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PHYS 395Biophysics of Therapeutic Methods

Units
0.50
Faculty
Science
Subject
Physics

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 1 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The effect of radiation of various kinds on cells and tissues; elements of radiobiology and photobiology; molecular mechanisms of radiation-induced DNA damage and cell death, repair of radiation damage, dose-response relationships; tumor radiobiology and therapies, radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy, combination therapies; radiosensitizers and photosensitizers for cancer therapies; transdisciplinary advances in physical methods (ultrafast laser and ultrasound techniques) for biomedical applications.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • BIOL130 - Introductory Cell Biology (0.50)
      • BIOL239 - Genetics (0.50)
      • BIOL280 - Introduction to Biophysics (0.50)
      • CHEM123 - General Chemistry 2 (0.50)
      • CHEM125 - Chemical Reactions, Equilibria and Kinetics (0.50)
      • PHARM141 - Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry, Toxicology and Pharmacology (0.50)
      • PHYS280 - Introduction to Biophysics (0.50)
      • PHYS380 - Molecular and Cellular Biophysics (0.50)
    • Complete 1 of the following
      • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
        • ECE106 - Electricity and Magnetism (0.50)
        • PHYS112 - Physics 2 (0.50)
        • PHYS122 - Electricity and Magnetism (0.50)
      • Must have completed the following:
    • Students must be in level 3A or higher
    • Enrolled in a program offered by the Faculties of Engineering, Mathematics, or Science

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Reviewed on UW Flow

25% liked it25% easy50% useful

From 8 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • prof was terrible. did not enjoy coming to class. do not really feel like i learned much.

    Apr 2016 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • It is quite a tough course, most of the stuff taught wont be useful for the exams. And you wont know what exactly to study for the exam.

    Apr 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The comments below were very daunting coming into this course, but I think that either QBL has changed the course or I just had a one off experience with it. I liked the course, and yes some of the content was not totally beneficial but I learned a lot about radiotherapy and overall cancer treatments. If you are interested in cancer, I recommend you take this course. The math is not hard at all, and imo the exams were fair. The first few assignments were tricky, but they became easier towards the end of the course. The course starts off tedious but it gets very interesting towards the end. Also, the comments about QBL as a professor on UW flow are not very accurate. If you go to office…

    Apr 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I think the two comments below are only partially correct - yes this course is unorganized and it is very hard to do well in due to the insane amount of details Dr. Lu requires in his assignments and exams. However, if you are interested in radiotherapy and radiobiology, he does an amazing jobs to introduce you with a variety of ideas in the field. I cannot really recommend this course for anyone to take as it is right now due to how bad of a mark you might receive and could potentially tank your GPA, but if you are interested in the topic and just want to sit in and listen, I would strongly recommend you to do so - you will learn a lot. Also, Dr. Lu is not as bad / mean as he is described…

    Mar 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course is ABSOLUTE SHIT. The professor (Q.B. Lu) has based 2-3 lectures solely on his irrelevant research on global warming. There is no structure. There are no notes. He told us 15% of students fail his midterms in the first class. I'm trying to study for this midterm and there is zero. Absolutely ZERO useful information. This course is the biggest waste of money and could potentially slap your GPA in the ground.
    I'll be considering complaining to the Dean about either this course or the way the professor has navigated this course. The worst part is? It could be so much better.

    Feb 2020 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

2 posts and comments in 2 threads mention PHYS 395, August 2018 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Winter 2021

Spring 2018

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar