Medical physics research serves as a vital bridge between technological advancements and clinical practices. More details about the multifaceted roles of medical physicists can be found at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
Department of Radiology and Radiological Science
Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers
- Quantitative multiple radionuclides simultaneous acquisition SPECT reconstruction
- SPECT Imaging of alpha emitters and development of CZT based Alpha-SPECT system
- Dynamic PET and tracer kinetic modeling for neurological diseases
- Imaging based dosimetry for radiopharmaceutical imaging and therapy
- Digital twin for nuclear medicine
- Deep learning-based methods for image registration, segmentation, and analysis
- Fully automated whole-body tumor quantification and prognosis of cancer on PET/CT
Radiopharmaceutical Therapy and Preclinical Studies
- Optimize radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT).
- RPT dose and response modeling.
- Alpha-emitter RPT (αRPT), in vivo RBE evaluation in collaboration with Radiation Oncology SARRP facility.
- Develop and evaluate agents for alpha-RPT to treat a variety of cancers (breast, liver/liver mets, melanoma).
- Monolayer and spheroid response to DNA repair modulators with α-emitters.
X-ray CT and X-ray Imaging Research
- CT physics, detector modeling
- Spectral CT, photon counting CT
- Cardiac CT
- CT image reconstruction/formation
- Novel CT
- Perfusion assessment using x-ray angiography (no CT)
Dosimetry
- Ongoing development of patient-specific radiobiological dosimetry methods.
- Clinical trial evaluation of absorbed dose vs response.
- Uncertainty evaluation for radiopharmaceutical dosimetry chain.
Clinical Trials
- Imaging/dosimetry-driven clinical dose escalation trial of Y-90 microsphere therapy
- Treatment planning-based combination radiotherapy and αRPT for prostate cancer
- Treatment planning-based combination radiotherapy and radioiodine RPT for thyroid cancer
- Canine osteosarcoma αRPT trial
MR, Neuroscience, Functional MR Imaging, and Spectroscopy
- Normalization of functional MRI signals
- Modulation of brain activity by control of inspired air
- Cerebrovascular dysfunction in aging and Alzheimer’s disease
- Measurement of blood volume in brain and spinal cord
- Development and application of arterial spin labeling MRI in human brain disorders
Cancer Research and Mass Spectrometer Research
- To be updated soon
In Silico
- Microscale dosimetry of alpha-emitters.
- RPT treatment and response simulations to translate preclinical model results towards human trial design optimization.
- NURBS phantom-based simulation of SPECT/CT imaging of nuclear medicine agents.
- NURBS phantom-based simulation of CT imaging for improved diagnosis of pancreatic cancer
- AI-based image reconstruction, quality assessment, response evaluation.
Radiation Safety
- Develop strategies that better communicate radiation doses and risks with patients and staff.
Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences
Imaging and Device Technologies
- Cone Beam CT
- MR Imaging
- Advanced Ultrasound
- Image-Guided Interventions
- Medical Image Computing and Analysis
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
- Image Processing
- Automatic Treatment Planning
- Outcome Prediction
- Quality Assurance
- Natural Language Processing
- Vision Language Model
Brachytherapy
- Brachytherapy automation
- Imaging and image-guidance techniques
Novel Therapeutic Forms
- Immuno-radiotherapy
- Nanotechnology
- FLASH Radiotherapy
- Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy (SFRT)
PreClinical Radiation Technology and Radiobiological Modeling
- PreClinical Radiation Technology
- Radiation Response Modeling
- Radiobiological Imaging
- Radiobiological Optimization
Proton Therapy
- Treatment Planning
- Imaging Techniques
- Motion Monitoring
- Quality Assurance
- Radiobiology and outcome modeling
Global Healthcare
- Access to Cancer Care
- Cancer Prevention and Education
- Health Policy and Global Partnerships
- Cancer Research in low- and middle-income countries
