Jason Parsons

Chair

Professor Jason Parsons acquired a BSc (Hons) in Medical Biochemistry and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham. He had postdoctoral research experience at the CRUK Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester, and at the MRC Radiation and Genome Stability Unit in Harwell. He subsequently worked as a Senior Investigator Scientist at the CRUK/MRC Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology at the University of Oxford. Professor Parsons began his own independent research group in the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine at the University of Liverpool in 2012, where he became Honorary Lead for Radiobiology Research at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, and then Chair in Radiation Biology at the University.

Professor Parsons moved to the University of Birmingham in 2023, as Professor of Radiobiology jointly appointed through the College of Medical and Dental Sciences and the College of Physics and Astronomy. The Parsons Group has a focus on analysing the molecular and cellular impact of different sources of radiotherapy (photons, protons and particle ions) with increasing ionisation densities (LET) on tumour models, particularly those of the head and neck, and adult brain (glioblastoma). Additional interests are in biological (including hypoxia) and physical (e.g. dose rate/FLASH) factors that impact on tumour radiosensitisation. The major aim is in the identification of strategies using combinatorial drugs or inhibitors leading to the optimisation of the efficacy of radiotherapy in cancer treatment. Professor Parsons’ research is currently funded by grants from MRC and NIH

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