Inaugural speech professor Stefan Both

After initially pursuing a career in nuclear medicine, Both, born in Rumania, quickly changed to the field of radiotherapy. In 1999 he left Europe for the United States, where he specialized as a medical physicist and held responsibility for the technical accuracy of radiotherapy treatment delivery. From 2008 onwards, he focused on scientific research into technical innovations in the field of radiotherapy and in proton therapy in particular. Prior to joining the UMCG, he was a long-time staff member at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center, one of the world’s largest proton therapy centers.

As of the summer of 2017, Both is chief of radiotherapy physics at the UMCG. He combines clinical tasks with scientific research and educational duties. His top priority is to collaborate with his colleagues to continually improve cancer care. “Proton therapy was invented seventy years ago, and we still don’t fully exploit all the opportunities this type of radiation offers. There is always room for improvement.” 

Both: “Pencil Beam Scanning can very well become one of the most important technologies in preventing treatment-related side effects altogether, without compromising the cancer treatment itself. This is what my chair is about.”