Dr. Bratman is Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research Institute and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. He received his MD and PhD from Columbia University in 2009 followed by postdoctoral research and clinical training at Stanford Cancer Institute. Since joining The Princess Margaret in 2014, Dr. Bratman has served as Staff Radiation Oncologist within the Wharton Head and Neck Centre and has led basic, translational, and clinical research studies on head and neck cancer and circulating biomarkers. Dr. Bratman holds the Dr. Mariano Antonio Elia Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research at UHN.

Liquid Biopsy: Innovations in liquid biopsy technologies are enabling cancer to be detected and monitored with a simple blood test. The Bratman Lab is inventing new liquid biopsy approaches with a strong focus on circulating cell-free DNA. This research could revolutionize cancer care through earlier detection and more personalized treatments.

Extracellular DNA: Cell-free (extracellular) DNA can be a useful biomarker for cancer. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests that extracellular DNA may have roles in cancer progression. The Bratman Lab is studying the molecular composition and biophysical properties of extracellular DNA complexes in order to improve their use for cancer diagnostics and therapy.

Radiogenomics: Radiotherapy is a backbone of curative treatment regimens for many cancer types. Current aggressive treatments are often successful at curing patients but carry significant toxicity risks. The Bratman Lab is evaluating new genome-informed radiosensitizing strategies with the goal of improving cure rates for patients treated with radiotherapy.

Head and Neck Cancer: HNC is a heterogeneous group of malignancies with distinct etiologies, epidemiologies, molecular features, and clinical behaviors. We strive to improve cancer therapy for HNC by maximizing cures while minimizing toxicity. Our research is uncovering the hallmarks of HNC and determinants of cancer progression through integrative analysis of genomic and epigenomic data from tumour tissue and liquid biopsies.

Related Links

For a list of Dr. Bratman's publications, please visit PubMed, Scopus or ORCID.


Associate Professor, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto
Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto