Ph.D. Candidate

About me: I come from Ceuta, a small Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa. It was there where I was born and raised before moving to London to pursue an MSci in Mathematics and Physics at University College London. Driven by a curiosity for different education systems and cultures, I received a scholarship during my undergrad to spend a year abroad at the National University of Singapore. My interest for understanding physics at its most fundamental level led me to the University of Cambridge, where I completed a MASt in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Seeking to apply my knowledge of particle physics to a field with a more direct impact, I decided to pursue a PhD in the topic of particle therapy at the University of Granada.

Research Interests: My research focuses on the biological effects of particle therapy, particularly proton therapy, from a physics perspective. I study the concepts of dose, linear energy transfer and lineal energy using Monte Carlo simulations. Through the Fulbright Program, I am currently a visiting student at the b-lab, where I am working with ChronoRepair, a computational model designed to investigate cellular damage and repair mechanisms following irradiation.

• 2025 – Fulbright Scholarship by the Spanish Fulbright Comission to fund PhD research stays at American institutions.
• 2024 – PI of the project “chPERFLEX: New Flexible Radiochromic Materials for Charged Particle Dosimetry” funded by the University of Granada.
• 2023 – Best Young SEPR Presentation at the 8th Joint SEFM-SEPR Congress.
• 2022 – PhD Scholarship funded by the Andalusian Regional government.

• Ahmad R. et al., “Particle beam radiobiology status and challenges: a PTCOG Radiobiology Subcommittee report”, Int J Part Ther 13, 100626 (2024)

• Puerta D., Anguiano M., González W., Lallena A. M., A Monte Carlo study of different LET definitions using PENH. L International Meeting on Fundamental Physics and XV CPAN DAYS, 2023.
• Puerta D., Anguiano M., García-Pareja S., Lallena A. M., Ant colony algorithm for the Monte Carlo simulation of proton transport. 8th Joint SEFM-SEPR Congress, 2023.
• Puerta D., Anguiano M., González W., Lallena A. M., LETd calculations with the Monte Carlo code PENH. XIV CPAN DAYS, 2022.
• González W., Puerta D., Anguiano M., Lallena A. M., Relative biological effectiveness in the spatial fractionation of hadron therapy beams. International Conference on Monte Carlo Techniques for Medical Applications 2022, 2022.