02 — Ongoing Research

What we're working on now

Current studies, methodological projects, and clinical platforms advancing our three research directions: monitoring patient response, adapting treatment as new information emerges, and making personalized cancer care more accessible.

Monitor Adapt Deliver
Featured active projects

At the front edge of the lab

Projects currently driving data collection, methodological development, prospective evaluation, and clinical translation.

2025 — Prospective study
Monitor Deliver
Digital biomarker-assisted cardiovascular monitoring
Apple Investigator Support Program · with: Rachel Jimenez, Florence Keane (Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute)

A prospective program combining wearable ECG and physiologic sensing, autonomic testing, and cardiac substructure dosimetry to characterize cardiovascular and autonomic response during thoracic radiotherapy. The long-term goal is early identification of treatment-related cardiovascular dysfunction using low-burden measurements that can extend beyond the clinic.

Now prospective monitoring · digital biomarker development · dose–response modeling
Wearable ECG and cardiovascular monitoring
2026 — Collaborative study
Monitor
Population-scale digital biomarker discovery in thoracic radiotherapy
All of Us Research Program . with: Mahnaz Maddah, Tal Shnitzer Dery (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard)

A collaboration leveraging the All of Us Research Program to study longitudinal physiologic changes surrounding cancer treatment using wearable and electronic health record data. The project focuses on scalable digital biomarkers — including activity-normalized heart rate, tachycardia burden, and related physiologic measures — that may reveal early treatment-related cardiovascular stress at population scale.

Now All of Us analysis · Fitbit-derived biomarkers · activity-normalized physiology · cardio-oncology validation
Population-scale wearable biomarker discovery using Fitbit and All of Us data
2025 — Biomarker development
Monitor Adapt
Longitudinal imaging biomarkers of tumor response
with: Sesbastian Regnery (University Hospital Heidelberg . German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ)

Using routinely acquired cone-beam CT during lung cancer chemoradiotherapy to characterize how tumors evolve during treatment, identify distinct response phenotypes, and determine whether early regression patterns predict recurrence, survival, and other clinically meaningful outcomes.

Now response phenotyping · outcome validation · dynamic prediction · adaptive-treatment design
Longitudinal cone-beam CT imaging and tumor response trajectories
2025 — Method development
Monitor Adapt
Dynamic cardiovascular risk prediction & intervention
with: Thomas Bortfeld (Dana Farber Cancer Institute), Zhongxing Liao (MD Anderson Cancer Center)

Developing dynamic prediction and decision-making frameworks that combine evolving biological and physiological response with radiation exposure to cardiac substructures. The goal is to identify when cardiovascular risk meaningfully changes during treatment and when additional surveillance, cardioprotective intervention, or treatment adaptation should be considered.

Now landmark prediction · arrhythmia-risk modeling · decision-policy development · adaptive replanning experiments
Dynamic cardiovascular risk prediction and intervention framework
2024 — Method development
Adapt
Bi-level optimization for biologically informed radiotherapy
with: Mara Schubert, Katrin Teichert (Franhaufer Institute, ITWM)

Developing optimization frameworks that incorporate biologic, imaging-based, and machine-learning-derived predictions directly into treatment planning. The emphasis is on translating predictive models into actionable plan changes while preserving dosimetric quality, clinician control, and robustness to model uncertainty.

Now bi-level optimization · risk-guided MCO · uncertainty-aware planning · computational validation
Bi-level optimization framework for biologically informed radiotherapy
2025 — Funded study
Monitor Adapt
Immunotherapy-response-informed radiotherapy
MGB Accelerator Award · with: Jonathan Schoenfeld (Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute)

Developing computational strategies for tailoring radiotherapy to treatment-induced immunologic response following preoperative immunotherapy. The project asks whether biologic response to systemic therapy can be used to redesign subsequent radiation treatment while preserving disease control and reducing normal-tissue exposure.

Now response characterization · treatment personalization · biologically informed planning · plan-comparison studies
Immunotherapy response informing personalized radiotherapy
2026 — NIH R21
Monitor
Optimal monitoring of treatment-induced immune dynamics
NIH R21 · with: Chris Beekman, Harald Paganetti (Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute)

Developing a mathematically principled framework for monitoring lymphocyte dynamics during cancer treatment. The project combines compartmental modeling, observability analysis, state estimation, and optimal experimental design to determine what can be reliably inferred from blood measurements and when those measurements should be collected.

Now compartmental modeling · observability analysis · state estimation · optimal measurement scheduling
Optimal monitoring and state estimation of immune-system dynamics
2025 — Clinical deployment
Deliver
NexusRT — optimization for radiation oncology access
Clinical operations · scheduling optimization · decision support

An optimization-based platform for coordinating treatment start dates, machine assignments, urgency, treatment complexity, and limited clinical capacity. The program is designed to standardize scheduling decisions while improving access, utilization, and operational efficiency across radiation oncology.

Now prospective evaluation · workflow integration · capacity utilization · patient waiting-time metrics
Radiation oncology scheduling and access optimization
2025 — Platform development
Monitor Deliver
CardiMom — patient-facing longitudinal monitoring
Digital health · wearable sensing · patient-facing technology

A wearable-enabled mobile platform for longitudinal assessment of cardiovascular and physiological function during and after cancer therapy. The platform is designed to reduce monitoring burden, integrate patient-generated data with clinical research, and create a pathway toward remote, patient-centered digital health interventions.

Now wearable data integration · patient interface · longitudinal summaries · prospective study integration
CardiMom patient-facing wearable monitoring platform
Collaborative programs

Long-term & multi-investigator programs

Broader collaborations that complement the lab's core research directions and extend their methodological and clinical reach.

2020 —
Optimal Stopping in Radiation Therapy
DFG Scientific Network · Christian Thieke

An international collaborative program developing mathematical frameworks for monitoring patient response and determining whether and when radiotherapy should be adapted during treatment.

2022 —
Automated interactive definition of clinical target volume
NIH R01 · Thomas Bortfeld

Developing computational tools for automated and interactive definition of clinical target volumes in radiation oncology.

2024 —
Ionizing Radiation Acoustics Imaging for guided FLASH radiotherapy
NIH R01 · Issam El Naqa · Thomas Bortfeld · Xueding Wang

Developing novel radiation-acoustic detector technologies and real-time error-detection approaches for conventional and FLASH radiotherapy.

A connected program

These projects are intentionally overlapping rather than siloed. Biomarker discovery creates new opportunities for adaptation; adaptation creates new requirements for decision support; and accessible delivery determines whether those advances can ultimately change care.