Marco Durante (physicist)

Marco Durante
Durante in 2025 - photo by Jan Hosan
Born1965 (age 60–61)
EducationUniversity of Naples Federico II
Scientific career
Fieldsradiation biophysics, space radiation
InstitutionsGSI Helmhotzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung,
Technische Universität Darmstadt
University of Naples Federico II

Marco Durante (born in 1965 in Naples, Italy) is an Italian physicist known for his contributions to radiation biophysics, space radiation protection, and charged particle cancer therapy. He is Director of the Biophysics Department at the GSI Helmhotzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, in Darmstadt, Germany, Full Professor of Physics at Technische Universität Darmstadt and part-time at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy.

Education

Durante obtained a Laurea (Master’s degree) in physics from the University of Naples Federico II in 1988, and completed a PhD in physics at the same institution in 1992, performing part of the research activity at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley.

Career

Since 2008, Durante has been Full Professor of Physics at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany.[1] In 2018, he was appointed Director of the Biophysics Department at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt.[2]

Previously, Durante served as Director of the Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications (TIFPA) of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) from 2015 to 2018.[3] He had earlier been Research Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) from 2009 to 2014.[4]

From 2005 to 2013, he was Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Sciences at Temple University in Philadelphia, United States. Before that, he served as Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Naples Federico II from 2000 to 2006.[5]

During his early career, Durante held several international research fellowships and visiting appointments. He was Visiting Scientist at the National Institute for Radiological Sciences in Chiba, Japan, from 2002 to 2003, and previously from 1997 to 1998.[6] He was also Visiting Scientist at the University Space Research Association at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, from 1999 to 2000, and earlier a postdoctoral researcher at the same center from 1994 to 1995.[7]

He served as President of the International Association for Radiation Research (IARR) and as a member of advisory committees for organizations such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and international particle accelerator research centers.[8] He also participates on editorial boards of multiple scientific journals. He currently serves as President of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group.[9]

Research

Durante’s research spans radiation biophysics, medical physics, particle radiotherapy, and space radiation protection.[10][11] He has co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers on the physical and biological effects of high-energy charged particles, biodosimetry methods, and optimization of particle therapy.[12] His work has contributed to improved understanding of how heavy ions and protons interact with biological tissues, leading to advanced strategies in cancer particle therapy and radioprotective measures for spaceflight.[13]

During his post-doc at NIRS in Japan, Durante demonstrated that heavy charged particles such as carbon ions result in reduced lymphocyte damage compared with conventional X-ray therapy, an effect linked to dosimetric advantages of particle beams.[14] Subsequent studies have confirmed that particle therapy reduces lymphopenia compared to conventional X-ray treatments.  His Kaplan Lecture 2023 summarizes this work and its implications for combining particle therapy with immunotherapy.[15][16]

Impact on Particle Therapy and Radiation Oncology

Durante is a leading voice in the field of particle therapy, including research into advanced heavy ion modalities and high-dose-rate techniques such as FLASH radiotherapy.[17] In 2020 he was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) [18]Advanced Grant to study therapeutic applications of radioactive ion beams and in 2025 he got a second ERC to support innovative research on ultra-high-dose-rate heavy ion beams aimed at enhancing treatment efficacy while minimizing healthy tissue damage.[19] The results of the first ERC project led to the first demonstration of tumor treatment in an animal model with high-energy radioactive ions.[20][21][22][23] He is also very active in mathematical modelling of radiation effects. The agent-based model of radiation-induced fibrosis[24], developed by Durante with his Ph.D. student Niccolo’ Cogno in collaboration with the University of Surrey, was selected as one of the Top 10 breakthrough in Physics 2024 according to the Institute of Physics (IOP).[25]

Space Radiation and Radioprotection

Beyond cancer therapy, Durante’s work includes experimental and theoretical studies of cosmic radiation and shielding effectiveness, advancing risk assessment for human space exploration. He performed several experiments on space radiation shielding and radiobiology at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) in the USA and has promoted the construction of the first galactic cosmic ray simulator in Europe, installed at the GSI accelerator.[26] He has collaborated on analyses of heavy ion carcinogenesis and spaceflight radiation effects, and is working in the Task Group 115 of the International Council for Radiological Protection (ICRP) to harmonize the dose limits for astronauts issued by different space agencies.[27]

Awards

Publications

Durante is co-author of over 500 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals (Scopus h-index=70)[35], including high-impact factor reviews on Nature Journal, Lancet Oncology, PNAS, and Reviews of Modern Physics, and is member of the Editorial Board of several of them.

Selected recent publications

  • N. Cogno, R. Bauer, M. Durante, Mechanistic model of radiotherapy-induced lung fibrosis using coupled 3D agent-based and Monte Carlo simulations, Commun. Med. 4 (2024) 16. Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year in Physics for 2024 ([1]) [36]
  • C. Graeff, L. Volz, M. Durante, Emerging technologies for cancer therapy using accelerated particles, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 131 (2023) 104046.[37]
  • M.-C. Vozenin, J. Bourhis, M. Durante, Towards clinical translation of FLASH radiotherapy, Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 19 (2022) 791–803.[38]
  • M. Durante, J. Debus, J.S. Loeffler, Physics and biomedical challenges of cancer therapy with accelerated heavy ions, Nat. Rev. Phys. 3 (2021) 777–790.[39]
  • M. Durante, A. Golubev, W.-Y. Park, C. Trautmann, Applied nuclear physics at the new high-energy particle accelerator facilities, Phys. Rep. 800 (2019) 1–37.[40]
  • M. Durante, R. Orecchia, J.S. Loeffler, Charged-particle therapy in cancer: clinical uses and future perspectives, Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 14 (2017) 483–495.[41]
  • F. Natale, A. Rapp, W. Yu, A. Maiser, H. Harz, A. Scholl, S. Grulich, T. Anton, D. Hörl, W. Chen, M. Durante, G. Taucher-Scholz, H. Leonhardt, M.C. Cardoso, Identification of the elementary structural units of the DNA damage response, Nat. Commun. 8 (2017).[42]
  • R.L. Hughson, A. Helm, M. Durante, Heart in space: effect of the extraterrestrial environment on the cardiovascular system, Nat. Rev. Cardiol. 15 (2017)[43]
  • J. Mirsch, F. Tommasino, A. Frohns, S. Conrad, M. Durante, M. Scholz, T. Friedrich, M. Löbrich, Direct measurement of the 3-dimensional DNA lesion distribution induced by energetic charged particles in a mouse model tissue, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 112 (2015) 12396–12401.[44]
  • Durante M., Reppingen N., Held KD. Immunologically augmented cancer treatment using modern radiotherapy Trends Mol. Med. 19 (2013) 565-582.[45]
  • Loeffler JS., Durante M. Charged particle therapy - optimization, challenges and future directions Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 10 (2013) 411-424.[46]
  • Pignalosa D., Durante M. Overcoming resistance of cancer stem cells Lancet Oncol. 13 (2012) e187- e188.[47]
  • Durante M., Cucinotta FA. Physical basis of radiation protection in space travel Rev. Mod. Phys. 83 (2011) 1245-1281.[48]
  • Newhauser WD., Durante M. Assessing the risk of second malignancies after modern radiotherapy Nat. Rev. Cancer 11 (2011) 438-448.[49]
  • Durante M., Loeffler JS. Charged particles in radiation oncology Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 7 (2010) 37- 43.[50]
  • Jakob B., Splinter J., Durante M., Taucher-Scholz G. Live cell microscopy analysis of radiation-induced DNA double-strand break motion Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106 (2009) 3172-3177.[51]
  • Durante M., Cucinotta FA. Heavy ion carcinogenesis and human space exploration Nat. Rev. Cancer 8 (2008) 465-472.[52]
  • Cucinotta FA., Durante M. Cancer risk from exposure to galactic cosmic rays: implications for space exploration by human beings Lancet Oncol. 7 (2006) 431-435 [53]

References

  1. ^ Physics, Department of. "Prof. PhD. Marco Durante". Department of Physics – TU Darmstadt. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  2. ^ "Prestigious ERC grant for Professor Marco Durante: EU once again provides millions in funding for GSI research on tumor therapy – Investigating the FLASH effect". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  3. ^ "Prof. Marco Durante, Ph.D. TIFPA-INFN, Director University of Trento, Department of Physics" (PDF). indico.
  4. ^ "Prof. Dr. Marco Durante / Helmholtz Forschungsakademie - Hessen für FAIR". hfhf-hessen.de. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  5. ^ "Marco Durante is the Eighth Warren K. Sinclair Keynote Speaker" (PDF). NCRP.
  6. ^ "Marco Durante". Loop. Archived from the original on 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  7. ^ a b "Prestigious honor for Professor Marco Durante: Kaplan Prize for outstanding achievements in radiation research". GSI. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  8. ^ OeWF (2014-10-25). "Interview with Prof. Marco Durante and his research on cosmic radiation during spaceflight". Austrian Space Forum (OeWF). Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  9. ^ "Home - Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG)". 2024-12-15. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  10. ^ "Partikeltherapie gegen Krebs soll verbessert werden". FAZ.NET (in German). 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  11. ^ cern (2025-11-07). "The future of particle therapy". CERN Courier. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  12. ^ Loeffler, Jay S.; Durante, Marco (2013). "Charged particle therapy—optimization, challenges and future directions". Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 10 (7): 411–424. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.79. ISSN 1759-4782.
  13. ^ Durante, Marco; Flanz, Jay (2019-06-01). "Charged particle beams to cure cancer: Strengths and challenges". Seminars in Oncology. 46 (3): 219–225. doi:10.1053/j.seminoncol.2019.07.007. ISSN 0093-7754.
  14. ^ Durante, Marco; Yamada, Shigeru; Ando, Koichi; Furusawa, Yoshiya; Kawata, Tetsuya; Majima, Hideyuki; Nakano, Takashi; Tsujii, Hirohiko (2000). "X-rays vs. carbon-ion tumor therapy: cytogenetic damage in lymphocytes". International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics. 47 (3): 793–798. doi:10.1016/S0360-3016(00)00455-7.
  15. ^ Durante, Marco (2024-05-03). "Kaplan lecture 2023: lymphopenia in particle therapy". International Journal of Radiation Biology. 100 (5): 669–677. doi:10.1080/09553002.2024.2324472. ISSN 0955-3002.
  16. ^ Darmstadt, Technical University of (2025-06-17). "Prestigious ERC grant for Professor Marco Durante". TU Darmstadt. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
  17. ^ "HI-FLASH". GSI. 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  18. ^ "BARB". GSI. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  19. ^ Darmstadt, Technical University of (2025-06-17). "Prestigious ERC grant for Professor Marco Durante". TU Darmstadt. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  20. ^ Boscolo, Daria; Lovatti, Giulio; Sokol, Olga; Vitacchio, Tamara; Moglioni, Martina; Evangelista, Francesco; Haettner, Emma; Tinganelli, Walter; Graeff, Christian; Weber, Uli; Schuy, Christoph; Nitta, Munetaka; Kostyleva, Daria; Purushothaman, Sivaji; Thirolf, Peter G. (October 2025). "Image-guided treatment of mouse tumours with radioactive ion beams". Nature Physics. 21 (10): 1648–1656. doi:10.1038/s41567-025-02993-8. ISSN 1745-2473. PMC 12518140. PMID 41098546.
  21. ^ Freeman, Tami (2025-09-02). "Radioactive ion beams enable simultaneous treatment and imaging in particle therapy". Physics World. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  22. ^ "Radioactive ion beam could target tumours more precisely". New Scientist. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  23. ^ "Radioactive ion beam enables monitoring of a cancer treatment as it's performed". PHYSICS TODAY. 2025-09-29. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  24. ^ Cogno, Nicolò; Bauer, Roman; Durante, Marco (2024-02-09). "Mechanistic model of radiotherapy-induced lung fibrosis using coupled 3D agent-based and Monte Carlo simulations". Communications Medicine. 4 (1). doi:10.1038/s43856-024-00442-w. ISSN 2730-664X. PMC 10858213. PMID 38336802.
  25. ^ Johnston, Hamish (2024-12-12). "Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year in physics for 2024 revealed". Physics World. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  26. ^ Pierobon, E.; Lunati, L.; Wagner, T.; Durante, M.; Schuy, C. (2026-02-10). "Hybrid active-passive galactic cosmic ray simulator: Experimental implementation and microdosimetric characterization". Life Sciences in Space Research. doi:10.1016/j.lssr.2026.02.004. ISSN 2214-5524.
  27. ^ "Task Group 115 Risk and Dose Assessment for Radiological Protection of Astronauts Under Committee 1". www.icrp.org. Archived from the original on 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  28. ^ "Work with heavy ions earns Professor Durante an achievement award from the BIR". RAD Magazine - The voice of medical imaging and clinical oncology. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  29. ^ "Ellen Gleditsch Prize for outstanding research achievements awarded to Professor Marco Durante". GSI. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  30. ^ "Research Director and Professor Cai Grau receives award for outstanding research in proton therapy". Aarhus University Hospital. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  31. ^ "2020 RRS Awards & Honors - Radiation Research Society (RADRES)".
  32. ^ "EUROPEAN RADIATION RESEARCH SOCIETY". www.errs.eu.
  33. ^ IBA-Europhysics award
  34. ^ "Marco Durante is the Eighth Warren K. Sinclair Keynote Speaker" (PDF). Ncrp Online.
  35. ^ "Durante, Marco". Scopus.
  36. ^ Cogno, Nicolo'; Bauer, Roman; Durante, Marco (2024). "Mechanistic model of radiotherapy-induced lung fibrosis using coupled 3D agent-based and Monte Carlo simulations". Communications Medicine. 4 (1) 16. Nature Publishing Group. doi:10.1038/s43856-024-00442-w. PMC 10858213. PMID 38336802.
  37. ^ Graeff, Christian; Volz, Lennart; Durante, Marco (2023). "Emerging technologies for cancer therapy using accelerated particles". Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. 131 104046. Elsevier BV. Bibcode:2023PrPNP.13104046G. doi:10.1016/j.ppnp.2023.104046. ISSN 0146-6410. PMC 7614547. PMID 37207092. S2CID 258045124.
  38. ^ Vozenin, Marie-Catherine; Bourhis, Jean; Durante, Marco (2022-10-27). "Towards clinical translation of FLASH radiotherapy". Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 19 (12). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 791–803. doi:10.1038/s41571-022-00697-z. ISSN 1759-4774. PMID 36303024. S2CID 253184247.
  39. ^ Durante, Marco; Debus, Jürgen; Loeffler, Jay S. (2021-09-17). "Physics and biomedical challenges of cancer therapy with accelerated heavy ions". Nature Reviews Physics. 3 (12). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 777–790. Bibcode:2021NatRP...3..777D. doi:10.1038/s42254-021-00368-5. ISSN 2522-5820. PMC 7612063. PMID 34870097.
  40. ^ Durante, Marco; Golubev, Alexander; Park, Woo-Yoon; Trautmann, Christina (2019). "Applied nuclear physics at the new high-energy particle accelerator facilities". Physics Reports. 800. Elsevier BV: 1–37. Bibcode:2019PhR...800....1D. doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2019.01.004. ISSN 0370-1573. S2CID 126466112.
  41. ^ Durante, Marco; Orecchia, Roberto; Loeffler, Jay S. (2017-03-14). "Charged-particle therapy in cancer: clinical uses and future perspectives". Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 14 (8). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 483–495. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2017.30. ISSN 1759-4774. PMID 28290489. S2CID 23284361.
  42. ^ Natale, Francesco; Rapp, Alexander; Yu, Wei; Maiser, Andreas; Harz, Hartmann; Scholl, Annina; Grulich, Stephan; Anton, Tobias; Hörl, David; Chen, Wei; Durante, Marco; Taucher-Scholz, Gisela; Leonhardt, Heinrich; Cardoso, M. Cristina (2017-06-12). "Identification of the elementary structural units of the DNA damage response". Nature Communications. 8 (1) 15760. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815760N. doi:10.1038/ncomms15760. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5472794. PMID 28604675. S2CID 40657729.
  43. ^ Hughson, Richard L.; Helm, Alexander; Durante, Marco (2017-10-20). "Heart in space: effect of the extraterrestrial environment on the cardiovascular system". Nature Reviews Cardiology. 15 (3). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 167–180. doi:10.1038/nrcardio.2017.157. ISSN 1759-5002. PMID 29053152. S2CID 3357440.
  44. ^ Mirsch, Johanna; Tommasino, Francesco; Frohns, Antonia; Conrad, Sandro; Durante, Marco; Scholz, Michael; Friedrich, Thomas; Löbrich, Markus (2015-09-21). "Direct measurement of the 3-dimensional DNA lesion distribution induced by energetic charged particles in a mouse model tissue". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (40): 12396–12401. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11212396M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1508702112. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4603464. PMID 26392532.
  45. ^ Durante, Marco; Reppingen, Norman; Held, Kathryn D. (September 23, 2013). "Immunologically augmented cancer treatment using modern radiotherapy". Trends in Molecular Medicine. 19 (9): 565–582. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2013.05.007. PMID 23831337.
  46. ^ Loeffler, Jay S.; Durante, Marco (July 23, 2013). "Charged particle therapy—optimization, challenges and future directions". Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 10 (7): 411–424. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.79. PMID 23689752. S2CID 23811095 – via www.nature.com.
  47. ^ Pignalosa, Diana; Durante, Marco (May 23, 2012). "Overcoming resistance of cancer stem cells". The Lancet Oncology. 13 (5): e187–e188. doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(12)70196-1. PMID 22554542.
  48. ^ Durante, Marco; Cucinotta, Francis A. (November 8, 2011). "Physical basis of radiation protection in space travel". Reviews of Modern Physics. 83 (4): 1245–1281. Bibcode:2011RvMP...83.1245D. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.83.1245 – via APS.
  49. ^ Newhauser, Wayne D.; Durante, Marco (June 23, 2011). "Assessing the risk of second malignancies after modern radiotherapy". Nature Reviews Cancer. 11 (6): 438–448. doi:10.1038/nrc3069. PMC 4101897. PMID 21593785.
  50. ^ Durante, Marco; Loeffler, Jay S. (January 23, 2010). "Charged particles in radiation oncology". Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 7 (1): 37–43. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.183. PMID 19949433. S2CID 1390507 – via www.nature.com.
  51. ^ Jakob, B.; Splinter, J.; Durante, M.; Taucher-Scholz, G. (March 3, 2009). "Live cell microscopy analysis of radiation-induced DNA double-strand break motion". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (9): 3172–3177. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.3172J. doi:10.1073/pnas.0810987106. PMC 2642473. PMID 19221031.
  52. ^ Durante, Marco; Cucinotta, Francis A. (June 23, 2008). "Heavy ion carcinogenesis and human space exploration". Nature Reviews Cancer. 8 (6): 465–472. doi:10.1038/nrc2391. hdl:2060/20080012531. PMID 18451812. S2CID 8394210 – via www.nature.com.
  53. ^ Cucinotta, Francis A; Durante, Marco (May 23, 2006). "Cancer risk from exposure to galactic cosmic rays: implications for space exploration by human beings". The Lancet Oncology. 7 (5): 431–435. doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(06)70695-7. PMID 16648048.
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