Physics Training Programs

Educational programs sponsored by the Division of Medical Physics and Engineering emphasize the union of normally disparate fields such as engineering, physics, computational science, and biology, with the ultimate aim of developing safer and more precise treatments for cancer patients. The doctoral degree, residency, and postgraduate certificate programs all heavily emphasize research, with varying amounts of clinical focus, and admission is highly competitive.

Our faculty are interested in the following research topics: cloud and GPU-based high-performance computing in medical physics and imaging, automatic radiotherapy treatment planning, image-guided radiotherapy, 3D/4D and low-dose and dynamic cone beam computed tomography, Monte Carlo simulation, and tumor tracking and motion compensation in real time.

Medical Physics Residency Program: Our Medical Physics Residency is a two-year program of supervised clinical training in all areas of radiation oncology physics, with the goal of improving the field of radiation oncology by educating thoughtful and informed medical physicists from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Postdoctoral Medical Physics Certificate Program: The Division of Medical Physics and Engineering, in conjunction with the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, offers postdoctoral students the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Medical Physics.

Biomedical Engineering (BME) Graduate Program - Medical Physics Track: Many of the faculty in our department advise graduate students enrolled in this track. Our faculty are interested in the following research topics: cloud and GPU-based high-performance computing in medical physics and imaging, automatic radiotherapy treatment planning, image-guided radiotherapy, 3-D/4-D and low-dose and dynamic cone beam computed tomography, Monte Carlo simulation, and tumor tracking and motion compensation in real time.

Specialized Physics

PEIM and MAIA: PEIM (Program for Excellence in Intelligence Medicine) and MAIA (Medical Artificial Intelligence and Automation) were established by Steve Jiang, Ph.D., to solve clinical and biomedical research problems using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The MAIA Lab develops and applies innovative AI tools to improve aspects of cancer radiation therapy. PEIM serves as a collaborative education resource to promote AI research in precision medicine, diagnosis, medical error detection, quality assurance, as well as other related fields.

This highly sought-after program is prominent within the radiation oncology community. Professionals in this field looking to implement an efficient practice of stereotactic body radiation therapy at their facilities are encouraged to attend. During this two-day CME course, ample knowledge and guidelines are presented so that a sustainable and successful SBRT treatment practice can be developed.