granada candidature for 19th icnctgranada candidature for 19th icnct the city the alhambra granada...

GRANADA CANDIDATURE FOR 19TH ICNCT

19th International Congress on Neutron Capture Therapy

September/October 2020 Candidature of Granada, Spain

This document contains a proposal to the International Society for

Neutron Capture Therapy for organizing the 19th

International Congress of

Neutron Capture Therapy in Granada, Spain, in September or October of

2020.

Local Organizing Committee

• Ignacio Porras, Professor of Physics, University of Granada, member

of ISNCT since 2008 and member of the Board of Councillors.

• Javier Praena, PhD in Physics, University of Granada, member of

ISNCT since 2012.

• Fernando Arias de Saavedra, Professor of Physics, University of

Granada, member of ISNCT since 2014.

• Manuel P. Sabariego, PhD in Physics, University of Granada,

member of ISNCT since 2014.

• Marta Sabaté-Gilarte, PhD in Physics, CERN and University of

Seville, member of ISNCT since 2014.

• Rosario Núñez, PhD in Chemistry, Institute of Material Science of

Barcelona.

• Clara Viñas, PhD in Chemistry, Institute of Material Science of

Barcelona.

• José Expósito, MD, Head of Oncology, Hospital Universitario de

Granada.

• Juan Luis Osorio, Radiophysicist, Hospital Universitario de Granada.

• Maria del Carmen Ruiz-Ruiz, PhD in Biochemistry, University of

Granada.

• Maria José Ruiz-Magaña, PhD in Biochemistry, University of

Granada

• María Pedrosa, PhD student, Institute Laue-Langevin and University

of Granada


Foreword of I. Porras

I had the honor and the pleasure of being the meeting organizer of the 7th

International Meeting of Young Researchers in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy which

took place in Granada, Spain, from 22nd to 26th of September 2013. When I presented

the proposal to the ISNCT in 2011, the great response of all the community filled me

with joy. This was an example of the great feelings that I have contrasted in all the

ISNCT Congresses that I have attended. There is an interdisciplinary atmosphere of

collaboration, communication and mutual encouragement that is not common in other

fields of science. I am absolutely grateful to all members of this scientific community.

We are taking a step ahead and proposing to the ISNCT holding one of these

Congresses of the Society. We will make all our efforts, if this candidacy is approved, of

maintain all the values of these meetings.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is an experimental radiotherapy technique

continuously benefiting from active research throughout the world. It is based on

sound physical principles: the cell killing effect is produced by heavy charged ions

(alpha particle and a recoil nucleus), the products of a nuclear reaction which happens

inside the body by means of a low energy neutron when colliding with an specific

nucleus, which in all clinical applications is Boron-10. Then, when the two non-toxic

different components of the treatment (neutron field and B-10 tumor-specific

compound) meets, a huge amount of energy is delivered locally, by means of a very

short range radiation of a high biological effectiveness, and sparing healthy tissues.

The results from the clinical trials performed worldwide are very promising: BNCT is a

safe procedure (very small adverse effects), even for patients for which conventional

radiotherapy is not possible; an enlargement of the mean survival time is found for

very malignant diseases such as Glioblastoma Multiforme; a large percent of recurrent

malignant head and neck cancer patients (for which no other treatment was possible)

have shown complete tumor remission after a treatment of normally one session, and

it is an interesting option for other cancers of very bad prognosis. These latest results

have motivated a renewed interest from the authorities, an example of that is that the

Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee (NuPECC), an Expert Committee of

the European Science Foundation has devoted a chapter in the recent report of 2014

“Nuclear Physics for Medicine”, aimed for future science policies.

In order to become a well-established alternative to other cancer therapies, is it

important the progress in some research problems which will optimize treatments, the

construction of new facilities and the outreach of this promising therapy. BNCT is

facing a renovation that may increase its presence in clinical treatments in the

forthcoming years. This, and recent advances from research may lead to a new era in

BNCT.


Our Spanish group is formed by physicists from the Universidad de Granada, chemists

from the Institute of Material Sciences of Barcelona (ICMAB), biologists from the

Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM) of the University of Granada, and medical

doctors from the Granada University Hospital at the Technological Health Park (PTS) of

Granada. In the latest years we have obtain a strong support from National and

Regional governmental agencies and foundations, in particular we have obtained

specific grants for BNCT research from the Junta de Andalucia (regional government)

from 2013 to 2017, with a budget 275632 EUR, from the Spanish Ministry of Economy

(2016 to 2019) with 41503 EUR, from the Spanish ACS Foundation (total 35000 EUR),

the Campus for International Excellence BioTic of the University of Granada (20000

EUR in 2012, and 24000 EUR in 2014), and the most recent grant, of 143000 for the

period 2016-2019 from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), a very

prestigious foundation in Spain from particular donors. This grant comes from a very

competitive process and has a strong relevance in Spain. The AECC grants will be

formally given by the Queen of Spain in a formal institutional act that will place in

September 22nd

.

Our main focus is the research in improvements of BNCT delivery, including the

obtention of nuclear and radiobiology data for an accurate dose determination for

treatment planning. For this purpose we have recently established collaborations with

three very relevant nuclear facilities in Europe: the neutron time of flight collaboration

at CERN, of which we are partners since 2015 for neutron cross sections

measurements of relevance for BNCT, the Institute Laue-Langevin of Grenoble, France,

for which we have recently signed a 3-year agreement for a research project of

neutron radiobiology measurements for BNCT, the JRC-IRMM in Geel, Belgium, and the

National Accelerator Center of Seville, Spain. The interest of these institutions on BNCT

research can be a boost for the possible future BNCT network in Europe which is

pursued by the important and active European groups which belongs to the ISNCT, and

which collaborate also with those outside Europe. The celebration of the ICNCT

conference will be of great help for this mission.

We understand and share the feeling of importance and strong tradition of the

biennial meetings of the ICNCT since the first one hold in Cambridge (USA). A rotation

of continents gives a chance to Spain to host the 2020 conference. It would be a great

honor to be part of the following list:


1st Cambridge, USA Brownell/Fairchild 1983 12-14 October

2nd Tokyo, Japan Hiroshi Hatanaka 1985 18-20 October

3rd Bremen, Germany Detlef Gabel 1988 31 May-3 June

4th Sydney, Australia Barry J. Allen 1990 4-7 December

5th Columbus, USA Albert J. Soloway 1992 14-17 September

6th Kobe, Japan Yutaka Mishima 1994 31 October- 4 November

7th Zurich, Switzerland Borje Larsson 1996 4-7 September

8th La Jolla, USA Frederick Hawthorne 1998 13-18 September

9th Osaka, Japan Keiji Kanda 2000 2-6 October

10th Essen, Germany Wolfgang Sauerwein 2002 8-13 September

11th Boston, USA Robert Zamenhof 2004 11-15 October

12th Takamatsu, Japan Yoshinobu Nakagawa 2006 9-13 October

13th Florence, Italy Aris Zonta 2008 2-7 November

14th Buenos Aires, Argentina Sara J. Liberman 2010 25-29 October

15th Tsukuba, Japan Akira Matsumura 2012 10-14 September

16th Helsinki, Finland Leena Kankaanranta 2014 14-19 June

17th Columbia, USA Satish Jalisatgi 2016 2-7 October

18th Taipei, ROC Fong-In Chou 2018

It would be exciting for us to organize, during five days, presentations of results from

different fields in this interdisciplinary research, from engineering and physics to

chemistry and pharmacology, and biology and clinical medicine. I hope this exchange

of ideas will improve the common knowledge in the field and the rise of new

collaborations.

Ignacio Porras

Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics

Director of Department

University of Granada, Spain.


Organizing Institution: University of Granada

Founded almost five hundred years ago, in 1531, during the reign of Charles V, the

Universidad de Granada has grown in close symbiosis with society and has become a

benchmark in terms of both the quality of its teaching and research and, with a

particular emphasis, its cooperation and development activities.

The various Campuses (Aynadamar, Cartuja, Fuentenueva and Centro), which

are spread all over the city, combined with the historical and heritage buildings in

some of the most unique neighbourhoods of Granada, re-energize the University, and

give the city a characteristic student atmosphere.

Our institution combines the wealth of experience that comes with its lengthy

tradition with the dynamism and youth of almost 60,000 undergraduates; the number

of students rises to 80,000 when postgraduates and students studying additional

courses are taken into account. The Universidad de Granada welcomes more students

from international mobility than any other Spanish university.

Our University is a reference in the health sciences. It hosts the Technological

Health Park (PTS). PTS is the first park specialized in health care in Spain and one of

very few throughout the world. It integrates teaching, research, patient care and

business development for Health and Biomedicine. PTS Granada covers an area of

625,000 m², housing all the infrastructures and facilities devoted to its four main uses:

teaching (98,000 m²), health care (120,000 m²), and research and business

development (170,000 m²). In the teaching area, the University of Granada plans to

invest nearly 200 million euros in the near future. This area is home of the shared

facilities of the Central Library, the Main Hall and the General Services Building, as well

as the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Teaching and

health care will be reinforced with the new University Hospital, a modern building with

an area of 110,000 m2, which is set to become a center of reference thanks to its high-

tech equipment, excellent healthcare services and efficient management processes.


The city

The Alhambra

Granada (pop. 250,000) is the capital of the province with the same name, situated in

the eastern part of the region of Andalusia. Geographical and scenic diversity

characterizes the land. There is the coastal area with its warm climate; the extensive,

fertile Genil plain; and the mountainous regions with a colder climate, where we find

the 3,481 meter Mulhacén, the biggest peak on the peninsula of Spain.

The city of Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains at the

confluences of the Darro and Genil rivers. Its unique history has bestowed it with an

artistic grandeur embracing Moorish palaces and Christian Renaissance treasures. As

the last Moorish capital on the Iberian peninsula, it also holds great symbolic value.

The city of Granada has been shaped by the hills, where the old districts in the

Albaycín and the Alhambra were founded, brimming with steep, narrow streets,

beautiful nooks and crannies, and marvelous landscapes. The new part of the city is

situated on the plain, crisscrossed by the large arteries of Gran Vía de Colón and Calle

de los Reyes Católicos, and where the busy streets around the Cathedral are found.


The Moors crossed the strait of Gibraltar in 711 and settled in what was then a

small Visigoth town perched atop the Alhambra hill. Here they settled, erected walls

and laid the foundation for the prosperous civilization that would follow. It was in the

9th century when Granada rose to importance after the fall of the Caliphate of

Córdoba. Its splendor was reached in 1238, when Mohammed ben Nasar founded the

Nasrid dynasty, and the kingdom of Granada stretched from Gibraltar to Murcia. This

dynasty bore twenty kings until King Boabdil was forced to surrender Granada to the

Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, in 1492. During three

centuries, a magnificent and rich Islamic culture flourished, leaving Granada with

architectural marvels of the caliber of the Alhambra, declared a World Heritage Site,

along with the Generalife and the Albaycín.

Granada -a safe modern city- is also located in a privileged spot, halfway

between the sea and the mountains: 40 minutes from the Mediterranean coast's sub-

tropical climate and 30 minutes from the ski resort of Sierra Nevada.

Granada seduces you… Its fame as a cultural city, with its monuments, its

history and its university, not to mention its charm and its numerous cultural and

recreational activities, makes Granada a great city to explore and a great tourist

destination. The city of Granada offers you many cultural possibilities, including a

whole range of festivals: flamenco, jazz, tango, theatre, magic, music, dance, comics,

film, poetry…

Spanish food is internationally recognized for its quality and variety and

Granada is known for its "tapas". Besides, Granada is considered one of the cheapest

cities in Spain and Europe.

Weather

Temperature in Granada (ºC)

6.7 8.5 11.0 12.8 16.8 21.4 24.8 24.5 20.9 15.5 10.7 7.6

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Granada has short cold winters and is very hot in July and August, it is not an uncomfortable heat because of the low humidity. May, September and October are the mildest months


Rainfall in Granada (mm)

41 38 30 38 28 17 4 3 16 42 48 53


The rainfall in Granada is fairly low but occasionally every few years there can be long wet spells which can last two or 3 weeks.

Number of cloudless days in Granada

10 7 7 5 6 13 22 19 11 8 8 8


Good weather is the norm in Granada. Andalucia has more sunshine than anywhere in Europe.

Number of rainy days in Granada

6 6 5 7 4 2 0 1 2 5 6 7


The chart show the amount of days when there is more than 1 litre of water per square metre.

Granada Spain is located at about 37.20°N 3.60°W. Height above sea level 680m / 2231 feet


Facilities

Depending upon the number of participants, there are several choices for the meeting

venue and for accommodation options.

Carmen de la Victoria (University Residence)

Carmen, from the Arabic word Karm

(“grapevine”), is the name traditionally

given in Granada to the private pleasure

gardens located in the surroundings of the

city. The Carmen de la Victoria became a

property of the University of Granada in

1945.

The Carmen de la Victoria is located in

the Albayzín Hill, in the Arab quarter Axaris,

which has been full of orchards, gardens and

cármenes since the Arabs inhabited Granada.

The Albaycin is the oldest part of the city and

the whole quarter is included in the UNESCO’s

world heritage.

The Carmen has beautiful views to the

Alhambra and it is at 15 minutes walk to the center

of the city, also reachable by city buses which stops

at the front door.

The Assembly Room, the Library and

the Meeting Room are available for work

meetings. They can host 75, 17 and 15

people, respectively, which makes them

adequate for small groups.


Guest accommodation is also possible in the Carmen de la Victoria, with room and full

board. There are 32 single and double rooms in the Carmen de la Victoria.

All the private rooms include a bathroom, central heating, cable-TV and Wi-Fi

net service. Guests are also able to use the library, the Meeting Room and the

Assembly Room, as well as the four computers with Internet access.

Prices per room and per day. The room price includes full room and board.

Room

SINGLE ROOM €60,00

DOUBLE ROOM €84,00

SUITE CARMEN DE LA VICTORIA €114,00

TRIPLE ROOM €107,00

Web site: http://carmendelavictoria.ugr.es/

Faculty of Sciences

The Faculty of Sciences is located in the modern part of the city, near the very city

center (10 minutes walking)


This has many very comfortable rooms appropriate for meetings of different

sizes: from the Aula Magna (which holds a capacity of 600) to the salón de grados of

80, and a variety of spaces for coffee breaks, poster presentations, etc.

There are many hotels close to the Faculty of Sciences:


Hotel Granada Center (****)

This hotel, located just in front of the Faculty of Sciences, have special rates

(from 75 Eur per double room, including breakfast) for University visitors, which

applies for congress attendants. Congress lunches can be organized there, because of

the large restaurants and convenient prices of menus.

The hotel offers a total of 169 rooms and suites all of which are equipped with

comfort and luxury. The hotel's gastronomic offering is the Al-Zagal restaurant, which

boasts a high quality cuisine. Along with the restaurant, the hotel also offer guests a

cafeteria and a Pub.

The MICENTER convention center located in Hotel Granada Center offers a high

level professional service that guarantees the complete success of a social or business

event.

Hotel Maciá Condor (****)

El Hotel Maciá Cóndor, which is in the way from the Faculty of Sciences to the

city center, offers 104 room, 8 of them for families, with full bathroom TV, free Wi-Fi,

and air conditioning. Rates from 50 Eur/night.

Also has meeting facilities and a large restaurant


Hotel NH Victoria (****)

Superb location at the

center of the city, near the

monuments and the shopping

centers. Has 69 rooms. Restaurant

of NH Victoria has an elegant

ambience and a cuisine that fuses

Granadian tradition with modern

innovation. Its Salón Real meeting

room can accommodate up to 90

people in a stylish and functional

space.


Hotel AC Palacio de Santa Paula (*****)

AC Palacio de Santa Paula Autograph Collection is located in the historic center

of Granada near the Albaicín and Sacro Monte areas, the Cathedral and the Royal

Chapel, the historical Gardens of the Triumph, the Archeological museum and, of

course, the Alhambra. The beautiful AC Palacio de Santa Paula Hotel, declared an

historic and artistic monument, is a restoration masterpiece. The Hotel occupies the

premises of what used to be the Santa Paula Convent and the Casa Morisca in the XVI

and XII centuries respectively. This luxury hotel in Granada, has also a restaurant, “El

Claustro”, located in what used to be the Santa Paula convent refectory, and offers

guests haute cuisine that fuses elements of traditional Andalusian gastronomy with

modern culinary concepts. The hotel offers guests a wide variety of services such as a

fitness center, Turkish bath and sauna. It has 75 bedrooms fully equipped with

everything guests might require for a pleasant stay in one of the best five star hotels in

Granada.


Granada Congress Centre

This is the most suitable venue for a ICNCT conference.

Situated near the city center, this modern congress center has many facilities

for meetings with a large number of participants: two huge auditoriums, three

medium-sized halls, and smaller seminar rooms.

This center is also very well communicated with the rest of the city by bus and

metro lines and with a direct bus to the airport.

There are many hotels adjacent to this center, those closest are Hotel Saray

(****):

http://www.hotelgranadasaray.com/

and Hotel Spa Senator Granada****:

http://www.senatorgranadaspahotel.com/


which may accommodate all the attendants to the congress, within 200 meters from

the congress center. This part of Granada is also full of typical bars, restaurants and

shops.

In the next map, location of all the places aforementioned are displayed

(correction: Hotel San Anton means hotel Spa Senator)


Organizing committees The present proposal is presented by Ignacio Porras, Chair of the Department of

Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics of the University of Granada, and member of

the ISNCT. He will be the main responsible of the organization. The Local Organizing

Committee will be formed by the persons listed at the beginning of the proposal.

The ISNCT is more than welcome to contribute to the organization, especially

for the election of the International Organizing Committee. For this purpose, we plan

to establish a continuous exchange of information with the ISNCT Executive Board and

the Board of Councillors for this conference.

Abstracts and proceedings We will continue the procedure followed by the previous ICNCT meetings. A Call for

abstracts will be published in the meeting web site with an advance of more than six

months and distributed by e-mail to all the BNCT community.

Abstract will be reviewed by members of the international organizing

committee and experts in the field.

The book of abstract will be published either by one of the Spanish journals or

by the University of Granada Press, with an ISBN or ISSN number, previously to the

conference. A copy of the book of abstracts will be distributed with the conference bag

when registering.

As in previous meetings, contacts will made with Elsevier for publishing the

proceedings of the conference (extended papers) as a Special Issue of Applied

Radiation and Isotopes, a few months after the celebration of the conference.

Presentations The contributions to the meeting will follow the same categories as in the previous

meetings:

� Plenary lectures (by invitation) � Contributed talks (selected from the abstract received) � Posters (with short oral announcements)


If the number of presentations allow it, parallel sessions will try to be reduced

as much as possible. The interdisciplinary spirit of BNCT makes lectures from a

particular specialized field be potentially interesting for experts of a related one.

Social programme Welcome reception with a music performance at “La Luna” (terrace of the Congress

Palace)

Guided visit to the Cathedral of Granada and Royal Chapel (where the tombs of the

Catholic Kings are).

Guided night visit to the Alhambra

Excursion to Sierra Nevada (top mountain of Spanish peninsula, 30 km from Granada)

or to the beach (70 kms. from Granada)

Conference dinner (an interesting option is at La Chumbera, which, if weather allows,

will be hold al fresco in the large terrace with magnificent views of the Alhambra and

the city, ending with a Flamenco Show).

Banquet at the

terrace of

La Chumbera


Sponsors In addition to the support from the ISNCT, different sponsors will be contacted.

The Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics, the Faculty of Sciences

and the University of Granada usually contributes to international scientific meetings.

Funds will be also asked to the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) and to

biotechnological companies located in the Health Sciences Technology Park of

Granada. Sponsors of the last Young Researchers meeting hold in 2013, as ACS

Foundation and Mitro Company will be welcome to participate too. Strong efforts will

be done for seeking funds from international companies with interest in BNCT.

A detailed tentative budget of the Conference will be presented to the

Executive Board and the Board of Councillors before the 17th

ICNCT conference at

Columbia, MO. Our aim is to not increase the registration fees from the latest

conference in any of their modalities. Possibly, due to the local prices, they can be

reduced.

Supporting Agency For the organization of this complex meeting, we rely, as for the 7

th Young

Researchers’ meeting hold in 2013, in the Travel Agency Viajes el Corte Inglés, which

has a strong experience and professionality and which guarantees the success of the

event. As an annex please find the brochure from the Travel Agency with all the

possibilities for services related to the conference with estimated prices.

Ignacio Porras

Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear

Facultad de Ciencias

Av. Fuentenueva s/n

Universidad de Granada

E-18071 Granada, Spain

Tel. +34 958240030

FAX +34 958249487

e-mail: [email protected]

granada candidature for 19th icnctgranada candidature for 19th icnct the city the alhambra granada...

Documents