Medical Physics Program
A Message from the Chief
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Medical Physics education programs around the world share a common goal of providing trainees with highly specialized knowledge for application in health care disciplines. Today, prospective students may choose from a number of accredited Medical Physics graduate programs in North America. Each of these is unique, with different faculty interests, institutional missions, and other factors. Our nationally-recognized graduate program, a joint academic and research venture of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (MBPCC) and the Louisiana State University (LSU) Department of Physics and Astronomy, is the only program in Louisiana and one of only 29 in the nation accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP). The partnership leverages Mary Bird Perkins’ clinical team and facilities, treatment planning and dosimetry laboratories, and commitment to patients, as well as LSU’s expertise in imaging and medical physics within LSU’s College of Science. This combination of resources improves patient care, provides a rich arena for medical research, and supplies much-needed manpower in the highly-specialized field of medical physics for Louisiana and the nation. |
Currently more than 20 members of our medical physics team are actively engaged in our research and education programs. Faculty interests include advanced technology photon, electron, and proton radiotherapies, targeted therapy using chemoirradiation, diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, and radiation protection. We are fortunate to have access to state-of-the-art research facilities and resources, such as high performance computer clusters, radiotherapy accelerators, medical imaging laboratories, and a synchrotron light source to name a few.
The program continues to grow and evolve. In 2011, our M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs in Medical Physics received CAMPEP reaccreditation and first-time accreditation, respectively. Importantly, a new curriculum for the degree of Ph.D. in Physics (Medical Physics) was adopted, aimed at shortening the nominal time required to complete that degree to no more than six years. Currently, we have 24 students enrolled in our graduate programs. Dr. John Gibbons, director of our clinical residency program in radiation oncology physics, leads a consortium of four participating institutions, which currently have five residents (12 by 2014). The program graduated its first resident from MBPCC this year and presently is under review for CAMPEP accreditation. Drs. Joe Dugas and Rui Zhang joined also joined the program, and Dr. Ken Hogstrom, who I succeeded upon his retirement in August, continues to participate in the medical physics program part-time.
The growth of our programs in 2011 was made possible by the generous support of our partner institutions, private contributors, sponsors of extramural research grants, incredible community support, and the dedication of our faculty, students and staff. We acknowledge our supporters with sincere gratitude.
On behalf of the medical physics team, I invite you to learn more about our programs in medical physics by visiting our websites at LSU and at MBPCC.
The program continues to grow and evolve. In 2011, our M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs in Medical Physics received CAMPEP reaccreditation and first-time accreditation, respectively. Importantly, a new curriculum for the degree of Ph.D. in Physics (Medical Physics) was adopted, aimed at shortening the nominal time required to complete that degree to no more than six years. Currently, we have 24 students enrolled in our graduate programs. Dr. John Gibbons, director of our clinical residency program in radiation oncology physics, leads a consortium of four participating institutions, which currently have five residents (12 by 2014). The program graduated its first resident from MBPCC this year and presently is under review for CAMPEP accreditation. Drs. Joe Dugas and Rui Zhang joined also joined the program, and Dr. Ken Hogstrom, who I succeeded upon his retirement in August, continues to participate in the medical physics program part-time.
The growth of our programs in 2011 was made possible by the generous support of our partner institutions, private contributors, sponsors of extramural research grants, incredible community support, and the dedication of our faculty, students and staff. We acknowledge our supporters with sincere gratitude.
On behalf of the medical physics team, I invite you to learn more about our programs in medical physics by visiting our websites at LSU and at MBPCC.
Wayne Newhauser, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, LSU
Chief of Physics, MBPCC
