C CLIFTON LING
Profession:
Medical Physicist and Radiation Biophysicist
Birth:
Kweilin, China
June 22, 1942
Education:
1965 - B.S. (Physics), Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
1971 - Ph.D. (Nuclear Physics), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Certifications:
1977 - Therapeutic Radiological Physics by the American Board of Radiology
Fellowships:
1971-74 - Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Career:
C Clifton Ling was born in China and received his primary and secondary education in Hong Kong at the Tak Sun School and La Salle College, respectively. He attended universities in the USA, receiving his B. Sc. (magna cum laude) at Oregon State University and his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1971. He then entered radiation biophysics as a Research Fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Since then, he has held academic appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, George Washington University Medical Center, and the University of California, San Francisco. In 1989, he returned to MSKCC as the Enid A. Haupt Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medical Physics and Professor of Radiology (Physics), Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. At Memorial Sloan Kettering, he succeeded the late Gioacchino Failla and John Laughlin as Chair of the Medical Physics Department. In 2007 Dr. Ling joined Varian Medical Systems as Director, Advanced Clinical Research, while maintaining his research at MSKCC.
Dr. Ling has been an active participant in many professional societies such as the AAPM, the Radiation Research Society, and ASTRO. In AAPM, he served on the Board of Directors (1982-1987), chaired the Scientific Program Committee (1983-87) and Science Council (1991-93). He chaired the ASTRO Radiation Physics Committee, and was a councilor in physics in the Radiation Research Society. He was on grant review panels of both the U.S. and Canadian National Cancer Institutes, and was on the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academies. He has also been on the editorial boards of Medical Physics, the International Journal of Radiation Oncology/Biology Physics, Radiotherapy Oncology, Seminars in Radiation Oncology, and Radiation Research.
Dr. Ling has received numerous honors and awards, including Honorary Member of ESTRO, the Ray Bush Visiting Professor of Princess Margaret Hospital, the Suntharalingam Lecturer of Thomas Jefferson University, Speaker of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Ira Spiro Visiting Professor of Harvard Medical School, the Franz Buschke Lecturer of the UCSF, and the James Purdy Lecturer of the Washington University, St. Louis. He received the AAPM Coolidge Award in 2004, the Gold Medal from ASTRO in 2006, and the Lifetime Achievement and Contribution Award, Radiation Oncology Society, Republic of China, 2007.
Dr. Ling’s research interests range from the fundamentals of cancer radiation biology to optimized radiation treatment planning and delivery, and more recently biological imaging as applied to cancer management. He has contributed to brachytherapy dosimetry, particularly of 1-125 seeds. In collaboration with other scientists and clinicians, he has participated in the development of 3D-CRT and IMRT, and ushered in the widespread use of these advanced techniques. In biological research, Dr. Ling has studied oxygen effect, dose rate effects and the repair of sublethal damage, hypoxic cell radiosensitization, radiation induced carcinogenesis and apoptosis, and the effects of oncogenes on radiosensitivity. Subsequently, his laboratory focused on the biological basis of molecular and functional imaging.
Dr. Ling has authored nearly 250 peer-reviewed papers and over 30 chapters in books and proceedings. He has been the principal investigator on numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the American Cancer Society
Publications:
- Ling CC, Bodansky D, Calarco JR and Cameron JM. Neutron-gamma competition following (d,d') reactions. Physical Review C5:1622-1641, 1972.
- Ling CC, Anderson LL and Shipley WU. Dose inhomogeneity in interstitial implants using I-125 seeds. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 5:419-425, 1979.
- Ling CC, Michaels HB, Gerweck LE, Epp ER and Peterson EC. Oxygen sensitization of mammalian cells under different irradiation conditions. Radiation Research 86:325-340, 1981.
- Ling CC, Yorke ED, Spiro IJ, Kubiatowicz D and Bennett D. Physical dosimetry of I-125 seeds of a new design for interstitial implant. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 9:1747-1752, 1983.
- Ling CC, Rogers CC and Morton RJ, (eds). Computed tomography in radiation therapy. Raven Press, New York, 1983.
- Ling CC, Spiro IJ, Mitchell J, and Stickler R. The variation of OER with dose rate. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 11:1367-1373, 1985.
- Ling CC and Endlich B. Radioresistance induced by oncogenic transformation. Radiation Research 120(2):267-279, 1989.
- Ling CC. Permanent implants using Au-198, Pd-103 and I-125: radiobiological considerations based on the linear quadratic model. International of Journal Radiation Oncology, Biology Physics 23(1):81-87, 1992.
- Ling CC, Weiss H, Strauss A, Endlich B, Sheh Y, Wei JX and Orazem J. Neoplastic transformation dose response of oncogene-transfected rat embryo cells by gamma rays or 6 MeV alpha particles. Radiation Research 138(1): 79-85, 1994.
- Ling CC, Guo M, Chen CH and Deloherey T. Radiation-induced apoptosis: effects of cell age and dose fractionation. Cancer Research 55(22):5207-5212, 1995.
- Ling CC, Burman C, Chui CS, Kutcher GJ, Leibel SA, LoSasso T, Mohan R, Bortfeld T, Reinstein L, Spirou S, Wang XH, Wu Q, Zelefsky M and Fuks Z. Conformal radiation treatment of prostate cancer using inversely planned intensity-modulated photon beams produced with dynamic multileaf collimation. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 35(4):721-730, 1996.
- Ling CC, Humm J, Larson S, Amols H, Fuks Z, Leibel S and Koutcher JA. Towards multidimensional radiotherapy (MD-CRT): biological imaging and biological conformality. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. 47:551-560, 2000.
- Ling CC, Yorke E, Amols H, Mechalakos J, Erdi Y, Leibel S, Rosenzweig K, Jackson A. High-tech will improve radiotherapy of NSCLC: a hypothesis waiting to be validated. Intern. Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. 60:3-7, 2004.
- Ling CC, Yorke E and Fuks Z. From IMRT to IGRT: Frontierland or Neverland (Special Commentary). Radiotherapy Oncology 78: 119-122, 2006
- Ling CC, Zhang P, Archambault Y, Bocanek J, Tang G and LoSasso T. System commissioning and Quality Assurance of RapidArc. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 72(2):575-81, 2008
Awards:
1990 - Evan and Marion Helfaer Distinguished Lectureship, the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center, Milwaukee
1998 - Honorary Member, European Society Therapeutic Radiology Oncology
1999 - Fellow, American Association of Medical Physics
1999 - Ray Bush Visiting Professor, Princess Margaret Hosp., Toronto
2000 - N Suntharalingam Lecture, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
2001 - Speaker, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
2001 - Ira Spiro Visiting Professor – Harvard Medical School
2002 - ICN Lecturer – AAPM & Health Phys, North Calif. Chapters
2002 - Franz Buschke Lecturer – University of California, San Francisco
2003 - Keynote Speaker – UK Radiation Oncology Society
2003 - Keynote Speaker – Japan Radiological Society
2004 - Coolidge Award – American Association of Physicists in Medicine
2005 - James Purdy Lecturer – Washington University, St. Louis
2006 - Gold Medal - American Assoc. Therapeutic Radiology Oncology
2007 - Achievement Award - Radiation Oncology Society, Republic of China
2008 - Hall of Fame – North American Chinese Medical Physicist Association
American Association of Physicists in Medicine Activities:
Board of Directors, 1982-84, 1985-87
Program Committee, 1981-83, Chairman 1984-87
Biological Effects Committee, 1979, 1983-87
Brachytherapy Task Group, 1980-83
Symposium Chairman, CT in Radiotherapy, 1981
Scientific Program Coordinator, 1982 Annual Meeting
Headquarters Review Site Visit, Chairman, 1985
Committee on American Board of Medical Physics, Chairman, 1986
Science Council, 1984-87, 1988-90, Chairman, 1991-93
Awards and Honors Committee, 1994-2000
Other Professional Organization Activities:
National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute
Radiation Study Section, 1983-87
Special Study Sections, 1988-
Review Panel for Oncological Sciences Group (Center for Sci. Review), 1999
National Cancer Institute, Canada
Radiation Physics & Biology Panel 1986-89
Radiation Research Society
Nominating Committee, 1983, 1988
Councilor (Physics), 1984-87
Program Committee, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002
Research Award Selection Committee, 1984-86, 92-95, Chairman, 85-86
Education Committee, 1987, Chairman, 1988
American College of Radiology
Commission on Cancer - Strategic Planning Group for Research in:
Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 1982-83
International Affairs Committee, 1988-89
Pattern of Care Study, 1988-93
Radiation Oncology Advisory Group, 1996-97
Radiological Society of North America
Program Committee (Ex-officio - AAPM Program Committee Chair) 1984-87
American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
Scientific Program Committee 1985
Radiation Physics Committee 1985-1990, Chairman, 1991-93
Public and Professional Communications Committee, 1991-1995
Outcome and Technology Assessment Committee, 1996-2003
Membership Committee, 2002 – 2005
Nominating Committee, 2004 - 2005
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)
Physics Committee 1987-89
National Academies
Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board (2005-2007)
Editorial Board
Radiation Research 1983-88
RadioGraphics 1990 – 1992
Medical Physics 1995 – 1999, Deputy Editor 1995 – 1996
Radiotherapy and Oncology 1991-
Int. J. of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 1991- 2006
Seminars in Radiation Oncology 1991 -
Family:
Wife: Gloria C Li, Ph.D.
Daughters: Cynthea (Ling) Thomas, M.Sc., MBA
Andrea Ling, MD