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Professor Gail Ter Haar

Group Leader

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Professor Gail ter Haar is investigating the use of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to rapidly heat and kill tumours of the liver or kidney. Gail is founding President of the International Society for Therapy Ultrasound (ISTU). In 2014 her team was recognised by being made a Centre of Excellence for HIFU physics and bone studies by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. Group: Therapeutic Ultrasound
+44 20 8722 4020 ORCID 0000-0001-8909-0775

Biography

Professor ter Haar took her first degree in Physics from Oxford University.  Following a Masters degree in Medical Physics from Aberdeen University, she studied for her PhD in Physics at Guy's hospital, in London.  She also holds a D.Sc. in clinical medicine from Oxford University.

Gail's research interests have always lain primarily in understanding the way in which medical ultrasound interacts with tissue, especially the physical mechanisms involved in producing bio-effects (primarily heating & acoustic cavitation) with a view to understanding its safety when used in diagnosis, and to harnessing these effects for therapeutic benefit.  Most recently her research has concentrated on developing devices and protocols for ultrasound based treatments of cancer.

She is the founding President of the International Society for Therapy Ultrasound (ISTU). She is an honorary member of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS), honorary fellow of the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine, and fellow of both the Acoustical Society of America and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM).  She is Deputy Editor of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, associate editor of Ultrasonics and on the editorial boards of International Journal of Hyperthermia and Medical Physics

Gail has written five books and 32 book chapters, and over 250 peer reviewed research papers. She has supervised 32 PhD students, four of whom are still working on their degrees.

Since 2007, along with a colleague from Paris (Jean Francois Aubry), Gail has organised and run a highly successful bi-annual Therapy Ultrasound School in Les Houches, France. To date, this has introduced ~400 people to the field of therapy ultrasound.

In 2014 her team was recognised by being made a Centre of Excellence for HIFU physics and bone studies by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.

In her spare time, Gail enjoys playing real tennis, tries her hand at watercolours and Chinese brush painting, is learning French and Mandarin Chinese, and reads a lot.

Professor ter Haar is a member of the Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre, which brings together leading researchers in engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and medicine to develop innovative ways to address challenges in cancer.

Convergence Science Centre