Nataliya Kovalchuk, Clinical Professor at Stanford School of Medicine and President of Help Ukraine Group (HUG), shared on LinkedIn:
“Observership for Team 14 – National Cancer Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine!
Help Ukraine Group (HUG) is excited to support an upcoming observership for Team 14 from the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv at Saarland University Medical Center in Homburg, Germany! 🇩🇪
This observership is part of HUG’s ongoing international training program, which provides Ukrainian radiation oncology professionals with practical exposure to modern radiotherapy techniques, advanced technologies, and clinical workflows at leading European cancer centers.
Meet Team 14:
- Olena Bakhmatska – Radiation Oncologist
- Denys Sliusarenko – Medical Physicist
Their learning priorities include:
- Advanced radiotherapy techniques: Implementation of hypofractionation and ultrahypofractionation, including SBRT and SRS.
- Treatment planning: Improving planning techniques for complex cases, including reirradiation, and exploring advanced technologies.
- Learning clinical approaches for head and neck, breast, lower gastrointestinal, and CNS tumors.
- Motion management: Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) techniques, particularly for breast and lung cancer treatments.
- Multidisciplinary clinical workflows: Understanding how radiation oncologists and medical physicists collaborate in treatment planning, quality assurance, and delivery of complex radiotherapy treatments.
An important goal of this observership is knowledge transfer. We hope that the experience gained in Germany will help Olena and Denys introduce modern radiotherapy techniques at the National Cancer Institute and share their learning with colleagues across Ukraine.
A special thank you to our colleagues at Saarland University Medical Center in Homburg, especially Hanna Malygina for welcoming Team 14, sharing their clinical expertise, and investing their time in supporting the development of radiation oncology in Ukraine. Your generosity and collaboration are deeply appreciated! Lots of thanks to Ruslan Zelinskyi for facilitating the organization and Viktor Iakovenko for interviewing the candidates.
Wishing the team an inspiring and productive observership! We look forward to seeing how they apply their new knowledge to improve cancer care for patients in Ukraine.”
You can also read:
Shaping the Future of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Care at ASTRO 2026 – Fox Chase Cancer Center
