Developing Next-Generation Radiotherapy Delivery and Expertise at the UI

Project Lead: John Buatti

Funding Approved: Fiscal Year 23
Project Status: In Progress  
Funded amount: $3M over three years

The Midwest FLASH Lab is paving the way for the University of Iowa to redefine cancer treatment by exploring ultra-high dose-rate radiation therapy, known as FLASH. This innovative approach, delivering radiation in milliseconds instead of minutes, offers a promising avenue to preserve healthy tissues while effectively combating cancer cells.

The project's primary goal is to establish UI as a leading institution for FLASH science and training in the U.S. The project aims to leverage significant existing UI resources and grow the funded NIH research portfolio substantially, in addition to attracting talented faculty and student researchers and scholars.

Activities to date:

  • Continued work to advance the x-ray FLASH component of the system.
  • Established the Summer Cancer Undergraduate Research Program (SCURP).
  • Finalized vault renovation plans, selected a contractor, and began the renovation process. The floor was reinforced to support additional required radiation shielding walls. Shielding calculations have been completed and will be included in a report for the Iowa Department of Public Health.
    • A custom treatment table was installed in December 2024.
  • FLEX-9 accelerator system was received in January 2025.
  • In fall 2025, the FLEX-9 FLASH linear accelerator was down. RadiaBeam engineers were onsite in January 2026 and resolved the issues. With system stability restored, the team continued to work on implementing x-ray FLASH capabilities.
  • Seven undergraduate students were enrolled in the FLASH research program in fall 2024.
  • Efforts are underway to increase system usage and schedule a FLASH symposium.
  • Submitted a $77 million Summary Solution proposal to the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) based on smart radiotherapy biomaterials and FLASH-RT work.

Next Steps:

In the third year of the Midwest FLASH Lab project, the team will be ready to offer irradiation services and plans to add x-ray FLASH capability. The team plans to submit several research proposals, including three R01 grant applications and a P01 grant application. The team will also submit a multi-college T32 application for graduate and post-doctoral FLASH training.