after diagnoses of first cancers treated or not with radiation. Leukemia. 2016;30:285-94[PDF]

Bertucci A, Smilenov LB, Turner HC, Amundson SA, Brenner DJ. In vitro RABiT measurement of dose rate effects on radiation induction of micronuclei in human peripheral blood lymphocytes.Radiat Environ Biophys. 2016;55:53-9[PDF]

Laiakis EC, Pannkuk EL, Diaz-Rubio ME, Wang YW, Mak TD, Simbulan-Rosenthal CM, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ Jr. Implications of genotypic differences in the generation of a urinary metabolomics radiation signature. Mutat Res. 2016;788:41-9 [PDF]

Goudarzi M, Chauthe S, Strawn SJ, Weber WM, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ. Quantitative metabolomic analysis of urinary citrulline and calcitroic acid in mice after exposure to various types of ionizing radiation. Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17(5)[PDF]

Laiakis EC, Strawn SJ, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ Jr. Assessment of saliva as a potential biofluid for biodosimetry: A pilot metabolomics study in mice. Radiat Res. 2016;186:92-7 [PDF]

Garty G, Turner HC, Salerno A, Bertucci A, Zhang J, Chen Y, Dutta A, Sharma P, Bian D, Taveras M, Wang H, Bhatla A, Balajee A, Bigelow AW, Repin M, Lyulko OV, Simaan N, Yao YL, Brenner DJ. The decade of the RABiT (2005-15). Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2016;172:201-206 [PDF]

Goudarzi M, Mak TD, Jacobs JP, Moon BH, Strawn SJ, Braun J, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ Jr, Li HH. An Integrated multi-omic approach to assess radiation injury on the host-microbiome axis.Radiat Res. 2016;18:219-34[PDF]

Bian D, Tsui JC, Repin M, Garty G, Turner H, Lawrence Yao Y, Brenner DJ. Liquid handling optimization in high-throughput biodosimetry tool. J Med Device. 2016 Dec;10(4) [PDF]

Durante M, Brenner DJ, Formenti S. Does heavy ion therapy work through the immune system?Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 2016;96:934-6 [PDF]

Buonanno M, Stanislauskas M, Ponnaiya B, Bigelow AW, Randers-Pehrson G, Xu Y, Shuryak I, Smilenov L, Owens DM, Brenner DJ. 207-nm UV light-a promising tool for safe low-cost reduction of surgical site infections. II. In-vivo safety studies. PLoS One. 2016 Jun 8;11(6):e0138418 [PDF]

Helen C. Turner , Igor Shuryak, Waylon Weber, Melanie Doyle-Eisele, Dunstana Melo, Raymond Guilmette, Sally A. Amundson, David J. Brenner. ?-H2AX Kinetic Profile in Mouse Lymphocytes Exposed to the Internal Emitters Cesium-137 and Strontium-90. PLOS One. 2015 Nov 30.[PDF]

Xu Y, Randers-Pehrson G, Marino SA, Garty G, Harken A, Brenner DJ.Broad Energy Range Neutron Spectroscopy using a Liquid Scintillator and a Proportional Counter: Application to a Neutron Spectrum Similar to that from an Improvised Nuclear Device. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A.2015 Sep 11;794:234-239.[PDF]

Goudarzi M, Weber WM, Chung J, Doyle-Eisele M, Melo DR, Mak TD, Strawn SJ, Brenner DJ, Guilmette R, Fornace AJ. Serum dyslipidemia is induced by internal exposure to strontium-90 in mice, lipidomic profiling using a data-independent LC/MS approach. J Proteome Res. 2015 Aug 11.[PDF]

Lue SW, Repin M, Mahnke R, Brenner DJ. Development of a High-Throughput and Miniaturized Cytokinesis-Block Micronucleus Assay for Use as a Biological Dosimetry Population Triage Tool. Radiat Res. 2015 Jul 31.[PDF]

Buonanno M, Randers-Person G, Smilenov LB, Kleiman NJ, Young E, Ponnayia B, Brenner DJ. A Mouse Ear Model for Bystander Studies Induced by Microbeam Irradiation. Radiat Res. 2015 Jul 24.[PDF]

Brenner DJ, Chao NJ, Greenberger JS, Guha C, McBride WH, Swartz HM, Williams JP. Are We Ready for a Radiological Terrorist Attack Yet? Report From the Centers for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation Network. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2015 Jul 1. No abstract available. [PDF]

Shuryak I, Carlson DJ, Brown JM, Brenner DJ. High-dose and fractionation effects in stereotactic radiation therapy: Analysis of tumor control data from 2965 patients. Radiother Oncol. 2015 Jun 6.[PDF]

Goudarzi M, Weber WM, Mak TD, Chung J, Doyle-Eisele M, Melo DR, Strawn SJ, Brenner DJ, Guilmette RA, Fornace AJ Jr. A Comprehensive Metabolomic Investigation in Urine of Mice Exposed to Strontium-90. Radiat Res. 2015 Jun. Epub 2015 May 26. [Abstract] [PDF]

Garty G, Bigelow AW, Repin M, Turner HC, Bian D, Balajee AS, Lyulko OV, Taveras M, Yao YL,Brenner DJ. An automated imaging system for radiation biodosimetry. Microsc Res Tech. 2015 May 4. [Epub ahead of print][PDF]

Sun H, Olsen T, Zhu J, Tao J, Ponnaiya B, Amundson SA, Brenner DJ, Lin Q. A Bead-Based Microfluidic Approach to Integrated Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis by Quantitative RT-PCR. RSC Adv. 2015 Jan 1.[PDF]

Garty G, Ehsan MU, Buonanno M, Yang Z, Sweedler JV, Brenner DJ. MICROBEAM-COUPLED CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2015 Apr 12. [Epub ahead of print] [PDF]

Welch D, Harken AD, Randers-Pehrson G, Brenner DJ. Construction of mouse phantoms from segmented CT scan data for radiation dosimetry studies. Phys Med Biol. 2015 May 7. Epub 2015 Apr 10. [PDF]

Halm BM, Franke AA, Lai JF, Li X, Custer LJ, Pagano I, Cooney RV, Turner HC, Brenner DJ. Pilot study for the establishment of biomarkers for radiation damage after computed tomography in children. Hawaii J Med Public Health. 2015 Mar.[PDF]

Sharma PM, Ponnaiya B, Taveras M, Shuryak I, Turner H, Brenner DJ. High throughput measurement of γ-H2AX DSB repair kinetics in a healthy human population. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 20.[PDF]

Turner HC, Shuryak I, Taveras M, Bertucci A, Perrier JR, Chen C, Elliston CD, Johnson GW, Smilenov LB, Amundson SA, Brenner DJ. Effect of dose rate on residual γ-H2AX levels and frequency of micronuclei in X-irradiated mouse lymphocytes. Radiat Res. 2015 Mar. Epub 2015 Mar 4. [PDF ]

Fazel R, Gerber TC, Balter S, Brenner DJ, Carr JJ, Cerqueira MD, Chen J, Einstein AJ, Krumholz HM, Mahesh M, McCollough CH, Min JK, Morin RL, Nallamothu BK, Nasir K, Redberg RF, Shaw LJ; Approaches to enhancing radiation safety in cardiovascular imaging: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014 Nov 4. Epub 2014 Sep 29. [PDF]

Xu Y, Zhang B, Messerli M, Randers-Pehrson G, Hei TK, Brenner DJ. Metabolic oxygen consumption measurement with a single-cell biosensor after particle microbeam irradiation.Radiat Environ Biophys. 2015 Mar. Epub 2014 Oct 22 .[PDF ]

Goudarzi M, Weber WM, Mak TD, Chung J, Doyle-Eisele M, Melo DR, Brenner DJ, Guilmette RA, Fornace AJ Jr. Metabolomic and lipidomic analysis of serum from mice exposed to an internal emitter, cesium-137, using a shotgun LC-MS(E) approach. J Proteome Res. 2015 Jan 2. Epub 2014 Nov 5.[PDF]

Brenner DJ. Breast Cancer Management interview. Breast Cancer Management.. (2014) 3(4), 315-319. [PDF]

Fazel R, Gerber TC, Balter S, Brenner DJ, Carr JJ, Cerqueira MD, Chen J, Einstein AJ, Krumholz HM, Mahesh M, McCollough CH, Min JK, Morin RL, Nallamothu BK, Nasir K, Redberg RF, Shaw LJ. Approaches to enhancing radiation safety in cardiovascular imaging: a scientific statement from the american heart association. Circulation. 2014 Nov 4. [PDF]

Xu Y, Zhang B, Messerli M, Randers-Pehrson G, Hei TK, Brenner DJ. Metabolic oxygen consumption measurement with a single-cell biosensor after particle microbeam irradiation.Mutagenesis. 2014 Sep 13. [Epub ahead of print] [abstract]

Balajee AS, Bertucci A, Taveras M, Brenner DJ. Multicolour FISH analysis of ionising radiation induced micronucleus formation in human lymphocytes. Radiat Environ Biophys.. 2014 Oct 22. [Epub ahead of print] [P DF]

Goudarzi M, Mak TD, Chen C, Smilenov LB, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ. The effect of low dose rate on metabolomic response to radiation in mice. Radiat Environ Biophys. 2014 Jul 22. [abstract] [PDF]

Brown JM, Carlson DJ, Brenner DJ. Dose escalation, not "new biology," can account for the efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy with non-small cell lung cancer. In reply to Rao et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2014 Jul 1;89(3):693-4. [abstract] [PDF]

Repin M, Turner HC, Garty G, Brenner DJ. Next generation platforms for high-throughput biodosimetry. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2014 Jun;159(1-4):105-10. [abstract] [PDF]

Shuryak I, Lubin JH, Brenner DJ. Potential for adult-based epidemiological studies to characterize overall cancer risks associated with a lifetime of CT scans. Radiat Res. 2014 Jun;181(6):584-91. [abstract] [PDF]

Halm BM, Franke AA, Lai JF, Turner HC, Brenner DJ, Zohrabian VM, Dimauro R. γ-H2AX foci are increased in lymphocytes in vivo in young children 1 h after very low-dose X-irradiation: a pilot study. Pediatr Radiol. 2014 Apr 23.[abstract] [PDF]

Laiakis EC, Mak TD, Anizan S, Amundson SA, Barker CA, Wolden SL, Brenner DJ, Fornace AJ Jr. Development of a Metabolomic Radiation Signature in Urine from Patients Undergoing Total Body Irradiation. Radiat Res. 2014 Mar 27. [abstract] [PDF]

Lyulko OV, Garty G, Randers-Pehrson G, Turner HC, Szolc B, Brenner DJ. Fast Image Analysis for the Micronucleus Assay in a Fully Automated High-Throughput Biodosimetry System. Radiat Res.2014 Feb 6. [abstract] [PDF]

Turner HC, Sharma P, Perrier JR, Bertucci A, Smilenov L, Johnson G, Taveras M, Brenner DJ, Garty G. The RABiT: high-throughput technology for assessing global DSB repair. Radiat Environ Biophys. 2014 Jan 30. [abstract] [PDF]

Brown JM, Carlson DJ, Brenner DJ. The tumor radiobiology of SRS and SBRT: are more than the 5 Rs involved? Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2014 Feb 1;88(2):254-62. [abstract] [PDF]

Grad M, Young EF, Smilenov L, Brenner DJ, Attinger D. A simple add-on microfluidic appliance for accurately sorting small populations of cells with high fidelity. J Micromech Microeng.2013;23(11). [abstract] [PDF]

Goudarzi M, Weber W, Mak TD, Chung J, Doyle-Eisele M, Melo D, Brenner DJ, Guilmette RA, Fornace AJ. Development of urinary biomarkers for internal exposure by cesium-137 using a metabolomics approach in mice. Radiat Res. 2014 Jan;181(1):54-64. [abstract] [PDF]

Shuryak I, Smilenov LB, Kleiman NJ, Brenner DJ. Potential reduction of contralateral second breast-cancer risks by prophylactic mammary irradiation: validation in a breast-cancer-prone mouse model. PLoS One. 2013 Dec 20;8(12):e85795. [abstract] [PDF]

Brenner DJ, Vazquez M, Buonanno M, Amundson SA, Bigelow AW, Garty G, Harken AD, Hei TK, Marino SA, Ponnaiya B, Randers-Pehrson G, Xu Y. Integrated interdisciplinary training in the radiological sciences. Br J Radiol. 2014 Feb;87(1034):20130779. [abstract] [PDF]

Brenner DJ. What we know and what we don't know about cancer risks associated with radiation doses from radiological imaging. Br J Radiol. 2014 Jan 20. [abstract] [PDF]

Brenner DJ, Shuryak I, Jozsef G, Dewyngaert KJ, Formenti SC. Risk and risk reduction of major coronary events associated with contemporary breast radiotherapy. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Jan;174(1):158-60. [PDF]