Medical Physics
Dr. Marc MacKenzie, Interim Division Head
Shirley Bullick, Program Coordinator
Email: medical.physics@ahs.ca
The Division of Medical Physics at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre runs a number of academic programs. We offer a vibrant, research-based CAMPEP-accredited graduate, certificate and diploma (residency) programs through the Radiation Oncology Physics Specialization of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Our research program is clinical motivated.
The Division of Medical Physics currently includes 14 medical physicists at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Jack Addy Cancer Center. All have adjunct appointments within the Cumming School of Medicine and Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary and active staff appointments with Alberta Health Services. We provide medical physics services to the population of Southern Alberta.
Cancer is a leading cause of illness and death in Canada. Radiation therapy relieves suffering, prolongs survival, and in many cases, cures the disease. To achieve these benefits for patients we use linear accelerators, orthovoltage external beam RT units, high dose rate brachytherapy, permanent seed brachytherapy, Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), and stereotactic body or CNS RT.
Vision
Clinical issues inspire research questions. Research informs innovation. Innovation improves clinical practice.
Research
Precision Radiation Therapy
- MR in RT. The new Calgary Cancer Centre will have 2 MR-linacs, which open tremendous research and development opportunities.
- Brachytherapy
- SABR / SRS
- Development of special techniques and patient specific treatments
Learning Healthcare System
- Development of infrastructure to learn from every patient encounter
- Incorporating Artificial Intelligence into the radiotherapy treatment planning and delivery process
Person Centred Radiation Oncology Service Enhancement (PROSE)
- Integration and use of patient reported outcome measures
- Integration and use of patient reported experience measures
Educational Programs
All Education Programs are held primarily on-site at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. Students and trainees benefit from being immersed in the clinical environment. Many of our research projects result in improvements to clinical practice that the student researchers see implemented during their degrees.
Graduate Program:
Our 10-12 MSc and PhD students perform and publish on cutting edge research while developing a solid foundation of clinical skills. https://ucalgary.ca/radiation-oncology-physics/prospective-students/graduate
Post-doctoral Certificate:
Our specialization created one of the first certificate programs, designed to transition students with a PhD in physics or astronomy into a career in radiation oncology physics. https://ucalgary.ca/radiation-oncology-physics/prospective-students/certificate
Residency (formally the Post-Doctoral Diploma):
The diploma program is a 2-year residency in clinical radiation oncology physics. https://ucalgary.ca/radiation-oncology-physics/prospective-students/residency
Undergraduate Programs:
Each year, 3-5 undergraduate students take part in our summer undergraduate research program. Our members supervise undergraduate student research projects for students in Physics and Astronomy, Health Sciences and Engineering. If you are interested in a undergraduate research project in Radiation Oncology Physics, please contact Dr. Nic Ploquin via medical.physics@ahs.ca
Fellowship Program:
Radiation Oncology Physics fellows may be primarily clinical, research or a combination of both. Some fellows have competed their residency, while others are pre-residency and interested in research, rather than clinical careers. The residency website is https://www.ucalgary.ca/radiation-oncology-physics/prospective-students/fellowship
For more information contact medical.physics@ahs.ca