Rate My Professor Lara Barazzuol

Lara Barazzuol serves as Principal Investigator and Head of Molecular Radiation Biology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University Medical Center Groningen, within the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Groningen. Her research centers on the molecular mechanisms underlying radiotherapy-induced normal tissue damage, with a particular emphasis on stem cell responses, DNA damage signaling, senescence, inflammation, and neuroimmune interactions in the brain and salivary glands. Utilizing advanced models such as human cortical organoids and proton irradiation techniques, Barazzuol investigates differential synaptic signaling, remote organ effects like liver changes post-brain irradiation, and microglial responses to proton therapy. Her work contributes to understanding and mitigating side effects of cancer treatments, including cognitive impairments and hyposalivation.

Barazzuol earned her PhD in Radiation Biology from the University of Surrey in 2012 as a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher. She conducted postdoctoral research as a Research Associate at the University of Sussex's Centre for Genome Damage and Stability from 2013 to 2016 before establishing her independent research group at UMCG in 2016. Among her accolades are the Adrian C. Begg Award and Bas Mulder Award in 2017, the British Institute of Radiology Nic McNally Award in 2015, the International Congress of Radiation Research Young Investigator Award in 2015, and the European Radiation Research Society Best Poster Award in 2016. Notable publications include "Prevention and treatment of radiotherapy-induced side effects" (2020, with Robert P. Coppes and Peter van Luijk), "Cellular senescence contributes to radiation-induced hyposalivation by affecting the stem/progenitor cell niche" (2020), "Evaluation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor ABT-888 combined with radiotherapy and temozolomide in glioblastoma" (2013), "Regional responses in radiation-induced normal tissue damage" (2021), and recent works such as "Differential synaptic signaling responses in human cortical organoids after photon and proton irradiation" (2026) and "Brain irradiation drives remote liver changes via senescence-independent mechanisms" (2026). She is an editor for the British Journal of Radiology and frequently speaks at international conferences on radiotherapy's impact on the brain and neuroimmune responses.