Scientific program

Tuesday 28th April 2026, Day 1 of the Workshop (Le Benedettine):
15:00 - 15:20 Welcome, Francesco Romano and Fabio Di Martino
15:20 -16:00  Institutional welcome: Simone Capaccioli (CISUP, CPFR), Alberto Quaranta (President of INFN-CSN5)
Session I Clinical perspectives of SFRT
Moderator: Yolanda Prezado
16:00 - 16:30  Invited talk: Yuting Lin (UT Southwestern Medical Center, US)
16:30 - 17:00  Invited talk: Quintero Mateus Chrystian (Mayo Clinic, US)- Translating Photon Minibeam Radiotherapy to the Clinic: Implementation and Early Trial Experience
17:00 - 17:15   Niels Bassler (Aarhus University, DK) - The PRESTO Initiative for Clinical pMBRT Translation
17:15  - 17:30  Jake H. Pensavalle (SIT Sordina & CPFR, IT) - MINIBEAM IntraOperative Radiotherapy (IORT) with Electrons
17:30 - 17:45  Gaia Franciosini (Sapienza, University of Rome, IT) - Towards Clinical Implementation of VHEE Mini-Beam Radiotherapy
17:45 - 18:15   Discussion

18:30: Welcome reception
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Wednesday 29th April 2026, Day 2 of the Workshop (Le Benedettine):
Session II Minibeam production and characterization
Moderator: Niels Bassler
09.00 - 09.20  Invited talk: Judith Reindl (University of Oslo, NOR) - Focused ion beams for particle minibeam therapy
09:20 - 09:40  Invited talk: Fardous Reaz (Aarhus University, DK) - Proton Minibeam Collimators: Progress and Problems
09.40 - 09:55  Aikaterini Rousseti (University of the Bundeswehr Munich, DE) - Construction of a proton minibeam beamline for preclinical experiments in small animals – Minibee Project
09:55 - 10:10   Daria Boscolo (GSI, DE) - Beam Delivery Development for pMBRT within the PRESTO Project
10:10 - 10.25    Kelvin Ng Wei Siang (Holland Proton Therapy Center, Delft, NL) - Impact of Scatterers on PVDR and Homogeneity at the SOBP in Proton Minibeam Radiotherapy
10:25 - 10:40   Oxana Actis (PSI, CH)- Experimental validation of proton minibeam production using PBS systems with different source to axis distances
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10:40-11:10: Coffee break
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11:10 - 11:25  Eva Kasanda (University of Bern, CH) - Facility upgrades for the use of a medical cyclotron for high LET proton radiobiology studies at conventional and ultra-high dose rates with minibeam capabilities, and planning for first in-vivo pMBRT studies  
11:25 - 11:40  Anna Grebynik (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Zeuthen, DE) - Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy Capabilities at FLASHlab@PITZ  
11.40 - 11:55  Erik Traneus (RaySearch Laboratories, SWE) - Initial trials of treatment planning of FLASHlab@PITZ minibeams with the micro-RayStation software    
11:55 - 12:10  Stefano De Astis (University of Turin & INFN-TO, IT) -  Electron Minibeam Radiotherapy with a UHDR Modified Linear    
12:10 - 12:25  Lucia Giuliano (Sapienza, University of Rome, IT) - Enabling Mini Beam FLASHRadiotherapy with Compact High-Gradient C-Band Electron Accelerator
12:25-13:00 Discussion
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13:00 - 14:00:      Lunch
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Session III Dosimetric parameters and technologies   
Moderators: Hugo Palmans and Sam Flynn
14:00 - 14:30  Invited talk: Giuliana Milluzzo (INFN Catania- IT) - New approaches and technologies for dosimetry in MBRT
14:30 - 14:45  Andrea Cavalieri (CPFR, IT) - Average dose measurement of a mini-beam electron beam using an ionization chamber
14:45 - 15:00  Umberto Deut (University of Turin, INFN-TO, IT) - Characterization of a Clinical Linear Accelerator modified for Minibeams Using Silicon Detectors
15:00 - 15:15   Antonello Spinelli (IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, IT) - A Radioluminescence Imaging Approach for Real-Time Dose Monitoring in Minibeam Radiotherapy
15:15 - 15:30  Jonathan Bortfeldt (Department of Medical Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, DE)- Tailored Instrumentation for (Pre-)Clinical Proton Minibeam Radiotherapy: Collimator Mount, High-Resolution QA and Small-Animal Positioning
15:30 - 15:45   Emanuele Scifoni (TIFPA, IT)- Experimental Microdosimetric Characterization of Proton Minibeam Radiotherapy Suggests a Novel Method for Tissue Sparing Assessment
15:45 - 16:10: Discussion

16:10 - 16:30:      Coffee Break
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Session IV Radiobiology: modelling
Moderators: Joao Seco
16:30 - 17:00  Invited talk: Francesco Cordoni (University of Trento & TIFPA, IT) - Mechanistic multiscale radiobiological modeling for minibeam radiotherapy
17:00 - 17:15   Lorenzo Castelli (University of Trento, IT) - Track proximity in Poisson random measuremodels: identifying relevant scales for novel irradiation conditions     
17:15 - 17:30  Igor Bodrenko (Istituto Nanoscienze, CNR-NANO, Pisa, IT) - A Minimalistic Model of the Ultra-HighDose Rate Effect of Ionizing Radiation: The Impact of Non-Homogeneous Dose Delivery
17:30 - 17:45  Thomas Friedrich (GSI, DE)- Modeling minibeam effects by stem cellmigration: Beyond the volume effect
17:45 - 18:00  Camilla Scapicchio (INFN-Pisa, IT) -  From Raw Data to Radiobiological Insights: A Standardized Multi-Parametric Platform for Preclinical Data in MBRT and FLASH-RT Enabling Model Fitting and Machine Learning
18:00 - 18:30  Discussion
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19:40  Social Dinner
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Thursday 30 April 2026, Day 3 of the Workshop (Le Benedettine):
Session IV Radiobiology: in vivo/vitro experiments
Moderator: Judith Reindl
09.00 - 09:30  Invited talk: Annaig Bertho (Institute Curie, FR) - pMBRT: Novel Radiobiological Insights from the NARA Team
09:30 - 09:45  Verdiana Trappetti (University of Bern, CH)- A strong anti-tumour response is triggered both locally and systemically by sub-millimetre SFRT
09:45 - 10:00  Fardous Reaz (Aarhus University, DK)- Normal Tissue Sparing inTemporally Fractionated Proton Minibeam Radiotherapy: A Dose – Response Study of Acute Skin Toxicity in a Murine Model   
10:00 - 10:15    Niels Bassler - Evaluation of varied LET painting onoxic or hypoxic tumor cell radiation response
10:15 - 10.30    Stella Logotheti (Biomedical Physics in Radiation Oncology, DKFZ, DE) - In situ vaccine effect of radiotherapy is associated with intra tumoural ERV re-activation and RNA virus sensing
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10:30 - 11:00        Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:15  Antonello Spinelli (IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, IT) - Combined Minibeam and Conventional Radiotherapy Reduces Severe Skin Toxicity and Improves Tumor Control
11.15 - 11:30   Anna Grebynik (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Zeuthen, DE) - Spatially Fractionated and UHDR Electron Irradiation at FLASHlab@PITZ: Preclinical Biological Infrastructureand UHDR Radiobiological Effects
11:30-11:45   Martina De Felice (Department of Physics, University of Pisa, IT) - From Mini Beam Irradiation to DNA Damage Mapping: A Correlative Imaging Approach
11:45 - 12:30   Discussion  
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12:30 - 13:30      Lunch
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Session V Minibeam and FLASH radiotherapy  
Moderator: Emanuele Scifoni
13:30 - 14:00   Invited talk: Yolanda Prezado (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) - Minibeam Radiation Therapy: status quo and  main gaps
14:00 - 14:30   Invited talk: Marie Catherine Vozenin (University of Geneva, Switzerland) - FLASH radiotherapy, a promising future for radiation oncology
14:30 - 14:45   Line Kristensen (Danish Centre for Particle Therapy (DCPT), Aarhus University, Denmark)- Proton Minibeam-FLASH comparison using PTV dose
14:45 - 15:00   Judith Reindl (University of Oslo, NOR) - Simulation study of Spread-out Break-Peak irradiation combining pMBT and FLASH therapy
15:00 - 15:15    Eleonora Da Pozzo (Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, IT)- Integrating FLASH Radiotherapy with Mini Beam SFRT for Improved Therapeutic Selectivity
15:15 - 15:45    Discussion

15:45 - 16:15      Coffee Break
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16:15 - 17:15 Working group discussion       
17:15 - 17:45 Final discussion      
17:15 - 18:00 Closing remarks
 

Poster session (During lunch break)

Said Ahmad (INFN - Catania, IT) - Feasibility study of pulsed proton minibeam production through Geant4 simulations
Elena Corvaia (University of Palermo, INFN-Catania, IT) - Microdosimetric spectra evaluation for proton Minibeam Radiotherapy through Monte Carlo Geant4 simulations
Josè Moscatelli (University of Pisa, IT) - Minibeam dosimetry with plastic scintillator screens
Enrica Strettoi (Institute of Neuroscience, CNR, IT) - FLASH vs. Conventional Irradiation: Impact on Normal Visual Function and Therapeutic Potential in a Mouse Model of Ocular Melanoma
Mariagrazia Celentano (CPFR, Istituto Ospedaliero, Brescia, IT)- Preliminary evaluation of Minibeam Radiotherapy dose distributions for clinical translation
Claudio Ricci, Satia Caroti (University of Pisa, IT)- A 3D In Vitro Platform to Study FLASH Radiotherapy in Sinonasal Cancer
Francesco Urso (University of Pisa, CPFR, IT)- Influence of physical parameters in a realistic pencil beam scanning model on VHEE minibeam pattern formation and performance
Jessica Neubauer (University of the Bundeswehr Munich, DE) - Beyond Peak Dose: Lateral Dose Redistribution Drives Growth Inhibition in Glioblastoma Spheroids
Angela Corvino (Institut Curie, Université PSL, FR) - PATHY-inspired partial tumor irradiation on a small-animal irradiator
Beatrice D'Orsi (Institute of Neuroscience, CNR, IT)- Distinct oxidative and metabolic responses of B16F10 cells to FLASH versus CONV irradiation support MiniBeam tumour-selective vulnerability
E. De Santis (Neuroscience Institute, CNR, IT)- Evaluating the impact of FLASH vs. Conventional radiotherapy on tumor growth and neuroplasticity in murine models
M. Pullia (CNAO, IT) - Preliminary minibeam measurements at CNAO