Recent Advances in the Study of Ionizing Radiation Damage and Repair

This workshop, organized under the auspices of the EC Concerted Action Programme on DNA Repair and Cancer, was held at the CRC Gray Laboratory, Northwood, Middlesex, UK, 23-25 October 1991. The 42 participants were drawn mainly from laboratories participating in the EC Concerted Action, with a few visitors from elsewhere. The discussions centred on the increasing convergence of classical radiobiology and biophysics with molecular biology and mammalian cell genetics to study mechanisms of DNA strand break accumulation and repair following exposure to ionizing radiation. There was a strong emphasis on the application of this research both to cancer radiotherapy and to detection of individuals at risk from cancer due to exposure to ionizing radiation. The first two days were organized as six workshop sessions; on the third day we joined forces with Julie Denekamp and dedicated a session to the memory of our late friend and colleague, Nic McNally. The rest of this day was devoted to reviews by his colleagues and collaborators of the fields of research to which he contributed so much. An evening of music and readings, organized by Joanna and Rachel McNally, completed the memorial. Here we review the first seven sessions of the workshop, emphasizing the more recent approaches and the new information they have given us.