Radiation Oncology
Medical Physics

Medical Physics Division Leadership

Amit Sawant, PhD

Vice Chair for Medical Physics

Amit Sawant, PhD (he/him)
Professor of Radiation Oncology

Shifeng Chen

Chief of Clinical Medical Physics

Shifeng Chen, PhD (he/him)
Professor of Radiation Oncology

Lei Ren

Associate Chief of Physics Research

Lei Ren, PhD
Professor of Radiation Oncology
The Ren Lab


Doctors with patient in TT machineGoals

  • 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

Physicist GammaPod

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
Arun Gopal

Director of the Medical Physics Residency Program 
Arun Gopal, PhD (he/him)
Associate Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology

Jochen Cammin

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