Medical Physics Division Leadership
Vice Chair for Medical Physics
Amit Sawant, PhD (he/him)
Professor of Radiation Oncology
Chief of Clinical Medical Physics
Shifeng Chen, PhD (he/him)
Professor of Radiation Oncology
Associate Chief of Physics Research
Lei Ren, PhD
Professor of Radiation Oncology
The Ren Lab
Goals
- Oversee technical aspects of patients’ radiation treatments.
- Ensure the safe and effective use of radiation for the treatment of patients.
- Develop and evaluate novel therapeutic approaches.
We aim to achieve these goals by using a three-pronged approach:
- Clinical Service
- Program Development
- Research and Education
Mission Statements
Clinical
Maintain the highest standards of quality, safety and consistency across all operational sites and technological platforms, and develop a culture of ceaseless clinical innovation to ensure the best personalized care for our patient population.
Research
Harness physics as an enabling engine to accelerate the development and translation of novel radiobiological and technological research into clinical practice.
Education
Maintain our program as a premier center for didactic education and training of Medical Physics residents and fellows, and disseminate our expertise and experience with novel, cutting-edge technologies and techniques within the larger medical physics community.
Clinical Service
- Participation in patient treatment planning
- Development and maintenance of the department’s quality assurance program
- Support special treatment delivery protocols
The division has been active in the clinical implementation of:
- 3D conformal
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy
- Intensity-modulated arc therapy
- Image-guided radiation therapy
- Low-dose and high-dose brachytherapy
- Stereotactic radiosurgery
- Stereotactic body radiation therapy
- State-of-the-art imaging techniques and planning systems for generating high-quality radiation treatment plans
Program Development and Research
Clinical Service Arm
- Managing inter-fraction motion
- Mitigating intra-fraction motion
Research Programs
- Multi-modality functional information into treatment planning
- Developing techniques to assess treatment response
- Motion management
- Advanced treatment-delivering technique
The division’s research programs are primarily supported by extramural funding and vendor-sponsored research agreements.
Education
- Actively participate in the Radiation Oncology Residency Program and Medical Physics Residency Program
- Lead the Medical Dosimetry Program
- Postdoctoral Fellow Research Program
- Several faculty hold affiliate appointments in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, College Park
- Primary advisor roles for PhD candidates
- Lead the Medical Physics Residency Program
Director of the Medical Physics Residency Program
Arun Gopal, PhD (he/him)
Associate Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology
Associate Director of the Medical Physics Residency Program
Jochen Cammin, PhD (he/him)
Assistant Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology
Faculty and Staff
Medical Physics Faculty
Please see our Faculty and Staff page.
Research Staff, Postdoctoral Fellows & Graduate Students
Coming soon
Visiting Scholars
Binny Bhandary, PhD
Academic Title: Research Specialist
Primary Appointment: Radiation Oncology
BBhandary@som.umaryland.edu
410-706-5155