Antonella Bertucci, MS, PhD, is a cell and cancer research biologist working on radiobiology, cytogenetics, biomarkers and translational research at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), pictured outside her office at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL)
In a major radiological emergency, every minute counts. Thousands of people could suddenly need rapid screening to understand how much radiation they’ve absorbed – a number that aids decision making on who needs urgent medical care. In laboratories run by scientists like Antonella Bertucci, who explore the stories our cells tell of radiological exposure, the preparation for triage begins long before any crisis, regardless of how unlikely it may be. Their research is designed to deliver answers as quickly as possible, with the accuracy needed to guide treatment, and ultimately save lives.
Long before this ground-breaking work, Italian-native Bertucci grew up drawn to the world of health and science. By high school, she knew she wanted a career rooted in human biology, but it wasn’t until university that she discovered the detective-like appeal of research – the thrill of chasing down questions, piecing together clues, and solving problems with the kind of curiosity that sticks.
NASA Space Radiation Student Group, 2005. Antonella Bertucci (second row, second from the right)
That experience set the direction for the rest of her career. Her curiosity deepened into a radiation-biology specialty, first through her graduate work and then through a NASA-funded project studying how to protect astronauts from cosmic radiation. That work led to an invitation from Columbia University to join pioneers in the field who recognized her potential. There, she worked on projects ranging from radiological emergency response to a robot capable of screening tens of thousands of people a day.
For over twenty years, whether studying cancer treatment, radiation protection, or emergency response, she has chased the same fundamental questions – how does radiation impact our cells, and how can that understanding safeguard human health?
Today, Bertucci is the Mission Lead for Biodosimetry and Medical Countermeasures at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories – one of only two laboratories in Canada capable of reconstructing radiation dose in an emergency situation. It’s a role that blends science, leadership, and national responsibility. Her days rarely look the same. Some mornings start with international calls to colleagues, sharing updates on emerging research or discussing new approaches to emergency response. Others begin in the lab, where she works closely with CNL technologists, guiding experimental work, troubleshooting unexpected results, or refining the next round of tests.
Biodosimetry and medical countermeasures is the study of measuring a person’s absorbed dose of radiation and how to treat its health effects. Biodosimetry provides an estimation of the biological response to radiation, while medical countermeasures focuses on interventions to reduce the health effects and support recovery.
Antonella Bertucci (right) working alongside technologist, Mark Bester (left)
What she enjoys most is the human element: sparking curiosity in her team, encouraging them not just to perform a task, but to understand the “why” behind it. Collaboration is built into everything she does. One of her most recent research projects has helped transform a complex technique into something that could one day support real-world crisis decision-making. As Bertucci puts it “science moves faster – and gets better – when many minds pull on the same thread.”
Beyond the bench, a large part of her role involves maintaining Canada’s biological-dosimetry readiness: engaging with federal partners, participating in international working groups, presenting CNL’s findings at scientific conferences, and ensuring the lab stays aligned with the rapid pace of innovation in the field. It’s both high-pressure and deeply motivating.
“Every day,” she says, “something new can happen – and that’s exactly why I love it.”
When Bertucci talks about her research, she always starts with the problem. In a large-scale radiological emergency, tens of thousands of people may need rapid dose assessment to estimate the amount of radiation dose they may have received in the absence of physical dosimetry methods. The only way to understand a person’s exposure is to look inside the body itself. That’s where biodosimetry comes in.
Inside each of our cells is DNA that responds to radiation in predictable ways. When radiation causes damage, the cell activates repair processes that leave behind molecular “signal lights.” The more radiation someone has absorbed, the more of these markers their cells produce. Traditional biodosimetry techniques can measure these changes, but they are painstaking: samples must be cultured for several days, processed by hand, and analyzed under a microscope, cell by cell. In an emergency, waiting a week for results simply isn’t an option.
Antonella Bertucci reviewing data from her office at CRL
Bertucci and her team have been exploring a faster way to manage this process – something that preserves accuracy but delivers answers within hours, not days. Their innovation was to adapt the γ-H2AX assay, which assesses DNA damage, to a technology called imaging flow cytometry, which takes high-resolution images of thousands of cells in minutes.
Instead of a week, dose estimates could be generated in roughly a day. The method could allow faster decisions to be made on those needing medical care or not. The team also developed lab-specific calibration curves – an essential step for any laboratory that may one day be called upon to respond to a national emergency. It means the technique isn’t just experimental – it’s operational.
What motivates Bertucci most is the knowledge that her research is not theoretical. It exists for real people, in real communities, who could one day depend on rapid, accurate answers to support emergency response plans if ever needed. That passion is what carries her through long days, tight timelines, and the weight of knowing her work could guide important emergency medical decisions.
That sense of purpose is matched by an appreciation for the people she works alongside. Having spent much of her early career in academia, Bertucci finds energy and joy in collaborating with CNL’s technologists – seasoned professionals who bring skill, precision, and curiosity into the lab every day. Her favourite moments are the ones where a routine task becomes a spark of discovery: when a question turns into an insight, and the whole team leans in, eager to understand something better.
Transforming the γ-H2AX assay into a high-throughput emergency tool wasn’t a straight path. It began, like many scientific pursuits do, with a promising idea and a long stretch of trial and error. Imaging flow cytometry offered speed, but adapting a microscopy-based technique to a machine designed to handle thousands of cells per minute required rethinking nearly every step: sample preparation, staining conditions, image settings, and analysis algorithms.
One of the most challenging hurdles was consistency. Even when the technique worked beautifully on one donor’s blood sample, another might behave differently. For Bertucci, it was a reminder that biology is rarely tidy. “It’s math and mystery together,” she says. Rather than a setback, the anomaly helped the team refine their methods, strengthening the calibration curve in the process.
And then came the moment every scientist waits for: validation. After months of adjustments, blind testing, troubleshooting equipment quirks, and running the assay again and again, the calibration curve finally locked into place with unmistakable clarity. Colleagues reviewed the findings, compared them across instruments and conditions, and realized the method wasn’t just working – it was performing at a level that made real-world emergency use possible. When Bertucci presented the results at a conference in Germany last spring, the response was immediate. “It felt,” she says, “like the pieces finally clicked.”
Despite this breakthrough, Bertucci’s work is far from finished. Now that the imaging flow cytometry approach has been proven, the next step is refinement. She and her team are exploring ways to increase accuracy further – especially for complex or mixed exposures – and to build larger, more diverse calibration datasets that reflect real population variability. AI-assisted image analysis is another promising frontier, one that could make dose estimation even faster and more precise by teaching algorithms to detect subtle patterns in cellular damage that human eyes might miss.
Antonella Bertucci and Mark Bester reviewing data in the lab
Beyond the lab, she is focused on strengthening Canada’s emergency preparedness. That includes training more staff in biodosimetry, building partnerships with federal agencies, and ensuring the country’s capabilities keep pace with emerging technologies and international standards. Her long-term vision is a system where Canada can rapidly mobilize talent, tools, and data – a system ready to protect people when it matters most.
“We hope we never see a radiological emergency,” she says. “But if we do, we need to be ready.”
In moments of crisis, public safety depends on people we may never see – scientists like Bertucci who turn complex biology into lifesaving clarity. From her early curiosity to her leadership at CNL, her career reflects decades of dedication, collaboration, and a deep fascination with the stories our cells can tell. Her work strengthens Canada’s ability to respond when it matters most, reminding us that true preparedness is built long before an emergency, in the steady, passionate efforts of people developing tools we hope we’ll never need, but may one day rely on.
This research is funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s (AECL) Federal Nuclear Science & Technology (FNST) Work Plan, which connects federal organizations, departments, and agencies to the nuclear science expertise and facilities we have at Chalk River Laboratories.
Under the FNST Work Plan, researchers at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) carry out projects to support the Canadian government’s core responsibilities and priorities across the areas of health, safety and security, energy, and the environment.
