Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026, 14:00 - 15:00 BST

Location: Pickavance Lecture Theatre, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and online.

The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory hosted “The LhARA Initiative: A Transformational Approach to Precision, Personalised Particle-beam Therapy” presenting the scientific motivation for the LhARA initiative along with the programme of technological innovation which aims to deliver transformative capabilities for the exploration of fundamental science as well as societal and industrial impact.

Speakers included: Prof Yolanda Prezado (Santiago di Compostella), Kenneth Long (Imperial/STFC), Emma Melia (University of Birmingham), Colin Whyte (University of Stathclyde), Dr Tracy Underwood (Leo Cancer Care), and Bob Bingham (STFC).

29 April - 30 April 2026

Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire

One of LhARA's major biannual collaboration meetings, where attendee gathered to present their recent work and share their exciting results. Those attending heard updates from all disciplines across LhARA, in particular the R&D on the LhARA accelerator; results from the plasma lens capture experiments and simulations; and the latest multidisciplinary results from the radiobiology experiments held at SCAPA, including both the physics of the laser-accelerated beams and the radiobiology of the irradiated cells. 

Conveners: Kenneth Long (STFC), Jason Parsons (University of Birmingham), Nicholas Dover (Imperial College London), Robbie Wilson (University of Strathclyde), Colin Whyte (University of Strathclyde), Prof. Pat Price (Imperial), William Shield (Royal Holloway, University of London)

Wednesday, 29 April 2026

Location: Zoom

The first ENLIGHT Seminar, in which, Prof. Raj Jena, University of Cambridge, will explored how artificial intelligence is transforming radiotherapy—from its early developments to current clinical applications, and what lies ahead for the field.

ENLIGHT Seminar: AI in Radiotherapy: Past, Present, Future

23 April, 2026

Location: Zoom

China is rapidly advancing in FLASH Radiation Therapy - both in technology and clinical application. This free FRPT & SFRT 2026 webinar investigated what’s happening on the ground, from infrastructure and research progress to ongoing clinical work.

Chaired by Marie-Catherine Vozenin and Stephane Supiot, the session brought together experts presenting on:

Technology developments (CHEX)

Clinical progress

Electron FLASH clinical trials

27 February 2026

Location: Room 121, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial, South Kensington Campus

The first discussion in the series. The conclusions drawn from the workshop were documented‍ ‍for publication in a 'White Paper' to provide the basis and underlying strategy for the future development of laser-driven charged particle beams for cancer therapy.  This workshop called on scientific, clinical, and industry leaders in the field.

27 January 2026

The seminar addressed how future accelerators can meet new challenges in particle therapy, such as FLASH irradiation, targeted therapies, multiple and radioactive beams, new ion species, and microbeams—alongside a concerted push towards improved accessibility.

Featured speaker, Maurizio Vretenar, Senior Accelerator Physicist, NIMMS Project Leader, CERN, will present on “Accelerators for Cancer Therapy: Emerging Trends and Future Perspectives.”

19 November -  20 November 2025

Location: Imperial College London

The LhARA team achieved a significant milestone with the beam energy centered on 8–10 MeV and the dose per shot at ~0.5 Gy, resulting in a set of irradiations of two cell lines at a series of total doses. The effort produced a library of RCF and lanex dose measurements that can be used to study uniformity, stability, etc. The PoPLaR team drew on the support of the wider LhARA collaboration to deliver the radiobiology programme defined and led by Jason Parsons and Emma Melia; the local SCAPA team, led by Robbie Wilson, was highly professional, focused on delivering quality at all times. And, a special “shout out” to Diaz, who crossed half the world, travelling from Indonesia to Glasgow, to take part.

Location: University of Strathclyde (SCAPA)

23 October 2025

Location: Imperial College London

LhARA was a featured exhibitor as the Imperial College introduced the public to the fascinating ways light helps people understand the world, from sunlight's effects on skin to the vast reaches of space. 

1 August 2025

Location: STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (PPD Exhibition Room)

LhARA representatives welcomed visitors during this outreach event, hosting more than 400 attendees. It was a great opportunity to demonstrate and showcase LhARA’s innovations to a broad public audience.

10 July 2025

Professor Kenneth Long presented LhARA in the Accelerator Parallel session at the 2025 European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics.

 5 July 2025

LhARA and Leo Cancer Care joined the exhibition, highlighting UK–France scientific collaboration. Thanks to our LhARA representatives who presented the initiative to dignitaries, including President Macron. This event created valuable connections across academia, government, and industry.