Research
Most of the research in the Department of Radiation Physics is organized into the following focused programs:
- Adaptive image-guided interventions in radiotherapy
- Proton radiotherapy
- Intensity-modulated X-ray and proton therapy
- Radiation dose-response assessment, modeling and applications.
In addition, there are several other areas of important research, some of which are directly or indirectly related to the above programs. Examples include scintillation dosimetry and epidemiological studies of radiation carcinogenesis. The Department's NCI-funded Radiological Physics Center supports clinical trials and cooperative groups to ensure that institutions participating in clinical trails deliver prescribed radiation doses that are clinically comparable and consistent. A substantial portion of the research in the Department is in close collaboration with our colleagues in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
See the list of 2007 and 2008 publications by the Department's faculty and research funding levels for additional information .
Research Goals
Improve the quality and quantity of research in the Department. Examples include:
- Refining the organizational structure to enhance research effort by the faculty
- Refining the proton therapy and adaptive image-guided radiotherapy research programs and developing the biological and molecular image-guided radiotherapy research program
- Exploring opportunities for research and development of technologies of the future such as nanoparticles
- Increasing the effort to secure extramural funding from peer-reviewed and industrial sources
- Improving the program for mentoring junior faculty for research
Increase collaborations. Examples include:
- Fostering collaborations with other departments at M. D. Anderson
- Improving collaboration with other institutions