Dario Rodrigues, PhD

New University of Lisbon, Portugal, BS, Biomedical Engineering, 2005

New University of Lisbon, Portugal, MS, Biomedical Engineering, 2007

New University of Lisbon, Portugal, PhD, Biomedical Engineering, 2013

Duke University, NC, Research Scholar, Thermal Medical Physics, 2013

Thomas Jefferson University, PA, Postdoctoral Fellow, Thermal Oncology Physics, 2018

Dr. Dario Rodrigues is one of the few thermal oncology physicists in the USA. His specialty is to treat cancer using focused heat generated by radio waves, a thermal therapy technique also known as hyperthermia, which is a potent enhancer of chemo- and radiotherapy. As a physicist, Dr. Rodrigues performs adjuvant hyperthermia treatments of pelvic, abdominal, and superficial tumors. He is also responsible for the treatment planning, thermal dosimetry, and quality assurance of the clinical hyperthermia equipment. In support of his clinical activities, his research involves the development of improved radiofrequency applicators for applying heat to tissue, noninvasive sensors to track temperature changes at depth, and new treatment planning strategies to improve thermal dose delivery. This research is accomplished with a combination of theoretical modeling, engineering development, and equipment performance evaluation with phantom, animal, and human patient subjects. One of Dr. Rodrigues most prominent research outcome was a noninvasive sensor that is able to safely monitor brain temperature during prolonged surgeries. This sensor was designed using microwave radiometry principles, a technique that is also used to measure the radiation from distant stars. A more recent topic of Dr. Rodrigues’ research is the development of a hyperthermia applicator to treat brain tumors, a target difficult to achieve due to the presence of the skull which reflects radio waves. To overcome the challenging structure of the human head, Dr. Rodrigues designed a 72-antenna phased array applicator that is able to target deep-seated brain tumors as demonstrated in a preclinical setting using advanced multiphysics numerical simulations.

A keyword that Dr. Rodrigues uses throughout his clinical and research activities is temperature. Accumulating evidence indicates that physiologic responses to heat affect the tumor microenvironment through temperature-sensitive checkpoints that regulate vascular perfusion, tumor metabolism, lymphocyte trafficking, inflammatory cytokine expression as well as innate and adaptive immune function. Understanding the influence of temperature in blood perfusion and in the immune system are paramount avenues of research that Dr. Rodrigues is actively pursuing. In one hand, the ability to understand the changes of blood perfusion under a thermal stress is key to develop accurate treatment planning and improved treatment delivery. On the other hand, the ability to fine tune temperature to elicit a specific immune response would represent a significant advance in cancer treatment by enabling new and more effective multimodality therapies that Dr. Rodrigues wishes to bring to the clinic.

Dr. Dario Rodrigues is an Assistant Professor of Thermal Oncology Physics at the University of Maryland and was recently elected Councilor of Engineering/Physics of the Society for Thermal Medicine.

Radiofrequency/microwave hyperthermia, hyperthermia treatment planning, microwave radiometry, multiphysics mathematical modeling, thermoregulation of blood perfusion, magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia, MR-guided focused ultrasound

Stauffer PR, Rodrigues DB, Goldstein R, Doyle L, Bar-Ad V, Shi W, Judy KD, Hurwitz MD. “Dual modality implant for simultaneous magnetic nanoparticle heating and brachytherapy treatment of tumor resection cavities in brain”. Proc IEEE IMS. 2018. In press.

Bakker A, Holman R, Rodrigues DB, Dobšíček-Trefná H, Stauffer PR, van Tienhoven G, Rasch C, Crezee H. “Analysis of clinical data  to determine the minimum number of sensors required for adequate monitoring of minimum and maximum temperatures during superficial hyperthermia”. Int J Hyperthermia. 2018; In press. PMID: 29658357.

Rodrigues DB, Stauffer PR, Eisenbrey J, Beckhoff V, Hurwitz MD. Oncologic Applications of Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasound. (Chapter 4), in Wong JYC, Schultheiss TE, Radany EH (Eds.) Advances in Radiation Oncology, Springer International Publishing, 2017, pp 69-108. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-53235-6_4.

Rodrigues DB, Maccarini PF, Salahi S, Oliveira TR, Pereira PJ, Limao-Vieira P, Snow BW, Reudink D, Stauffer PR. Design and optimization of an ultra wideband and compact microwave antenna for radiometric monitoring of brain temperature. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2014; 61(7):2154-60. PMID: 24759979.

Rodrigues DB, Pereira PJ, Limao-Vieira P, Stauffer PR, Maccarini PF. Study of the one dimensional and transient bioheat transfer equation: multi-layer solution development and applications. Int J Heat Mass Transf. 2013; 62:153-62. PMID: 24511152.