SIMON Stéphane

Units

Research in nuclear engineering at ULB was started about 50 years ago. At the beginning of the sixties, Prof. Jacques Devooght (supported in particular by Profs. P. Baudoux, A. Jaumotte and P. Kipfer) initiated research activities in nuclear engineering, including theoretical as well as experimental activities. The theoretical activities were mostly dedicated to the analytical and numerical solutions of the Boltzmann equation for neutron transport. Experimental activities in nuclear physics as well as in neutron physics were also initiated at the same time. From 1960 to the present time, the research activities in nuclear engineering have, of course, strongly evolved. They can presently subdivided in 4 research themes : 
1) numerical calculus and development of numerical algorithms, 
2) Reliability, availability, maintainability and safety of industrial systems, 
3) physical aspects of nuclear engineering including interactions of ionizing radiation with matter (fundamental and applied aspects), simulation of nuclear materials, 
4) nuclear engineering including neutron transport, radioactive waste disposal, etc.

Radiophysics and MRI physics laboratory

The research activities of our laboratory, combining clinical and fundamental research, are developed as part of multidisciplinary approaches and in close collaboration with the departments of Nuclear Medicine, Radiology and Radiotherapy. Thanks to the different expertise of our researchers and our intrinsic collaborations, our research topics are highly diversified.
One of our principal research fields concerns the development of data sciences, including artificial intelligence techniques. Our goal is to develop predictive and prognostic models for internal and external radiotherapy treatments, and on a broader level of Oncology treatments. Biomarkers are extracted from perfusion CT, functional MRI and metabolic/molecular (SPECT and PET) images using Radiomics analysis, possibly combined with biomarkers coming from Genomics, Proteomics, etc. This research topic is of particular interest for the concomitant development of the MRI-Linac and the Theranostic agents (e.g. 68-Gallium/177-Lutetium PRRT and PSMA, etc.). Optimal cancer care needs a holistic view of the patient and the disease and the development of such predictive and prognostic models are deemed essential for improving patient selection and the guidance of their treatment plan.
Another important aspect of our research is the optimization of radiotherapy techniques, notably using artificial intelligence for automatic image delineation (CT, MRI and PET images), absorbed-dose prediction, generation of pseudo-CT from MRI images and TCP/NTCP modelling. This research pillar also focuses on integrating multimodality imaging as part of precision radiotherapy approaches (MRI guided robotic brachytherapy, MRI guided Gammaknife, Theranostics dosimetry, etc).
Moreover our laboratory has research projects in 3D printing, in radiobiology (collaborations with the BRTP: Brussels RadioTheragnostic Platform and the PIRaTH: Preclinical imaging and radiation therapy platform) and on the combination of radiotherapy techniques with immunotherapy. Last but not least, we are participating in the research activities of future proton therapy facilities in Charleroi.

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